January 24th, 2013 - Soup to Nuts!

I love to cook.  I started in college, and I was not a connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination.  My recipes consisted of various types of Ramen and canned soups, crock pots, and a lot of casserole dishes.  Hell, there were points where I ate chip sandwiches, which meant chips and BBQ sauce on a bun (it was college, and my money went to expenses other than food).

But I've gotten better, and I like to try cooking new things.  Last night, I decided to treat myself and Elizabeth to a "Soup to Nuts" dinner.  This refers to a full course meal, when many courses are delivered in sequence over a longer period of time than a normal dinner.  The first class passengers on the Titanic were served a 10 course meal, and to celebrate his 60th birthday, a man in Kentucky had a 60 course meal over the span of 8 1/2 hours.  I decided that was a bit extreme, so I stuck to serving six courses instead.

For inspiration, I used recipes out of a cookbook that my mom gave me when I moved to North Carolina.  Most of these recipes called for heavy cream and frying things into submission, so I had to modify them quite a bit so they could be in the same ballpark as "healthy."  I started prepping when I got home around 6pm, and our final course ended around 10pm,

First Course - Appetizer
Smoked Oyster Dip

Second Course - Soup
Tomato soup with basil

Third Course - Salad
Asparagus salad with romaine, tarragon and kale

Intermission
Sherbet to cleanse the palate

Fourth Course - Poultry
Chicken Parmesan with succotash

Fifth Course - Dessert
Strawberries with cream and brown sugar

Sixth Course - Nuts
Almonds and hazelnut coffee

You might notice that I didn't actually start with the "soup" course, and so I didn't technically have a "Soup to Nuts" dinner.  Many planning sites that I found said that this was the way to serve it, and this was the order of the courses that should be followed.  So there.

It was really interesting eating a meal like this, as I've never been one to divide out my food.  I like to take a bit of turkey with stuffing and cranberries and mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving.  I like to search for the "perfect bite."

Eating this way, however, made me appreciate each individual dish on it's own.  I didn't feel overly stuffed, which was surprising, because I was sure that I'd be bursting by the end.  Spreading it out helped me digest at an easier pace, and it made for an overall enjoyable experience.  And by having a variety of dishes, we each could have something we liked (I preferred the Smoked Oyster Dip, while Elizabeth liked the main course).

It's not something I'd do every night (I don't think our little kitchen could take it).  But it's definitely something that I'd like to try again, and maybe with even more courses.

Just not 60.  That's ridiculous.