Obama's First Official White House State Dinner: The Menu

Marcus Samuelsson  of Aquavit was the guest chef...The veggie-focused feast was in honor of India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Lettuce and herbs were harvested from the White House garden.  
Très vert!

Via: Eater

Dinner Party: Menu for 6

I stumbled across a new podcast called The Dinner Party Download through EatMeDaily.com. The 15 minute podcast is a mish-mash of  pop-cultural oddities, food trivia, music and corny jokes.  Check it out!

I actually had a dinner party for 6 lovely peeps last Saturday that I co-hosted with a friend. Here is the menu and other details.  There was plenty of food and leftovers, which we gobbled up over the last few days.  

March 28, 2009 Dinner Party Menu

People: 6  (50/50 M/F)

Vegetarians: 1  who ate seafood 

Start: 8:30 PM

End: 2:00 AM or so

Snacks

• Manchego with quince paste (Whole Foods)-- Could have served the cheese with marcona almonds too. Will do that next time. 

Starter 

• Halibut carpaccio marinated in olive oil and fresh lemon juice on a bed of baby arugula-Fish and greens from Whole Foods. Nice starter. Very light, citrusy and refreshing. 

Main

• Homemade pasta with pancetta and olive-oil--I didn't prepare this, but one of the faves of the night.    
  
• Brussel sprouts with bacon and raisins:  Perfectly Cooked.  We also made a vegetarian version without the bacon.  Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa in Paris
  
• Grilled asparagus with olive oil and kosher salt:  Yum. 
  
• Grilled scallops with 5-spice and olive oil:  Scallops from Whole foods; 5-Spice from Chinatown. Make sure the pan is very hot or use non-stick. Thanks Claudia for this one.  
  
• Roasted crown roast of pork with green peppercorn sauce: Ask for a crown roast of pork, frenched,  I had 10 chops --way too much meat for 5 people. Better to have more than not enough. Obviously, you can freeze the remainder or give away at the end of the night.  To make he roast look impressive, you can truss it like to look like this. Very easy to make, but you must monitor, so the meat won't overcook. (Be sure to watch the sauce too. We couldn't find measuring spoons,  so I sort of guessed at the flour portion and incurred lumpiness.) Recipe from The Barefoot Contessa in Paris with no fennel and a twist.

Dessert from Blackhound Bakery Cakes in the East Village

• Strawberry and Cream
  
• Lemon Curd
  
• Chocolate Flourless Cake

Drinks 

• Prosecco 2 bottles
  
• Sancerre 1 bottle
  
• Pinot Noir 1 bottle
  
• Beer 6-pack

I-Pod

On Shuffle Mode, but I think I remember Bon Iver, Kate Perry, The Stars 

Comment Card: Dirt Candy

Stone Grits with Tempura Egg at Dirt Candy

I am an unabashed carnivore, but I'm not so much of a blood-thirsty meat fiend that I'll ever try my hand at the Bacon Explosion. Veggies definitely have their place in my diet. However, if I'm dining out, I will rarely order the vegetarian dish. Usually, when I hear the word "vegetarian" from the server, my brain registers "snoozefeast". I must have been inspired by Morrissey's recent meat decree, because I had an inexplicable pull to try the new vegetarian hotspot, Dirt Candy.

Dirt Candy is a small, cheery restaurant in the East Village. The chef aims to elevate the vegetable as the centerpiece ingredient of each dish and seems to shun the typical approach of vegetarian cuisine as "health food", substantiated by the fact that the first dish listed on the menu is Hush Puppies.

I went with my friend Sabina, arriving hungry and ready to eat. I ordered the following:

Starter: Jalapeno hush puppies with maple butter
Main: Stone Grits with corn and a tempura poached egg
Dessert: Ricotta Fritters with green tomato marmalade, lemon olive oil ice cream

I grew up in Alabama and have had my fair share of Hush Puppies. These didn't disappoint. The puppies had a wonderfully fried crunch on the outside and the jalapeno gave it a nice kick. The maple butter added a dollop of sweetness to every bite. The grits were flavorful and had the perfect consistency, but it was the richness of the tempura egg, served on top of the grits, that made this dish so satisfying. In my opinion, the best thing that I had that night was the dessert--so light and delicious. The olive oil ice cream eaten with the ricotta was heaven in my mouth. The dessert was served with a dehydrated tomato slice, which was slightly too sour, but I could see what they were going for as a flavor counterpoint to the sweetness of the dessert.

Wrap-up:
Food: Tasty and satisfying vegetarian food for the non-vegetarian
Service: Slightly slow, but really friendly
Ambiance: Bright, cheerful. A bit too much heat from the kitchen--dress in layers.
Price: Not too bad ($35-40/person includes 20 tip )
Verdict: Reasonably priced, wonderfully prepared ingredients--definitely worth checking out.

Dirt Candy
430 e. 9th st
NY, NY 10009
212.228.7732