[Note: You can see a variation of this menu in our Gilded Fork: Entertaining at Home cookbook, which features our fabulously famous Lavender Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze.]

Mom is a very special woman. You know it, we know it, and on Mother’s Day it’s time to show it. Though she would likely be satisfied with mud pies, we’ve gone slightly more elegant with this beautiful yet simple dinner menu. This way she can relax with a glass of wine while you get supper on the table – and you can spoil her for a change. (We’ve included notes for the wines below, too.)

A cacophony of Spring dishes is the way to win any Mom’s heart. With vivid colors, bright flavors, and simple preparation, this menu is a sure winner.

SALAD COURSE

Fennel, Orange and Zereshk (Barberry) Salad with Fig Vincotto
Suggested wine pairing: Sauvignon Blanc
(see Wine Notes below for further details)

SOUP COURSE

Carrot and Ginger Soup
Suggested wine pairing: Gewurtztraminer

MAIN COURSE

Sautéed Duck Breast with Green Peppercorn and Morel Cream Sauce
Suggested wine pairing: Cool-climate Merlot

DESSERT COURSE

Apricot Ginger Flan
Suggested wine pairing: Late harvest or Ice-style wine

WINE NOTES FROM LENN THOMPSON

Many thanks to Lenn Thompson from LENNDEVOURS for our Mother’s Day wine pairings. He has provided recommendations by varietal to make it easier for you. Simply take this menu into your local wine store for their recommendations.

Fennel, Orange and Zheresk Salad

Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc

Reasoning: Sauvignon Blanc is always a pair for citrusy-herbal salads because their flavor profiles are often similar, and their crispness can stand up to the acidity in citrus fruit.

Carrot and Ginger Soup

Varietal: Gewurtztraminer

Reasoning: Any time a recipe calls for ginger, I reach for a bottle of gewurtz, which literally means “spicy” in German. Rich and ripe with stone fruit and pineapple flavors, but racy, floral and minerally-crisp at the same time, it complements and enhances this flavorful spicy-sweet soup.

Duck Breast with a Green Peppercorn and Morel Cream Sauce

Varietal: Cool Climate Merlot

Reasoning: Pinot noir might seem the more classic pairing, but this medium-bodied, flavorful merlot, with its smooth, well-integrated tannins, red plum and cherry fruit character and subtle earthiness will take this hearty dish to new heights.

Apricot Ginger Flan

Varietal: Late Harvest or Ice-Style Wine

Reasoning: Too many sweet wines are heavy on the palate, but this one, made with frozen gewurtztraminer and sauvignon blanc grapes manages to be rich, unctuous and complex — all with a zing of palate-cleansing acidity. Lychee, honey, apricots, candied orange peel and sweet vanilla mingle on the palate. Perfect for this flan, it’s just as good on its own.

MISE EN PLACE

For those curious about the meaning of mise en place, it is a French culinary term for “set in place.” If you have ever watched a cooking show, or been inside a restaurant kitchen, you will notice that next to the cooking area, things are set up just so. Ingredients, sauces and critical elements are ready to be used, whether pre-cooked, pre-chopped, or ready as a garnish. This kind of organized setup enables a cook to focus on the actual act of cooking itself without distraction. Our intention with this section is to use the same approach at home, enabling you to host your own special occasions with flair.

If you have family gathering ’round the table for an Easter feast, might we suggest taking full advantage of spring’s bounty? The flavors and colors arriving to market right now offer a refreshing change to our dulled winter palates. This month’s wine pairings were inspired by the book from our friends Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, What to Drink with What You Eat.

Fresh peas, lamb, beets and rhubarb…the flavors of spring. Colorful and bright, this month’s dishes are perfect for Easter dinner or any spring celebration.

APPETIZER
Mascarpone and Beet Napoleons with Walnut Oil
Suggested pairing: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
(See pairing notes below)

SOUP
Spring Pea Soup
Suggested pairing: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

MAIN COURSE
Roman Roast Leg of Lamb with Orzo
Suggested pairing: California Zinfandel or Cabernet

DESSERT
Anise Panna Cotta with Spiced Rhubarb
Suggested pairing: Moscato d’Asti or Late-Harvest Riesling

PAIRING NOTES

This month our pairings were inspired by the new book from Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, What to Drink with What You Eat (click to buy it — we highly recommend it!). This must-have addition to your food library makes it simple to pair wines with your meals, and makes it all quite simple and easy to understand. You can listen to our interview with Andrew and Karen on Food Philosophy #34, where they talk about the inspiration for this tome that is taking the food world by storm.

Mascarpone and Beet Napoleons with Walnut Oil &
Spring Pea Soup

Varietal: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

Reasoning: Sauvignon Blanc is best paired with acidic foods, and a light-to-medium bodied New World wine like this is a nice balance for the acidity and sweetness of the beets. The citrusy nose will also nicely complement the lightness of the pea soup.

Roman Roast Leg of Lamb with Orzo

Varietal: California Cabernet or Zinfandel

Reasoning: Both of these California reds are a great match for the roasted lamb and garlic flavors. If you prefer bold, big, full-bodied reds, go with the Cabernet. If you want a more fruity, jammy pairing stick with the Zinfandel.

Anise Panna Cotta with Spiced Rhubarb

Varietal: Moscato d’Asti or Late-Harvest Riesling

Reasoning: The sweetness and bubbles of the Moscato d’Asti will complement the richness of the cream while offering a contrast to the tang of the spiced rhubarb. You can also pair this dessert with any sweet wine based on the Muscat grape. If Muscat wines are a bit too sweet for you, try a late-harvest Riesling instead.

MISE EN PLACE

For those curious about the meaning of mise en place, it is a French culinary term for “set in place.” If you have ever watched a cooking show, or been inside a restaurant kitchen, you will notice that next to the cooking area, things are set up just so. Ingredients, sauces and critical elements are ready to be used, whether pre-cooked, pre-chopped, or ready as a garnish. This kind of organized setup enables a cook to focus on the actual act of cooking itself without distraction. Our intention with this section is to use the same approach at home, enabling you to host your own special occasions with flair.

I recently started writing for Aspire NJ, a luxury real estate magazine, and when they asked me to find out what was happening in the world of kitchen design, I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Kitchens excite me. Really well-designed ones titillate me. There is something luscious in the feel of a smooth counter, and a stove with 17,000 BTU burners elicits that *rowr* inside. Needless to say, this assignment was a favorite.

Not surprisingly, I found that designers and architects were wholeheartedly embracing the “green” kitchen — with lots of caveats. I also learned that people are beginning to incorporate the living space right into the kitchen, to create more of a centralized location for family activities.

Viking came up with a luxury kitchen design that suits this need perfectly, with sleek lines, stainless steel finishes…and couches. I explored their new line at an event in the Food Network studio kitchens, and fell in love with the cabinetry. I’m a sucker for good handles.

You can read the full article, The Evolution of Kitchen Design, at Aspire NJ.

We originally featured this piece in our March 2006 coverage, but it’s always fun to revive great dinner ideas, and in this one, we decided to focus on the green theme that’s everywhere around St. Patrick’s Day without hauling out the tired old cliches of Corned Beef & Cabbage & the like. There is an updated version of this menu — complete with wine pairings and a Green Tea & Orange Mousse Cake — in our new cookbook, The Gilded Fork: Entertaining at Home.

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Dinner parties have a tendency to inspire angst. What to serve? How to serve it? Will the recipes be too complicated? Can I fit it all in? We decided it’s time for a deep breath. With recipes that are simple yet elegant, we’ve concentrated on crafting enhanced flavors in some familiar dishes, keeping colors bright, textures intriguing, and preparation simple.

HORS D’OEUVRES

Avocado and Crab Timbales with Tobiko Roe Vinaigrette

FIRST COURSE

Asparagus and Spinach Soup with Yuzu Custard

MAIN COURSE

Pistachio Crusted Salmon with Bailey’s Irish Cream Sauce

DESSERT COURSE

Pistachio Ice Cream (see note below)

A NOTE ON DESSERT

We went back and forth on this, and decided that in the end, we recommend simply buying a high-quality pistachio ice cream. It can be fun to make one at home, but you do have lots of other items to prepare for this dinner party, and we are certainly not averse to buying products when they taste wonderful. We are fond of Haagen-Dazs®, but if you have a local ice cream maker, his or her creations might be even more of a treat. The main goal of serving this particular ice cream is to echo the pistachios in the salmon, which is one of our favorite ways to craft menus.

MISE EN PLACE

For those curious about the meaning of mise en place, it is a French culinary term for “set in place.” If you have ever watched a cooking show, or been inside a restaurant kitchen, you will notice that next to the cooking area, things are set up just so. Ingredients, sauces and critical elements are ready to be used, whether pre-cooked, pre-chopped, or ready as a garnish. This kind of organized setup enables a cook to focus on the actual act of cooking itself without distraction. Our intention with this section is to use the same approach at home, enabling you to host your own special occasions with flair.

As a personal chef, I regularly get a front row seat to some of life’s most special moments. From birthday celebrations to anniversary dinners and business deals, I am there in the kitchen just off to the side when people celebrate the most important moments of their life.

Valentine’s Day is usually one of the most sought after dates for a Romantic Dinner for Two. This year, I was contacted six weeks ahead of the big date by a young man who planned to use the big Vday holiday to propose to his girlfriend. We sent many emails back and forth developing the menu, and this one went in a different direction than normal. Often, people choose to have “fancy” foods for these special meals, choosing expensive proteins and exotic preparations. He wanted instead to choose dishes that had significance for them as a couple.

He remembered with fondness having shrimp quesadillas at Dos Caminos on their first date, and insisted on having that on the menu. No problem! I just had to make fresh tortillas! He also wanted a Caesar Salad, since it’s their favorite salad, and they order it all the time when eating out. She adores scallops, so that HAD to be on the menu, and he wanted a special romantic dessert that would be a lead-in to popping the question. We had planned for apple-cinnamon empanadas at first, in keeping with the Southwestern theme, but a week before the big event, he had second thoughts about that, wanting to make the dessert the proposal. I suggested the heart-shaped apple tarts, but how to write “Will you marry me?” on them? If I were to use icing, it would melt quickly given the hot tart. Luckily a friend of his suggested a piece of chocolate with the message written on it. He took care of buying that ao I could focus on preparing the meal.

It’s always an honor to be there when a couple gets engaged, and this one was extra special. He was SOOO nervous, and I think this meal went by faster than normal, since he was anxious to get to the end. Rather than waiting 15-20 minutes between courses, he signaled quickly that he was ready for the next course. We had decided in advance that when it came time to bring out the dessert with the proposal message on it, I’d call him into the kitchen to “help” me bring it out, so that he could take it to her himself. She was genuinely surprised. She really had no idea that this would be anything more than a romantic meal. I hung back in the kitchen to give them their privacy, but I heard every word. His speech to her was one for the movies, as he explained why he had chosen each course, and what she means to him. I could hear him choking up as he got to the end and asked her to marry him, and I was tearing up a little myself! Luckily, she said yes!

As you can imagine, when I’m cooking these dinners, my primary focus is always the preparation of the food, but I do manage to find a few moments here and there to snap photos with my iPhone, which admittedly, doesn’t produce the best photos. However, it’s a quick and easy way to document the dishes, and I can share them in almost real time via twitter and Whrrl. Here’s the photo essay from Whrrl:

If you’re in New York City and would like to have me prepare a special meal for you, check out www.remarkablepalate.com for info.

Note: This entire menu is featured in our Gilded Fork: Entertaining at Home cookbook.

Some call it Fat Tuesday, others Carnavale, but no city quite captures the essence of Mardi Gras like New Orleans. This month’s menu is spicy, rich and full of Nawlins flavor, so set a festive table, gather your friends and laissez les bon temps rouler!

Color. Texture. Spicy. Sweet. We never need an excuse to celebrate, but we took special advantage of this month’s opportunity.

FIRST COURSE

Bon Temps Crab Cakes with Rémoulade
Suggested pairing: Beer
(see Pairing Notes below for further details)

MAIN COURSE

Mardi Gras Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Suggested pairing: Beer

New Orleans Red Beans and Rice

DESSERT

Mardi Gras King Cake

COFFEE

Café Brulot

PAIRING NOTES

Rather than feature wine pairings for this particular menu, we think beer is a better match. Given the spicy, rich flavors in these Mardi Gras recipes, light ales or lagers will provide balance to the overall flavor and texture impact of the meal.

After dessert, go for a flaming cup of Café Brulot, the famous coffee drink of the Big Easy.

MISE EN PLACE

For those curious about the meaning of mise en place, it is a French culinary term for “set in place.” If you have ever watched a cooking show, or been inside a restaurant kitchen, you will notice that next to the cooking area, things are set up just so. Ingredients, sauces and critical elements are ready to be used, whether pre-cooked, pre-chopped, or ready as a garnish. This kind of organized setup enables a cook to focus on the actual act of cooking itself without distraction. Our intention with this section is to use the same approach at home, enabling you to host your own special occasions with flair.

It’s once again time to celebrate our birthday, and that includes a bit of bubbly not only in our glasses, but also in the veggies and dessert. (Look, if there isn’t Champagne involved, it just isn’t a party.) Happy 5th birthday to us!

Remember: Tiny bubbles. They make everything taste better.

FIRST COURSE
Apple Turnip Soup with Nutmeg Cheddar Breadsticks
Suggested pairing: Chardonnay
(see Lenn Thompson’s pairing notes below for further details)

MAIN COURSE
Gorgonzola Stuffed Steak with Prosciutto
Suggested pairing: Barolo

Champagne Glazed Cauliflower
Suggested pairing (optional — see notes): Champagne

DESSERT
Flan de Champagne
Suggested pairing: Champagne

PAIRING NOTES FROM LENN THOMPSON

Lenn Thompson from Lenndevours.com (our official Wine Pairing Dude) has provided us with a rather inviting list of pairings for this month’s menu, so we invite you to indulge in these combinations as you celebrate whatever occasion warrants it (that means anytime, for any reason, people).

Apple Turnip Soup with Nutmeg Cheddar Breadsticks

Varietal: Chardonnay

Reasoning: Chardonnay is the obvious and overwhelming choice here. Steer clear of California and look to White Burgundy — the pear, apple and baking spice notes will pair extremely well with the flavors of this soup. Balanced creaminess and acidity will both complement and enhance the soup at the same time.

Gorgonzola Stuffed Steak with Prosciutto

Varietal: Barolo

Reasoning: We’re celebrating here, so spend as much as you on a top-flight Barolo, which is one of the boldest, richest wines of Italy. It’s a time-tested pairing with Gorgonzola cheese and is bold enough to stand up to any steak.

Champagne Glazed Cauliflower

Varietal: Champagne

Reasoning: Sometimes pairing wine with food is too easy. Drink the same Champagne or sparkling that you used in the dish. That’s wine pairing at its simplest. (Note: We’ve included a wine pairing for this dish as you may wish to serve it with something other than the steak.) For more information on bubbly, see our test kitchen’s Champagne dossier.

Champagne Flan

Varietal: Champagne

Reasoning: Because there is no better way to celebrate, open a bottle of bubbly to serve with this rich custardy dessert. The acidity and bubbles will keep your palate cleansed as you toast your birthday or any other celebration. Be sure to choose a drier Champagne and not dessert (“doux”) Champagne here, as it would lend too much sweetness and weight to properly balance the flan. For more information on bubbly, see our test kitchen’s Champagne dossier.

A funny thing happened on the way to the end of 2009. We had posted a contest in October asking you for your dream dinner party guest list. We gave out the winning cookbook, and thought the contest was put to bed. Lo and behold, somewhere online that post was listed as a contest through December 31st, so all of a sudden we were flooded with new entries. Since we’re always delighted to have new visitors, we decided to re-open the contest and pick another winner from all the posts added in December.

Congratulations to Becca Alley! Becca, please send us an e-mail with your mailing address, and we’ll get that cookbook right out to you. Happy New Year — now you’ll have lots of menus for a year of entertaining!

You’ve been asking, so we thought 2010 would be a great time to open the doors of our new online school, the Culinary Media Network Academy. From cooking techniques to lifestyle tips, we’ll be adding the types of classes that will help take your kitchen and entertaining skills to the next level. If you have a restaurant or food business, we’ll also show you how to leverage social media to improve your bottom line with our Restaurant Social Media 101 course.

The walls are freshly painted, and we’ve got some initial pieces live, including some of our favorite recipe collections, sets of Chef Mark’s Cooking Tips and our Entertaining Survival Guide — the perfect companion to our Gilded Fork: Entertaining at Home cookbook. We’ll soon be launching my Bachelor’s Boot Camp (the first victim student is in NYC this week), so keep an eye out for that. In the coming months we’ll be adding more classes in various formats, from text to audio and video courses.

Now here’s where you come in: We need your feedback to create our curriculum! If you have a burning desire (no pun) to learn how to purchase and cook different types of meats, or if you’ve always wanted to perfect your knife skills, we are open to your suggestions. Tell us what you want and we’ll create it. If you sign up for the Academy now, you’ll receive special pricing on new classes that come out.

Please add your feedback below and tell us how we can help you take your cooking and entertaining skills to the next level. We’ll see you in class!

a test kitchen dossier

I have learned
To spell hors d’oeuvres,
Which still grates on
Some people’s n’oeuvres.
- Warren Knox

Origin
The French phrase hors d’oeuvre (often pluralized as hors d’oeuvres in English) literally means “outside of the work,” and originally referred to an outbuilding not incorporated into the architect’s main design of a house or building. The phrase eventually found its way into the culinary lexicon, meaning appetizers served apart from the main course of a dinner.

Description
Hors d’oeuvres can encompass a wide variety of foods, and range from casual finger foods to elegant nibbles. Their versatility makes them ideal for any kind of event, either as snacks taken at the cocktail hour prior to a seated meal, or as the main menu for a party where the guests won’t be seated. Tapas, dim sum, antipasti, antojitos and appetizers all can fit into the theme of hors d’oeuvres, leaving the menu open to your imagination.

Serving Hors d’Oeuvres
If you read our Cocktail dossier, you know that we prefer to go with hors d’oeuvres parties for the hectic holiday season, and it’s our favorite way to celebrate for New Year’s Eve. We’ve recapped our menu suggestions here so you can craft your menu with the right progression of light to heavy hors d’oeuvres for each “course,” as well as appropriate serving sizes.

If your party is scheduled to take place around the dinner hour, understand that people will probably arrive hungry for dinner. This doesn’t mean you need to feed them dinner, of course, but you should be prepared to serve hors d’oeuvres that are substantial enough to get them through the next couple of hours. There is nothing worse than leaving a party with a hunger pain.

We have an entire collection of recipes to fuel your inspiration (see the links at the end of this dossier), and those can be served along with the crudités and/or a cheese board. Use your imagination and have fun with the creative process.

You can estimate recipe quantities by assuming 4 portions per person for light dishes and 3 portions for heartier fare, provided you also serve other nibbles like crudités and a cheese board. (There really is no reason why you shouldn’t, as they are a snap to put together.) However, if you are truly reluctant to do so, double the portions of hors d’oeuvres per person to be safe. Also, if you have vegetarian guests, be sure to include enough portions to compensate for the other dishes they will not be eating, and/or add more to the crudités and cheese board.

The flow of your cocktail party menu should be as follows:

Crudités/Light Hors d’Oeuvres
Hearty Hors d’Oeuvres
Cheese Board/Dessert Items

Here is an example:

Light hors d’oeuvres:
Crudités with Aoili Garni
Smoked Trout with Horseradish Crème Fraîche on Toast Points
Eggs with Caviar and Salmon Rosettes

Hearty hors d’oeuvres:
Lobster Bisque Shooters
Mini Savory Bites
Grilled Lemongrass Shrimp
Grilled Beef with Spicy Satay Dip
Cheese Board (optional)

Dessert items:
Cheese Board
and/or
Thai Curry Truffles
Olive Oil Brownies with Toasted Walnuts
Pecan Shortbread
Lavender Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze

The flow of dishes above accounts for two important considerations: (1) early guests have something to nibble until the bulk of the crowd arrives; and (2) hot food can be presented when you have the maximum crowd there, so it can be enjoyed at its peak of temperature and freshness.

We recommend serving the light hors d’oeuvres for the first 20-30 minutes, as most people tend to be “fashionably” late — this is a judgment call you will have to make according to the size of the crowd at that time.

In case you have not yet perused our Entertaining section, our article The Magic of Ambience is full of tips and tricks to set the right mood for your gathering, including lighting, music and table displays.

Recipes

Food:
There are far too many to list here, so simply click through to our full recipe listing. Remember that many of these recipes can be featured as individual servings, so get creative!

Don’t forget to see our Cheese Course dossier for serving your selection of cheeses.

Drinks:
You can serve a variety of beverages for your gathering, so see our Cocktails, Anyone? dossier for your bar setup and our cocktail recipes for drinks. The following articles will also help you in the area of wines:

Champagne
Sparkling Wines
Wine Selections