Happy New Year, peasants. Here's how the uppah crust is celebrating:

[trof]

The uppah crust in this case being our darlin' daughter and her hubby.
Miz t. and I are babysitting the kids while mommy and daddy have a night on the town.
This is truly a once a year splurge for them.

P.S. I'd MUCH rather be doing what I'm doing than what they're doing.
We're having spaghetti and meatballs.
And I don't have to stay up until midnight.
:-)

The Venue and the Menu:

Happy New Year 2010 Sel de la Terre Long Wharf
PRIX FIXE EIGHTY FIVE DOLLARS VINTNERS PAIRINGS PLUS THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS
(HoLy MACKERAL!!!)

Amuse Bouche
First Course Burgundy escargot with garlic butter and vegetable barigoule; Fresh herbs
or
Beef carpaccio with confit garlic, piave vecchio and arugula
or
Foie gras torchon; Caramelized chestnuts, sauternes geleé and tart cherries

Pasta Course
House made fettuccine with foraged mushrooms and quail’s egg

Main Course
Roasted filet mignon; Truffle butter, olive oil mashed potatoes and red wine reduction
or
Pan roasted pheasant with cous cous stuffed shishito peppers; Caramelized Brussels sprouts and cranberry demi glace
or
Oven roasted rack of lamb; Roasted fingerling potatoes and Provençal vegetables
or
Seared scallops with fennel chowder and mussels; American caviar
or
Creamy pearl barley risotto with chestnuts, sage and truffles; Roasted squash

Assiette de Fromage
Humboldt Fog and aged Mimollette; Apple chutney and honey almonds

Side Dishes
Rosemary pommes frites (+$7)
Truffled mac and cheese (+$7)
Market basket vegetables (+$7)

Dessert
Pear sorbet with roasted pears and a cranberry financier or Chocolate gateau with almond praline and chai ice cream
*Menu subject to change.

Wonder what the tip should run on this?
:-)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear trof!

Wow! Just reading that list makes me feel full!

I'm sure they'll have a ball...and so will you!

The tip? Are you kidding? :scared:

Happy New Year!

:party:

[crispini]

2. Looks delish! And a good price (comparatively)

for a bang up NYE gourmet din-din!

[flvegan]

3. I couldn't eat that much in one sitting if I wanted to.

Not terribly vegan friendly either, so to speak. Hope the kids have a great time, though!

[trof]

4. I'm hoping for a doggie bag.

New Year's Day breakfast?
;-)

[trof]

5. I did comment to my daughter about the vegan(?) entree:

Creamy pearl barley risotto with chestnuts, sage and truffles; Roasted squash

[kentauros]

8. And yet, a vegan at that dinner

wouldn't be able to eat until the main course arrived. Talk about feeling left out for a good portion of the meal...

[flvegan]

9. Yeah, but I don't think any vegans would opt to go to that sort of thing

for that very reason. I know I wouldn't. It's not a vegan place, so I wouldn't have any sort of expectation. To each his/her own, I'd just opt for somewhere else.

[Chan790]

13. I'm nearly intrigued to design a $85/plate prix fixe vegan menu with $35 vintner's pairings.

Just to see what I could come up with. It seems hard because so many vegan foodstuffs (once you get past the processed pre-prepped foods which would be right-out for this sort of thing.) are comparatively inexpensive.

Obviously, I'm not serving cheese in the cheese course (assorted rare fruits with dairy-free cremes instead?)...as good as vegan cheeses have become, I can't think of any that are good enough to stand on their own as artisan or special.

Vegan wines can be tough...vintner's tend to be less than honest about fining-processes because so many use "proprietary" methods and finings.(Nobody wants to admit their wine is made with fish guts)

I only really have one vegan desert recipe that is up to snuff for this...and it's totally cribbed from a cookbook.

Yet still...seems like it could be fun.

La-la-la-la! Off to have some fun researching a menu. Part of me wants to throw a fancy dinner party in the coming months anyways.

[flvegan]

14. I'd like to see that.

I'm a bit intrigued by the idea.

[kentauros]

17. I got that impression, too,

which is why the vegan entry is really odd to even have on the menu. I skipped my last employer's Christmas Party in 08 because they were having it at a steak house. I looked at the menu and the only thing for me was salad. The owner was understanding of my reasons not to go, but it was really disappointing I had to miss out because they couldn't pick a place with better variety and quality.

[flvegan]

19. I skipped this year's employee's Christmas lunch for that reason.

I saw the menu online and was like, no thanks.

[GoCubsGo]

18. What vegan dish?

Risotto usually has Parmesan cheese, if I'm not mistaken.

[kentauros]

22. I've never had risotto, so I wasn't aware of that.

Just repeating trof's mention of it being vegan.

[Chan790]

25. Only sometimes...

more often though, it's cooked in chicken-stock. In either case, often not vegan.

[kentauros]

6. Perhaps the tip should be something that's "wahfer thin"

:P

[SoxFan]

7. "Cranberry financier"???

[trof]

15. Bernie, BABY!

Heard he got his ass whipped in the slammer.
Word is it was a hit job arranged by one of his big losers.

[SoxFan]

23. And there was much rejoicing!

[Chan790]

10. About $280-300 with the tip if you get the vintner's pairings.

It's a bit more complicated than that as you would tip the sommelier separately from the server, but altogether about $280-$300 for a couple.

More obviously if you get the optional sides, most people will I think...likely served family-style so that $7 is two or more servings, not one.

[azmouse]

11. You realize that you don't get all that food. There is a choice for most courses.

And the portion sizes will be small.

Still sounds delicious to me! :9

[tigereye]

12. ah, it's nice to splurge once in a while - young parents probably need some

pampering. Nice of you guys to babysit.


The menfolk here are making curry chicken as we speak, and I'll make gingerbread later. Plus a bottle of sparkling wine with raspberries. We always think about going out to First Night or elsewhere, but the weather usually stinks, so it's just easier to stay home.


On edit, I think for me,I'm just tired of parties by the time NYE rolls around.

Happy New Year!

[bigwillq]

16. Happy New Year!

I went to Ruby Tuesday's (it sucked) and now I am just chilling in all night. Happy 2010! :hi:

[GoCubsGo]

20. I would rather have spaghetti and meat balls any day.

What can I say? None of what was listed sounds good to me in comparison to a plate of spaghetti and a nice salad on the side. Throw in a little Chianti and some crusty bread, and some gelato or spumoni for dessert--can't beat that. Well, except maybe pesto instead of tomato gravy (unless it was my grandma's tomato gravy), and/or Italian sausage rather than meat balls. Either way, I'm happy. :-)

[OffWithTheirHeads]

21. Sounds like a deal to me! Most of us only get one chance at a meal like this

But, I have to ask, of all the choices of the worlds true delicacies, "Truffeled Mac & cheese? I guess I'm getting old.

[Odin2005]

24. The roasted pheasant with couscous sounds delicious!

[Gormy Cuss]

26. Humboldt Fog is good cheese.

I hope it's not too cold for you and Miz T, acclimated to the South, being back up in Yankee town.

[MiddleFingerMom]

27. If I were there, I would have but one thing to say all night long.

.....If I were there, I would have but one thing to say all night long.
.
"You gonna eat that?"
"You gonna eat that?"
"You gonna eat that?"
"You gonna eat that?"
"You gonna eat that?"
"You gonna eat that?"
"You gonna eat that?"
"You gonna eat that?"
.
Etc. ad infinitum.
.
.....Many years ago, I took my girlfriend to a fine French restaurant and
told her that the escargot I had just ordered would be served on a very
large plate so that they wouldn't have time to get away before I could
finish them all.
.
.....She ordered something else entirely.

[Lionel Mandrake]

28. Look at that S car go!.....nt

[ccharles000]

29. Happy New Year

:hi:

[grasswire]

30. I don't like Humboldt Fog

It just doesn't suit me. And you know something interesting about Mimolette? In France, Mimollette used to get its very interesting pattern on the rind from the nibbling of mice. It's a pretty cheese, if you don't know that peculiar bit of trivia.