Your Final Feast

OK, I have thought about what to eat in the event of my last meal for quite some time and it was very difficult to decide what my favorite dishes would be. I forced myself to choose in all categories, but I could not do it for the desserts. It was humanly impossible for me and I narrowed it down to my 3 favorite ones.

Starter:
A fresh salad.
I love the kinds of salads they have at good restaurants with roasted nuts and apple or pear slices in it, set off by a tangy dressing.
I had a salad like that when Ryan and I went out to celebrate his 30s B-day at the Culinary Institute of America (short: CIA) in St. Helena. Yummy!

Entrée:
Fondue Bourguignonne!
For those not familiar with it: This is a big bowl of hot oil heated over a little stove in the middle of the table. With long forks, you take pieces of meat and deep fry them in the oil. I prefer chicken breast, beef and pork filet. This whole dish is served with a lot of different dipping sauces and baguette. My favorite dipping sauce is a cocktail sauce made from mayonnaise, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and Cognac.
We used to eat this mostly on either Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve and it was always a great opportunity for the family to sit down and spend time together. A lot of good memories go with this dish. Also, this was the last meal I ever shared with my dad.

Cheese plate:
A mixture of cheeses: Goat Cheese, Parmesan, Gruyere and others. This should be accompanied by a 30 year old bottle of red wine, preferably the exact same bottle Christine gave me as a goodbye present and which just tasted so wonderfully rich and creamy…

Desert:
Tiramisu – The real stuff, made with mascarpone cheese and NOT whip cream
Chocolate lava cake – So unbelievably good! The hot, not completely solid cake runs out when you put your fork in and mixes with some vanilla ice cream on the side. The cake has to be done just right with a rich chocolate flavor and not too much sweetness.
Crème Brûlée – With a nice crust of caramelized sugar on top. I would actually prefer the version I had in Barcelona. It had a different name there, but it was essentially the same just a little lighter and fluffier.
This desert selection should be accompanied by a nicely aged and well rounded port.

And since this is my last meal and I don’t have to think about my health, I will end the meal with a clove cigarette and a glass of Laphroaig whisky.

All this, of course, is only worth while if I have a couple of good friends sharing it with me. No matter how good a meal is, it just won’t taste right, if I have to eat it all by myself.

Hello there!
Well, I would have to say, a not to spicy gumbo.
The key ingredients I would love to have are shrimp, home made and aged Spanish and various non spicy sausages (like the ones used in paella) over a firm bed of brown rice. I would make sure the base does not over take the mass of brown rice. With it, a French bread bought from the local super market. The bread would then be toasted to a slight burn in the outside. With that a bowl of honey and roasted almonds in it.
I am the type of person who loves to use bread as a eating utensil, as much as possible. That is how I would start my meal.
When done with the gumbo, I would wash away the gumbo with a mug full of ice cold tea. Then I would use same type of bread on the bowl of honey and really take my time with that.
For some reason food is much more enjoyable when I use my hands. The way you sit has a lot to the way you enjoy your food.
For example, for my gumbo I would lean more into my plate, where as the bread and honey after I would lean back and take things way, way slower. I just can’t stress how using my hands makes this a much more personal experience.
I am a person with a real admiration for deep deep contrast.
Like going roughed varied texture and heavy, strong and hard spices, to the calmness and contour to the mouth of sweet honey and almonds to bite on. Almonds would just give that little sensation of something to bite into with out over powering the honey.
After a meal like that I can’t really complain about much.
It satisfies both extremes of the spectrum for myself.
After having something like that, chances are I would fight so that wouldn’t be the last ^_^

submitted by burningranger01@hotmail.com

Before Man Eats

A Sidecar. Only made with fresh lemon juice, cognac, and triple sec. Don’t even think of making it with a mix instead of fresh juice. That would be complete sacrilege to this classic cocktail. I know it should have Cointreau, but I like the lighter quality of the triple sec.
Let the Food Begin

Bánh Xeò (Vietnamese Crispy Crepe)- nice and crispy, filled with pork butt, daikon sprouts, tons of herbs & greens on the side & D’s mom’s nước mắm. If it’s chilly weather, a good, kinda smokey oolong tea. If it’s warm out, a Tavel Rosé.

Next Up

A small bowl of Phở (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup). It perfectly refreshes the palate. All the proper accompaniments (herbs, sprouts, lime, hot sauce, hoisin, fresh cracked pepper). A cafe sữa dá (Vietnamese Iced Coffee) topped with fresh whipped cream to savor alongside.

The Main Act

A prime t-bone steak cooked medium rare, with just sea salt, fresh pepper, and butter topping the steak. Along side, my potatoes au gratin, and creamed baby green beans. A glass or two of Gigondas, my favorite comfort Southern Rhone wine.

The Grand Finale

Tiramisu and an espresso topped with whipped cream.

Why

Everything was chosen not just for tastiness, but because of what memories it stirs. All of the portions would be preferably small, just a taste of each, except for the t-bone. Portions not to saturate the palate, but to awaken. The Sidecar is a ritual wind down drink for D & me. The Bánh Xeò and Phở are my two favorites that D has introduced me to. I can’t go very long before I have to have a Viet food fix, and these two top the list. Plus, everything Vietnamese reminds me of the great life we’ve shared together. The cafe sữa dá’s with whipped cream I used to make for my staff at the cafe I GM’ed. I grew up a little cowboy on a cattle ranch. The t-bone was always our favorite. Gnawing and sucking on the little fat bits on the bone, so tasty. The potatoes are one of my favorite dishes to make, melt in your mouth good. The green beans remind me of my grandmother & how she was the first to make veggies I normally didn’t like into savory delicacies. The Gigondas is a great blue-collar wine. There are higher regarded wines out there, but this one suits me perfectly. Tiramisu is the perfect dessert. Alcohol, chocolate, coffee, the creamy marscapone portion, and the inebriated lady-finger bottom, the best of everything sweet. The espresso with whipped cream to finish… a great friend and I used to share them daily when we worked together. This is my life on the plate and in the cup.

T.

To console me in an event as tragic as a final feast, a few dishes easily come to mind. I thought that I had loved and needed many foods , until I’m forced choose and whittle down my list to a small handful of dishes. These are the dishes that have never failed to make me feel safe, sane and satisfied . Every bite from this list brings back a warm memory and every savor helps heal my more dismal days.

These are my childhood and current comforts to be my last memories of flavor, before I….badly burn my tongue and lose my taste buds forever.

Course #1 - A reminder of the heart beat of “Spice” -A bowl of Bún mắm tôm ( Fermented shrimp paste on bún noodles) topped with fresh crab meat . Extra chili peppers , lime , cucumbers and rau răm , please. Glass of ice water to help cool the burn.

Course #2 - A need for a warm and rich memory -Heaping plate of “T’s” , slow cooked, potatoes au gratin and hot, steamed white rice with a side of pickled, crunchy bok choy greens, &  maggi sauce. Glass of water.

Course #3- More carb’s and fat’s to let me know that the end is near - My final cheese plate of any 3 aged, soft or semi-soft, pungent, un-pasturized cheeses (at least one must be a blue) , viet baguette, bowl of obregon olives, fresh jackfruit and muscat grapes. Glass of good Chatêauneuf du Pape.

Course # 4 - A final memory from the hand that has always fed me - A bowl of my mothers Phở noodle soup. Extra hot sauce and basil. A pot of hot jasmine tea.

One chocolate chip cookie and a grab bag of nacho flavor Doritos for a last minute junk food fix.

Finally, I would need a box of kleenex to wipe away my runny nose and my tears.