Comments on: Holiday Menus and Place Cards…

By: sha

sha — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 21:24:41 +0000

oh my I am staying here in Italy cooking for a multi ethic crew at this stage am still racking my brains
thing is we are at a ship yard not particularly a good place look for fresh products but will go in vain to France to get duck and turkey.

I once used mistletoe to decorate the table and use as place cards.

Fresh figs not in season anymore MM but I can gladly send you tons of dried ones!!!!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 09:12:38 +0000

I bought these glass balls at a bazaar several years back. I also sourc glass ornaments from a company called Liman enterprises, in Cubao, literally in a hole in the wall… They have a stall at Mega Mall near the ice skating rink…but those balls are usually to order. Alternatively, you might want to get cheap but deent looking glasses at Landmark or Quiapo and do the same. The transfer letters are only PHP10 per sheet and can do at least 10-12 normal names. So it’s the glass or ball that will cost you…

By: janet

janet — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 08:46:46 +0000

hi MM,

i liked the idea of glass balls as place cards. where can i buy the materials for that? i’m part of the organizing committee of our xmas party and i’ll like to do the same. thanks in advance! :)

By: Marketman

Marketman — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 23:25:15 +0000

trish, yes I pickled my own asparagus. They were lightly blanched then soaked in a vinegar and spice solution. I wasn’t terribly happy with the outcome, they turned a little olivey green dead looking thought they were tart and a good counterpoint to the foie. I cannot recall the exact chocolate desserts, but most likely they included a mousse, chocolate creme brulee, chocolate tart or chocolate cookies. I just used seeless red grapes for the tart…it also had a concord grape jelly and lots of port glaze that was brilliant. Excellent served with a triple cream cheese, or with whipped cream. Shhhh, no I didn’t make the hazelnut ice cream, I bought it from a restaurant source. Ash baked potatoes are literally meant to be baked int he hot embers/ashes of a fireplace but a barbecue works. Frankly these can burn unevenly so doing potatoes in the oven naked (no foil) works just as good, then you half them, scoop out the potatoes and mix them with the smoked salmon, sour cream and chives and return them to the half-shell. Yes we had wine for most major courses but friends are the ones who usually do the wine, I am not a big wine afficionado. Suffice it to say the wines were superb, we have a serious wine enthusiast as a frequent guest and another couple whose family own a vineyard in Bordeaux…

By: trishlovesbread

trishlovesbread — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 23:12:21 +0000

P.S. If your current menu can accomodate one more thing, please make it brioche dinner rolls! I just used your ensaimada recipe (minus corn oil and half the sugar) to make dinner rolls–excellent with turkey!

By: trishlovesbread

trishlovesbread — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 22:48:42 +0000

Several questions for MM: for menu #1, did you pickle your own asparagus? If so, how? For menu #2, what were the chocolate dessert’s “three ways”? For menu #3, what grape did you use for the grape tart? For menu #4 did you make the hazelnut ice cream? For menu #5 what are ash-baked potatoes? And finally, did you have wine pairings per course? :-)

By: Mandy

Mandy — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 17:38:53 +0000

waah, i’m so loving menu #3 and #5. invite me. i’ll wash all your dishes. just invite me–i can just eat in the kitchen; with the dishes that need washing. hehehe. now i’m curious what you will be serving this year…

thanks for the tip about puentespina–my event stylist said that that was where i should get our flowers. :)

i’ve been eyeing the foie gras in the grocery for weeks, there have been several deliveries. they look like they’re cleaned–what do i do? slice then pan fry, then?

By: Marketman

Marketman — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 13:44:02 +0000

MES, sounds like a classic combination of bitter, sweet, salty and fat-laden…yum.

By: MES

MES — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 13:16:07 +0000

Ah…so! City Super is a must stop when in HK and I do help myself to figs when I’m there. Unfortunately Santi’s brought them in once and they spoiled before they were all sold, so they said they wouldn’t be doing it again anytime soon.

I’ve recently taken to making a fig compote with the dried figs available here, some balsamic vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, water, and a pinch of nutmeg. Good in salads, esp. with arugula as the bitterness of the greens make a nice contrast to the figs. We have it with crispy tyrolean bacon and crumbled goat cheese. Good enough to make you forget about fresh figs for a while. :-)

By: Marketman

Marketman — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 10:57:54 +0000

MES, VERY observant of you. :) For that particular dinner, we had guests who flew in from Hong Kong and they offered to hit the grocery for me so they got some fresh figs and some nice red pomegranates and handcarried them to Manila… I haven’t seen fresh figs for sale here yet. but a portion of a nice moist dried fig, with some cheese and a nice piece of prosciutto would have the same impact…