Thursday, March 3, 2016

Dinner menu for Saturday, March 19th & Sunday, March 20th

I am (FINALLY) ready to share the dinner menu for March, but first--because I think about these monthly dinners constantly--here are some questions I have found myself asking when preparing the menu (scroll down to the blue if you just wanna see the menu and availability for March):

- What's seasonal and local and fresh? Okay, so what's available in DC?
- What meat/poultry/fish to feature in the main course?
- Should I prepare an entire vegetarian dinner menu?
- How complicated will each course be the day of the dinner?
- How will the presentation look for each course?
- What will be used to garnish?
- How much use of my oven and range will be needed?
- How much can I prepare in the evenings before?
- Will I need to speak with the farmers, butchers and markets in advance?

Suffice to say, I have learned so much about the often complicated answers to these questions, but through it all, I have become a smarter chef in my Tiny Kitchen, and more importantly, I now know what ingredients to have on-hand daily, what type of kitchen equipment is essential, and what I can do to improve every month, every meal, every dining experience. So here are a few things I have learned:

- garnishes and sauces are everything
- plating is also very important
- a good place setting is necessary
- service is equally important as how the food tastes
- the music will ultimately set and determine the mood
- building the menus take days of planning, thought, and phone calls, so plan each monthly dinner three weeks in advance

So now, without further delay and after a week of planning, here is the three-course set menu for Saturday, March 19th & Sunday, March 20th:

Pickled Shrimp and Fava Smash on Rye Toast with White Gazpacho

Prosciutto-wrapped Atlantic Halibut with Sage Butter Sauce, Crispy Curry Roasted Broccoflower and Lemon Zest Capellini

Strawberry Tartlets with Breton Shortbread Crust

If you are interested in placing a reservation for Sunday, March 20th, please email Tiny Kitchen at trevormsparks@gmail.com with the names of the guests joining. At this time, Saturday, March 19th has been fully booked. The dinner menu in April will be fully vegetarian, and at this time, Saturday, April 23rd is fully booked, but Sunday, April 24th has availability. The vegetarian menu for April will be available soon--stay tuned!

- Chef Trev