For this event I put a great deal more effort into the amount of dishes and their presentation. So my wine pairing planning portion was a far more extensive exercise.
The Basics
LOCATION / FACILITY: Our wine pairing party was at the same lovely home with a waterfront view. Very open floor plan and guests could see into the kitchen. Luckily most were looking at the view or each other, not staring at me.
Same two working ovens, but not great ventilation. Serving of courses would happen on marble countertops between the dining area and the kitchen.
Occasion Type: A cocktail party and not a sit-down dinner. Business casual, and most people knew each other from the club.
When: St Patrick’s Day, the evening of March 17th. We had an earlier spring that year, but still very cool at night at the early transition from Winter to Spring. Some ingredients were hard to find “fresh” so made due with a couple tricks (such as rehydrated dried figs.)
Headcount: Last round we had several “add ons” so I again estimated for for 30 people in all. And with my double the dish strategy, that was a lot to manage.
Special Considerations: As I learned from the last event, several people have issues with gluten’s (allergy or just dieting). Also there are some vegetarian and other meat-related opt-outs. This menu provides much great options to care for those requests.
Budget: Though I had a lot of dishes, there was a lot of vegetable elements throughout. In addition, I kept the servings small, as I plated the dishes per course together. This kept me in the same grocery bill zone as last time – you can spread out a budget further if fill with standard unprepped vegetables.
Early Prep
While I was more mentally prepared this round, I had much more work. Double the dishes and plating each course meant a lot of wine paring planning.
Menu & Recipes – With it being St. Patrick’s day, my highlighted meal was the Braised Corned Beef. I spent some time figuring out how to marry a red wine with flavors I could manipulate in the braise and glaze. Turn out clove was the magic spice.
I took more care build recipes along with tasting wines to ensure a good pairing. This is an important step in good wine pairing planning. Don’t just trust generalities, taste the wine!
I choose multiple dishes for several courses to showcase the range of flavors that can pair with one wine. And that people may have different preferences (from sweeter to saltier for example).
Sketches – I incorporated more design into the plating itself and making sure that both dishes for the course was served on the same plate. Details had to include the actual dish shape used (there were several different ones). These drawings were my guide as we assembled.
Prep Timing – I created a break down what elements I could make several days in advance versus what needs to be prepped day of. I really pushed to do as much in advance as I could, knowing how time just flies by when you are trying to get course plated and served.
Example PDF coming…
Ingredient List – I go through each recipe and list out the ingredients, even the items I already have. This helps me assess full quantities needed. Then I split the list for what’s need early on to do advanced prep vs later. I buy the fresh ingredients (veggies and such) the day before. Yes, this requires a couple rounds of shopping.
Tip: During first rounds of shopping, look around the produce to see if the stores are even stocking what you need and that it looks good. I often try a couple different stores.
Example PDF coming…
Supply List — Even if you “think” you have it or someone else has it, list every item you will need for the dishes (with the amounts): skewers, special dishes, cups, etc. In my case, the dishes were already purchased, but there were limited quantities. We had to plan around it (and reuse a set).
Example PDF coming…
Special Equipment List – I had most of what I needed for putting these dishes together. As I noted, I purchased some special sauce spoons and some plating tweezers, but that was more because I really wanted those items. I should have purchased an iso whipper (you’ll see why in later notes).
Kitchen Equipment List – When you are using someone else’s kitchen, it is surprising what you have versus what they have. I list things out and do a check on what the place can provide (or if I want to use). This year my cushioned kitchen mats were a must. And my own knives that I sharped ahead of time.
Example PDF coming…
Time Table – I consider time tables to be rather optimistic, because courses like this is a lot of work and stuff happens. But it provides an outline and when things have to go in and out of the oven, it keeps you on task. It’s really a check off list and an order of operation. And again, I do as much ahead of time as possible. If the time tables get to tight, that is when you have to really look at trimming something back or simplifying the dish.
The final version is on the next page under Party Prep
Master Notebook – This is my bible for the night that I keep right by my side. Everything goes in here: menu details, recipes, sketches, time table. Any variations for the dishes based on dietary need.