suggest me a starter plz urbanz

[Pingu]

ok I am cooking a meal for my mum tomorrow I have main and desert sorted:

Main

• Chicken breasts stuffed with cream cheese, chives and onions wrapped in panchetta.
• chopped potatoes with lardons, onion and butternut squash roasted in goose fat
• a sauce consistng of various mushrooms (normal, field oysterm chesnut and some more exotic stuff) lightly firied with finely cut streaky bacon onion a teeny bit of garlic and then a bit of creme fresh added to sauce it all up
• various steamed veg

Desert

Apple crumble and custard (my mums favourite)


I would like something light for the starter, was going to do soup but its really warm and i think a soup may be a bit too much.

so any suggestions?

pate is out as my mum doesnt like it

 

[Corax]

Prawn cocktail's making something of a comeback after becoming a 1970/80's cliche.

ETA: This looks quite a good one, if you have any of those stacky things.

http://goodiegoodieyumyum.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/modern-prawn-cocktail.html

 

[Pingu]

yeah .. did think of that but its ...

well its prawn cocktail init?

 

[purenarcotic]

What about a salad? Something like endive leaves with poached pears, toasted walnuts, some blue cheese and a sweet mustard dressing? Or a more simple ceaser type salad, or an Italian tricolore salad (tomato, basil and mozzarella with a good olive oil, salt and pepper as a dressing)?

Or a gazpacho, if you think a hot soup would be too much?

Does she like fish / seafood? Something with prawns, perhaps? Or some mussels?

 

[purenarcotic]

Can't beat a decent prawn cocktail, I have to say.

 

[Pingu]

hmm ceaser salad, that could work

she does like mussels too... and not exactly hard to do either

 

[mrs quoad]

1 pomegranate
2 fennel heads (i.e. fresh fennel bulbs)
70+g of feta
Bit of olive oil
Lemon juice
Sumac (?)


i) whack seeds out of pomegranate
ii) slice fennel super-fine (recipe recommends a mandolin )
iii) dice feta
iv) mix approx. 1 lemon's juice with approx. 1tbsp (mebbe a bit more) olive oil and sumac ( )
v) toss fennel in juices above
vi) layer: fennel (bottom); feta (above); pomegranate seeds (top).

f.u.c.k.i.n.g. a.w.e.s.o.m.e.

You may thank me later.

e2a: oh, also, I couldn't find 'sumac' so didn't bother. Apparently it's a lemony drupe. So I added a tiny bit more lemon. Meh.

Otto Lenghi.

Sumac is awesome, btw.

 

[Cid]

Baba ganoush, Caprese, stuffed vine leaves, bruschetta, home made houmous etc.

 

[Cid]

Otto Lenghi.

Sumac is awesome, btw.

His name is Yotam Ottolenghi btw. Not Otto Lenghi.

 

[sheothebudworths]

Whatever you decide on, don't forget the bacon...

 

[ymu]

Do a twist on a prawn cocktail with smoked mackerel instead of prawns and horseradish cream instead of marie rose sauce.

Any decent horseradish sauce would be fine for the dressing, thinnned down with sour cream and maybe some white wine vinegar.

 

[StoneRoad]

smoked mackeral or kipper pate, brown toast, horseradish dressing, leaf salad.
or
melon balls or slices (several kinds)

 

[Callie]

What *is* sumac?

 

[Cid]

It says in Quoad's post, it's a lemony drupe.

 

[Callie]

What *is* a drupe?

I didnt even see that bit, think my eyes are broke.

 

[Cid]

A type of fruit.

 

[Poot]

God I love starters. This is making me sooo hungry...

 

[RubyToogood]

Whatever you decide on, don't forget the bacon...

Yeah I think the main problem with the menu you outline is that neither the veg nor the apple crumble contain bacon Surely you can work them in somehow?

For the starter I would suggest devils on horseback, pea and ham soup or melon and parma ham.

 

[Pingu]

my mum "fuckin loves bacon"

and mushrooms

hence the bacon/mushroom overload. the main and desert are her current faourites which is why i am doing them. sadly she doesnt have a favourite starter or things would be easier.

going to give quodys suggestion a go

 

[Picadilly Commando]

rottweiler livers poached in sherry

 

[Epona]

Hollow out some fresh tomatoes (as large as you can get, beef tomatoes if possible), so you have hollow tomatoes with an entry point at the top - drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with thyme and black pepper and a little salt and roast them on about 190C for 10 mins, then loosely stuff the empty tomatoes with some fresh mozzarella (shredded), you can layer the mozzarella with finely chopped roasted peppers if you like (if using peppers, pre-roast them for about 15 mins until the skin starts to char). Top each tomato up with a little olive oil and put back in the oven for 10 minutes until the mozzarella has melted and gone all stringy like it does Reduce the cooking time if using smaller toms. Piss-easy, and never fails to please (unless someone hates tomatoes or mozzarella!)

 

[Superdupastupor]

You've got to give the people 'what they want though' therfore:

butter in pan til nicely sizling
+ fairly sliced button mushroom
+ 'hot-water loose skined' cheery tomatase

make it cooked brown and nice smelling, take off heat

**brown slices of bread in toast machine**

add correct amount of sour cream to mush+tomat mix to heat through.

Add to toast.






It's very good, veryy quick and very easy

 

[mrs quoad]

my mum "fuckin loves bacon"

and mushrooms

hence the bacon/mushroom overload. the main and desert are her current faourites which is why i am doing them. sadly she doesnt have a favourite starter or things would be easier.

going to give quodys suggestion a go

3 things worth mentioning IME...

Don't worry about sumac if you don't already have it. It's a bugger to find.

The finer / thinner the fennel, the better (I ended up getting a mandolin largely bc of this salad!)

AND the "cut it in half & thump it with a wooden spoon" method is srsly the only sane & easy way to get the nice bits from a pomegranate.

E2a: