Tag Archives: lobster canapés

French Bistro Menu

One has to be a  fan of French Bistro dishes. The classic French Bistro has a relatively small menu of items that are made to perfection. The chef knows what his customers like and he knows what he can make well. Consequently, it makes excellent supper club fare. This menu combines some old favorites with a few new items.
The problem with the menu is that it calls for a lot to be done at the last minute. The solution is:
 
1. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate
2. Make as much as you can in advance (Mise en place)

Canapés

What is not to like about the combination of classic flavors that can be consumed in one bite? These canapés are a little different in that they are low carb with the Parmesan Crisps replacing the traditional bread or cracker.

Bistro Clams

The goal here was to recreate the classic flavor profile of escargots in a simple format without the polarizing snails. The best part of this dish is garlic herb butter. It is recommended that you drizzle the plate with a little extra butter and provide a crusty piece of bread to sop up the butter. The beauty of this dish is that it can be made in advance and quickly baked and served.

Grilled Steaks

Steak is a cornerstone of the Bistro menu. This version is different in that it calls for a 2-inch-thick steak. The thicker steak takes a little longer to cook, but the window to get the perfect medium rare is wider as well. Paring it with Mushroom Aus Jus sauce works really well. My buddy Lucien, the French Chef, hates that I use the packaged sauce, but it is simple to make and delivers a wonderful flavor complement. Plate with 3 slices of steak.

Pommes Macarre

This dish is an old standby that was Scotty Flora’s favorite. It incorporates all the basic food groups, potato, butter, onion, bacon and cheese. What is not to like? We should probably have French Fries with this menu, but Pommes Macarre can be made in advance and if it was good enough for Scott, it is good enough for me.

Roasted Asparagus Et Jambon

This is a dish that combines a classic French cooking method (Large pot blanching) with roasting and ham. It just works. It is also great in that 90% of the preparation it can be done in advance with the final step of roasting done at the last minute.

Baba au Rhum

This was my buddy John Argiro’s favorite. John was our Sales Manager for Europe who grew up in the south of France (The actor Yves Montand was his first cousin). John couldn’t pass a patisserie that had Baba au Rhum in the window. The recipe is from Ina Gartner, the Barefoot Contessa who lives on Long Island, but is a real Francophile.

Staging

With the exception of the steak, everything can be delegated. I recommend designating one person to do the grilling and another to do manage the broiler. This way while the steaks are grilling you can first broil the asparagus to crisp the jambon and then broil the clams. When the steak is done:

  • Spoon on the compound butter and let the steak rest for 15 minutes
  • Get everyone to sit down
  • Serve the clams while the asparagus and potato are being warmed in the oven.
  • After the clams are done, plate the main course
  • Plate the main course with a spoonful of the bearnaise sauce under the steak
  • Enjoy

French Menu Production Plan

Delegate

  • Asparagus
  • Pommes macérer
  • Baba au ruhm

Make ahead

  • Compound butter 
  • Garlic parsley butter 
  • Parmesan crisps
  • Cucumber/Celery/Scallion Mélange 
  • Waste cream

Saturday Final Prep Plan

Between 2 and 5 pm (Mise en Place)

  • Make canapés 
  • Lightly sauté mushrooms 
  • make au jus
  • broil clams to open
  • lightly sauté bacon
  • open cooled clams
  • top clams with butter and bacon

6:30

  • set up bar
  • put canapés out

7:00

  • Warm
    • au jus
    • bread
  • Preheat broiler and grill
  • Greet guests serve drinks/canapés 

7:15

  • Grill steaks
  • Delegate broiling asparagus

7:20

  • Delegate broiling clams
  • microwave extra butter

7:30

  • Apply compound butter to cooked steaks 
    • Note: pull steaks off of grill at rare as they will continue to cook as they rest
  • Warm
    • potatoes
    • asparagus
    • mushrooms in aus jus
  • Serve clams with extra butter and bread

8:00

  • Plate and serve main course

Wine

I should recommend a few bottles of Bordeaux, but you can’t beat a glass of California Chardonnay with the clams and California Cabernet with the steak

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

 

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

One of the funniest things that ever happened at a Supper Club event goes back to a New Years Eve party we had several years back. Before I go further I have to say two things:

1. Alcohol was involved
2. Names have been changed to protect the guilty

Susan and I hosted a neighborhood New Years Eve party for years. This year in question involved extensive appetizers/drinks, dinner/drinks, game/drinks and dessert/drinks. About a quarter of the way through the evening “Ralph”, who I had probably over-served, announced to party that his new years resolution was to “have more sex in the new year”. His wife who is usually adept at controlling such out bursts was missing in action. It really got out of control when another neighbor who was a psychologist started querying: “So Ralph tell us what you really feel?” As you can guess Ralph was the target for a fair amount of teasing, but the evening went on and a good time (non-sex related) was had by all.

A few days later I was back at work and got a call from Ralph to apologize for his S.E.X. comments at the party. While the whole thing was funny to me, poor Ralph had taken a (deserved) beating from his wife and probably had been forced to give me a call. Later that day my wife and kids met me at McDonalds for lunch. In recalling the highlights of my day I told Susan about Ralph’s call and apology for comments. I was careful to spell out the S.E.X. word in front of the children. My daughter Jennifer who was about 9 quickly leans across the table and carefully turns to protect her brother Brian (6) and whispers “You had S.E.X. at the party?” Susan and I both initially burst into laughter and then almost in harmony ask “How do you know about S.E.X.”. To which Jennifer answered confidently “Oh Lydia (Ralph’s daughter aged 10) has told me all about it”. In the immortal words of Ricky Ricardo on “I love Lucy” we had quite a bit of explaining to do.

One of the keys to a great party is a great appetizer. I love canapés. Try these (Clockwise):

  1. Mini Tacos With Pulled Pork
  2. Gourmet Grilled Cheese
  3. Beef Tenderloin On A Parmesan Crisp
  4. Lobster With A Wasabi Aioli

Do you want to catch up on similar tacky stories? Keep an eye out for my book Impromptu Friday Nights – A Guide to Supper Clubs – from Morgan James Publishing sold anywhere where books are sold.