Need help figuring out a main course.

[XexoX]

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That being said, there are Jews who keep a kosher kitchen at home but will be less stringent eating out. Some will eat only dairy food, or only cold dairy or pareve foods that haven’t been prepared in a kosher kitchen. Others don’t keep kosher in the halakhically normative sense but still avoid pork, shellfish, and/or obvious meat-dairy mixtures. (Me included!)

I was once told about a hostess, when asking a specific dinner guest what he would like her to prepare, he always said ham. She finally asked why he would ask for ham when was Jewish. He replied that he would never be so rude as to not eat what she served, and he did like ham and this was the only chance he got to eat it. I think either or both of these people were "known" in their day, but I can't recall if their names were mentioned when I was told the story and unfortunately the man who told it to me passed away in the last year, at only 98.5 years old.

[Robstreperous]

So I'm in business. Got the duck bacon. The beef bourgegnon. is a go. I'll do a similar mushroom dish as the meat alternative and use noodles for the base...

@Gladius looking very seriously at the Julia and Jacques video. I really love that plating. I'm considering doing my sides from their list.

[gladius]

@Gladius looking very seriously at the Julia and Jacques video. I really love that plating. I'm considering doing my sides from their list.

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Yeah, that looked very nice. I am sure it will be a hit. Take photos and let us know how it goes. Good luck!

[shreejisteel]

It sounds like you've got some fantastic elements for your main course already! If you're drawing inspiration from Julia Child and Jacques Pépin, perhaps you could complement the beef bourguignon and the mushroom dish with a classic French side that they might use, such as glazed carrots or a green bean almondine. These sides are elegant yet simple, allowing the main dishes to shine, and they fit beautifully with the French theme.

For the plating, following Julia and Jacques's style, aim for elegance and simplicity. A neatly arranged portion of noodles, topped with either the beef bourguignon or the mushroom alternative, garnished with a sprinkle of fresh herbs could look very appealing. If you include sides like carrots or green beans, placing them neatly alongside the main dish will create a balanced and visually pleasing plate.

What do you think about these suggestions? Would you like more ideas for sides or any other part of your meal?

[Robstreperous]

Hey.. thanks for asking. It came off really well last weekend. I used noodles and did a provencale potato gratin sans ancovies or cheese. Simply due to time avaialbe I paired it with simple sauteed spinaich.

Truthfully? I ended up cooking and serving 14. I'm still recovering a bit. It isn't just the cooking. There's shopping and home prep and cleaning and more cleaning. It was fun but.. glad I'm not doing it again for a while.

The beef bourgignon came out pretty good. I wouldn't say pefect. The duck bacon I used had a nice smokey taste but I felt it was a little far along the sour scale rellative to what I"m used to. I tried compensating by adding sugar but could only take it so far. Possibly if I needed to do it next time I"d use a frutier wine. I used a relatively full bordeaux.

You're 100% right about the plating. We used a nice china with a springlike pattern of violets... It was definitely a hit. I think we've got pictures somewhere... will send...

[salemj]

Scratch corned beef n cabbage is a fun low brow high brow play, I have some good wet brine ratios if that suits your needs… same spec but involves a smoker is pastrami… Two sides of salmon can feed more than 12 and is low fuss in a low temp oven til 123 degrees if you change your mind on fish it’s a real easy one to pull off.

I'm very late to this party! But I figured I'd share the following.

I have to admit that I cook salmon more and more for guests. It is easy, fast, and relatively fool-proof if you follow the rules. JMC is the master, but I'll admit that I prefer to cook salmon (whole sides) on a pizza stone in the top of the oven or on the grill (still on a stone)—meaning I opt for high-temp fast rather than low-temp slow. It usually takes about 6-7 minutes and turns out wonderfully. I preheat the oven to 500 or so, then switch to broil and pop the fish on the stone. Depending on the marinade (and basically every decent salmon marinade has some sugar) you get a bit of char on the fish without actually charing the fish, and you can do this while still achieving a medium-rare, especially if you are willing to flip the fish (first two minutes skin-side up, then flip for next 4 or so). In my experience, the marinade is the key: a good marinade/brine (and high temp?) seems to help avoid the issue of albumin.

BTW, I do this with lean salmon (wild Pacific varieties). But I have also done it with fatty Atlantic with adjustments, which can be delicious. You can start the marinade before the hors d'oeuves, come home to immediately turn on the oven, and have the whole thing ready to serve within 20-30 minutes of arrival back home easy. Goes well with green beans, asparagus, bok choi, etc. Maybe something to practice and try for next time!