To both push ourselves and accommodate a vegetarian friend, we elected to attempt an all vegie menu with only some success. The menu was:
Vegetarian Wine Menu
Kanda Bhaji (Vegetable Pakora) with Tamarind Sauce
Vegetarian French Onion Soup
Creamed Mushrooms in Puff Pastry Cups
Cauliflower- Goat Cheese Soufflé
Parsnip Nut Loaf with Red Wine Gravy
Paneer Tikka Masala
Endive Boats with Cherry-Walnut Filling
Cheese Plate
Nectarine Tart
The pakoras were good and disappeared quickly. The vegetarian French onion soup lacked the depth of it’s meat-based brethren and I can’t recommend it so the recipe is not included. The mushrooms in puff pastry is a variation of our standard- never had a bad review. The soufflé was a riff on the Julia Child’s traditional one that tasted great- surprisingly, the timing work well and there was minimal. Given that this was Julia’s, we didn’t change anything from volume1 of the Mastering the Art of French Cooking recipe. The nut-loaf was, well, nut-loaf. The layers were pretty but the dish overall rather bland- a fair amount of work for an OK result. The paneer tikka masala work out well but the recipe used was clearly written by a good cook with minimal English skills. I have included with what we did- probably similar to the intent but unclear. The endive boats were a simple combination of finely chopped Bing cherries, walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese in an endive leaf. The Gorgonzola was too mild in this presentation and I would consider a tangier goat cheese to replace it in the future. the conclusion was Cathy’s riff on her classic tart this time using fresh nectarines.
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