Sugar Magnolia Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 (edited) It's Mr. Sugar and my 24th wedding anniversary. Instead of going out to eat, we are cooking a meal together. We love cooking together, and to us, more fun and special than going out. On the menu is: Grilled Lamb and Fig Skewers with Mint-Pepper Glaze and Grilled Eggplant (no vomit emoticons for eggplant haters please) and Tabouli. We need a salad or appetizer. There's already tomato in the Tabouli and mint in both dishes and Mr. Sugar doesn't like feta cheese which rules out some dishes I had in mind. We also need a wine selection in the $20-$25 range. I was thinking of something with some good Greek olives or tappanade but haven't found anything yet. Any help? Edited August 27, 2007 by Sugar Magnolia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 (edited) A tapenade would be your easiest to prepare, here's one that I got from Alton Brown that we use a lot along with some crostinis... 1/2 pound pitted kalamata olives 2 anchovy fillets, rinsed 1 small clove garlic, minced 2 tablespoons capers 2 to 3 fresh basil leaves 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Thoroughly rinse the olives in cool water. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture becomes a coarse paste, approximately 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer to a bowl and serve with crostinis. For the crostinis- Slice up a loaf and brush with melted butter and garlic Place in oven around 325 and let them become golden brown or lightly fry in pan Wine - Malbec or Tempranillo EDIT: I t was driving me nuts that I couldn't remember the word "crostinis". It actually came to me in the middle of a meeting. Good to see where my focus was. Edited August 27, 2007 by twiley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nogohawk Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Malbec would be a good choice if you can find a good one for the price. Another choice would be a Austrailian Shiraz - 2004 and 2005 were very good years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 mixed greens with lemon, dill vinaigrette, with warm chevre blend: 2 shallots 1/4 c lemon juice 1/2 tbs chopped dill 1/2 tbs sugar salt and white pepper emulsify inot that 1 c canola or grapeseed oil diced or sliced cucumber (about 1/2 or 1/4 of a cuc- peeled and seeded) 4-5 pear tomatos slice chevre into 1/4 or 1/8 inch rounds. lightly dredge. pan sear each side... serve warm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Chicken Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Prosciutto and Melon 1 Honeydew 1 Cantelope/Muskmelon (a Galia Melon is good too if you can find it) 6-8 slices Prosciutto di Parma either use a melon baller and make... melon balls or just cut some bite size pieces wrap a melon ball in a strip of prosciutto, secure with a toothpick Its simple, it tastes great, and you can use the left overs for breakfast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 It's Mr. Sugar and my 24th wedding anniversary. Instead of going out to eat, we are cooking a meal together. We love cooking together, and to us, more fun and special than going out. On the menu is: Grilled Lamb and Fig Skewers with Mint-Pepper Glaze and Grilled Eggplant (no vomit emoticons for eggplant haters please) and Tabouli. We need a salad or appetizer. There's already tomato in the Tabouli and mint in both dishes and Mr. Sugar doesn't like feta cheese which rules out some dishes I had in mind. We also need a wine selection in the $20-$25 range. I was thinking of something with some good Greek olives or tappanade but haven't found anything yet. Any help? Lamb is so versatile, you can go in any number of directions, but the fig and mint are the key players here. Typically, a big red would be the way to go but I think you may need something a little lighter to pair with the fruit and mint. How much mint will you be tasting? I think you may have the opportunity to drink some wines with this dinner that certainly wouldn't come from the more typical wine regions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia Posted August 27, 2007 Author Share Posted August 27, 2007 Lamb is so versatile, you can go in any number of directions, but the fig and mint are the key players here. Typically, a big red would be the way to go but I think you may need something a little lighter to pair with the fruit and mint. How much mint will you be tasting? I think you may have the opportunity to drink some wines with this dinner that certainly wouldn't come from the more typical wine regions. There is a 1/4 cup of mint in the Lamb dish and 1/4 cup in the Tabouli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PantherDave Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Hearts of Romaine-1 bag Small can mandarin oranges-drained Roasted Pecans-about two fingers high in a sammich bag, and bust them up Crumbled Blue Cheese-nicely cover salad but don't overdue Find "Good Seasons"- Garlic and Herb dressing(the powder mix you make in a Carafe) Mix together and toss with the dressing-outstanding salad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 There is a 1/4 cup of mint in the Lamb dish and 1/4 cup in the Tabouli In that case, the answer is clearly Pinot....ok, maybe not this time. Because of the mint, I don't like the Malbec suggestion either. Certainly, malbec (esp an Argentinian) would be fine with some lamb dishes but it doesn't sound like lamb is going to be the dominant flavor. I like the Shiraz suggestion because of the pepper. That could work well. Another popular suggestion would be Bordeaux / Cabs or blends but I don't think those are great matches for this preparation either. A Cotes du Rhone (or even du Beaune) would probably be better. A tempranillio or similar wines from the Duero region should work nicely. You could also do well with a Greek or Lebanese wine but you'll probably have to look around to find one with relatively low acidity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Chicken Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 So what was the final menu? How did it turn out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia Posted August 28, 2007 Author Share Posted August 28, 2007 So what was the final menu? How did it turn out? The grilled lamb/fig skewers with the mint glaze were out of this world-I'll try to find it and post-hubby found it on epicurious.com. We labeled in as restuarant quality and really easy to make. We did the melon/proscuito (sp?) suggestion by Thunder Chicken and that was very good. Hubby liked the Tabouli salad better than I did. We didn't do the salad suggestions since the Tabouli was really a salad. Would like to try Bier's salad sometime. We make a salad all the time like PD's except using pear or apple instead of the oranges. For the wine, we already had a 2001 Malbec from one of our favorite wineries for deep reds-Obsurity Cellars in Fairplay, CA. We wouldn't have opened it without the suggestions here. It was on one of the best bottles we've had in a long time. Thanks for all of the suggestions-Huddle comes through again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 The grilled lamb/fig skewers with the mint glaze were out of this world-I'll try to find it and post-hubby found it on epicurious.com. We labeled in as restuarant quality and really easy to make. We did the melon/proscuito (sp?) suggestion by Thunder Chicken and that was very good. Hubby liked the Tabouli salad better than I did. We didn't do the salad suggestions since the Tabouli was really a salad. Would like to try Bier's salad sometime. We make a salad all the time like PD's except using pear or apple instead of the oranges. For the wine, we already had a 2001 Malbec from one of our favorite wineries for deep reds-Obsurity Cellars in Fairplay, CA. We wouldn't have opened it without the suggestions here. It was on one of the best bottles we've had in a long time. Thanks for all of the suggestions-Huddle comes through again. Glad you liked the Malbec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Chicken Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 The grilled lamb/fig skewers with the mint glaze were out of this world-I'll try to find it and post-hubby found it on epicurious.com. We labeled in as restuarant quality and really easy to make. We did the melon/proscuito (sp?) suggestion by Thunder Chicken and that was very good. Hubby liked the Tabouli salad better than I did. We didn't do the salad suggestions since the Tabouli was really a salad. Would like to try Bier's salad sometime. We make a salad all the time like PD's except using pear or apple instead of the oranges. For the wine, we already had a 2001 Malbec from one of our favorite wineries for deep reds-Obsurity Cellars in Fairplay, CA. We wouldn't have opened it without the suggestions here. It was on one of the best bottles we've had in a long time. Thanks for all of the suggestions-Huddle comes through again. Excellent. Glad it worked out. I'll be interested to see the recipe for the skewers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia Posted August 29, 2007 Author Share Posted August 29, 2007 Here's the link for the grilled lamb/fig skewers http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/238566 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Chicken Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 Thanks. looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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