[Sca-cooks] Menu-matic (was: Onion-riffic)

[Antonia Calvo]

Elaine Koogler wrote:

>And I'll never forget a feast served here in Atlantia...I worked in the
>kitchen that day, so it lives forever in my memory...every single dish had
>onions in it...and every single dish was brown, brown and yellow or yellow.
>Heaven help you if you didn't like onions or were allergic to them.
>  
>

Oh, dear... much as I like onions, that's too much.

OK, another question-- what makes a menu balanced?   I personally tend 
to put a lot of emphasis on having a variety of textures, and I tend to 
mentally divide dishes into several groups, and  try to gain balance by  
getting a good spread across the groups.

My groups are:

Firm, dry  (dense breads, roast meats, some pies, meatballs, felafels, etc)
Rich, gravyish (meat stews, thickish dishes like stewed lentils, some 
soups. etc)
Rich creamy/cheesy/eggy (includes blancmange and risotto, tarts with 
egg-based filling, creamy desserts, etc)
Salty/savoury (hard cheese, cured meats, some soups)

Wet crunchy (raw and blanched vegetables, sauerkraut and other pickles, 
raw crisp fruit)
Juicy, soft (raw juicy fruits, cooked fruit and vegetables)

Plain (lighter breads, rice pilafs, bulgur)
Dry crunchy (biscuits and wafers, pretzels, nuts, etc.)


-- 
Antonia di Benedetto Calvo

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Habeo metrum - musicamque,
hominem meam. Expectat alium quid?
-Georgeus Gershwinus
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