Thanksgiving Culinary Tour # 3 Beef
Thanksgiving is upon us and instead of a traditional feast with turkey and dressing you might want to lead your family through a culinary tour with something different. The following tour is centered on red meat and involves some beforehand preparation so that Thanksgiving will be a gastronomic success. You can easily blend the suggested entree with your normal Thanksgiving fare. New age meets tradition in this tour.
Each of the following courses is relatively easy to prepare and some of them can be made in advance. You should pay close attention to the recommended wines as they will add a wonderful touch to your feast.
Carpaccio Cipriani is an excellent dish to start any Thanksgiving. This is a great way to start the tour, as the preparation time is about 10 minutes and it tastes wonderful. The beef may be sliced the evening before and kept in the refrigerator overnight. Just be sure to cover it tightly. Serve with warm French bread and Chianti Rouge.
You may serve this next dish first or with all of the other culinary delights on your table.
Stuffed vegetables from the Provence region are a great accompaniment of the beef and have great visual appeal. The beauty of this dish is that everyone can have a different vegetable. This dish will be equally as delicious without the meat. You may prepare the stuffing without the various meats or choose one or the other. This will take about an hour to prepare and is best served with a fruity, yet dry Cote de Provence.
A magnificent main course is Beef fillet with red wine which takes approximately two hours to prepare. The fillets are tender enough to melt in your mouth and should be served with the signature wine of Montalcino, Tuscany; Brunello.
The beauty of the beef fillet with red wine is that you can serve this with all of your own traditional dishes like garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, homemade rolls, and a green vegetable like Asparagous rissolee with truffle puree. This takes about an hour to prepare but the celery puree can be made the evening before. Sancerre Rose is the wine of choice for this dish.
To complete this culinary tour you may finish with Bananas Flambeed with Rum and Soft Caramel. This is a grand and luscious way to complete a lovely culinary tour shared with friends and family. This is an easy 15-minute dessert and should be served with espresso or a rich, spicy Gewurztraminer SGN.
With this tour have all of the suggested wines available so that your guests may choose which they prefer. You can instruct them on the recommendations and they may want to try each of them.
Keep in mind that the majority of these recipes are designed to serve four (4) people, so plan accordingly. Be sure to set a beautiful table and try the Pliage en epi napkin fold to add a beautiful finishing touch. With a little preplanning, purchasing, and preparation you can give your family and guests a delicious meal that will be remembered until next year. And you will be able to enjoy the day.
