HELP!!! I'm cooking dinner for my wife's Birthday!?

Question

We have been following this tradition for years....ever since we were dating. We each cook a themed dinner for the other's birthday, but we are running out of themes. We have done Italian, Mexican, Seafood, etc. 2 or 3 times over.

This year I want to do a "7 Deadly Sins" Theme, with each item on the menu named after one of the sins. The 7 sins are:
Pride
Greed
Envy
Wrath
Lust
Gluttony
Sloth

I admit that I stole this idea from "Top Chef" but I'm desperate and it seems fun to me and I think my wife will like it.

So Please help me out with some menu ideas for any or all of the above deadly sins. I want to make 1 alcoholic beverage, 1 salad, 2 apps, 1 entree, and 2 desserts.

Also, 7 items is alot more than I usually make. I usually make 5 items....so if anyone knows of any famous groups of 5...I would appreciate hearing those as well.

Thank You

Answer 1

Pride: Guacamole - be proud its damn good
Greed: A tray of donuts
Envy: A grilled cheese (like the one at the Melrose)
Wrath: Chocolate croissant from Bittersweet (at least half of one!)
Lust: Melting Pot turtle fondue
Gluttony: A large butterfinger blizzard
Sloth: A large cold stone creamery cake batter and butterfinger

Its a dream menu. Also make sure the decorations are well thought out - girls like that stuff.

Answer 2

Very cool idea! I can't help you with all of it. But gluttony should surely be the desert. Something that oozes chocolate and caramel. lust could be fruit, like strawberries and homemade whipped cream. Or oysters. Envy, maybe a green salad. For the color and envious bodies that are made by eating salad. And for sloth, a 6 pack of Bud Light (before you break out the champagne, of course). Maybe good caviar for greed. the portions are so small, you have to be greedy to get enough in your belly. Wrath is a toughy, I have not a clue for that one.

Answer 3

Remember since your doing such a large meal you want to keep it light you dont want it too heavy. Good luck! The dinner thing sounds fun.



As for as deserts go. For Envy you should do peas, (jealousy is the green eyed monster)peas are green.

For Lust do chocolate dipped strawberries

For Gluttony do a chocolate cake

For wrath do grapes(grapes of wrath) like a fruit salad(that could be your salad)

For Pride do Key Lime Catfish
1 cup yellow cornmeal
Salt, pepper, garlic powder
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 Tablespoons butter
2 catfish fillets
2 Key limes, thinly sliced, save ends
2 Tablespoons sliced almonds
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Heat oven to 400°. Melt butter in a 3 quart casserole. Mix cornmeal and spices well and pour onto a plate; spread to a thin layer. Dip catfish fillets in lemon juice, then roll in cornmeal to coat. Place fillets in buttered casserole dish. Top with lime slices and almonds. Squeeze juice from ends of limes over fish.

Bake at 400° for 12 minutes. Open oven and spread Parmesan over fillets. Return to oven and bake another 6 minutes.

For Sloth(since alcohol can slow you down) make Sangria(use any strawberries you have left over and add it to the sangria)

NGREDIENTS:

* 1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
* 1 Lemon cut into wedges
* 1 Orange cut into wedges
* 2 Tbsp sugar
* 1 Shot brandy
* 2 Cups ginger ale or club soda

PREPARATION:
Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon and orange into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and add sugar and brandy. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale or club soda just before serving.

If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice.

Addition ideas: sliced strawberries, peaches, handful of fresh blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, a shot or two of gin, brandy or rum, a cup of ginger ale, citrus soda pop or lime juice.

For pride do this recipe
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Antipasto-Squares/Detail.aspx


For Greed do this reciepe it involves shrimp
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Thai-Spiced-Barbecue-Shrimp/Detail.aspx

I gotta think about the other ones. Ill be back.

Answer 4

You do not have to have 2 deserts that is just the way they decided to do it. Make some things ahead like desert, salad and some sort of spicy apetizer. If you make things ahead and only have to cook one thing while she is waiting it will be better. I am glad you are expanding the themes of your menu. Just doing food from a certain country is pretty boring.

Answer 5

Okay, for gluttony, have a HUGE bowl of potato chips (for an appetizer) (because chips are very fatty) For Pride, Make a huge (like 2 feet tall) ice cream suday (for the deserrt). I am saying this becasue a tall ice cream sunday would be like having pride in the best sunday ever. This ideas might be really crappy, but they were all I could think of.

Answer 6

This is a very cute tradition! You have picked a very hard theme.

GREED to me is Chocolate

WRATH is hot and spicy, chili is not romatic or sexy but you can add the chocolate to it, two birds with one stone as they say

ENVY, I am pretty lame on this one, all I can think of is green which makes me think of green jello

GLUTTONY makes me think of potato, we always eat to many mashed potatoes

LUST strawberries and chocolate come to mind, maybe you can find a beverage that incorporates that?

Not sure if that was what you were looking for, those are just the food impressions that come to mind for me.

Answer 7

Booze;
Fresh Blueberry-Vanilla Rum Milkshakes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups WHOLE milk, cold (Don't use 1% or 2% of skim. Use WHOLE MILK)
1 pint vanilla ice cream (I suggest Breyers or Ben and Jerry's Organic)

1. Combine the blueberries, rum and sugar in a bowl and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Transfer the blueberry mixture to a blender. Then add the milk and ice cream. Blend until smooth. Poor into 4 tall glasses and serve immediately.

Nice and simple, eh?


Entree;
Duck in a Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients

1 6lb ducks
2 cups Blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
1 cup port
2 cups concentrated duck broth or 4 tablespoons commercial glaze
2 tablespoons raspberry sherry or red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter.

1. To make the duck, first take a sharp knife to score the skin side of the duck in two directions. About 20 slashes per direction should do it. If you don't know what "Scoring" is, it means to slash the skin of an animal, cutting deeply, but not seep enough to expose the meat while leaning the knife to the side. Give the breast a 90 degree turn and cut 20 more times to intersect that first cut. That is scoring. Season the duck with salt and pepper. all around.

2. Roast the duck uncovered, breast up on a rack in a roasting pan for 22 minutes per pound. As we're doing 6lb ducks it should be about 2 hours, 15 minutes.

3. Remove the duck from oven when internal temperature reached 180 degrees F. Make sure when you take the temperature with your meat thermometer, you're measuring from the thigh joint.

4. To make the sauce, rinse the blueberries and put them in a saucepan with the port. Cover the pan and cook for five minutes over medium heat, then for ten minutes more uncovered. This concentrates the juices released by the berries.

5. In the meantime, reduce the duck broth in a different sauce pan down to 1/2 cup to turn it into a glaze. Add the glaze to the blueberries and their juices. Stir to combine and boil the sauce for a minute or two, until it has a very light syrupy consistency. Whisk in the sherry or vinegar and butter and season to taste with salt.

6. Serve the duck and spoon the sauce on the meat. Serve immediately.




Deserts;
Dark Chocolate Gelato

Ingredients

4 large egg yolks
One-half cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-fine sugar
2 and one-fourth cups WHOLE Milk. Do NOT try skim or 1/2%
3 and one-half ounces bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
One-Half cup unsweetened cocoa

1. In a heatproof bowl, beat the egg yolks with an electric whisk and add one-half cup sugar until thick and creamy. Gently heat the milk in a saucepan to a NEAR boiling point, then pour into the bowl with the egg mixture, beating well.

2. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. B eat the melted chocolate into the egg mixture, followed by the cocoa. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir with a wooden spoon until the bubble deflate and the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat.

3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, make a caramel by combining 2 tablespoons of sugar with 2 tablespoons of water. Boil the mixture until it turns dark amber in colour, swirling the saucepan as it darkens. When it reaches 350 degrees F/180 degrees C on a sugar thermometer, it is ready.

4. Whisk the caramel into the chocolate until smooth; it will sizzle. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and cool. Leave in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, then churn in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serve or transfer to a freezer Container, cover the surface with waxed paper or foil and put it in the freezer.



Poires au Gingembre

Ingredients

8 large pears
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
2 tsp grated gingerroot (or 2 tbsp finely grated chopped ginger)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a shallow baking dish.

2. Peel the pears, cut them in half lengthwise using a large sharp knife and remove the cores. Arrange cut sides down in a single layer in the baking dish.

3. Mix together the cream, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
Then pour over the pears.

4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, basting from time to time, until the pears are tender and browned on top and the cream is thick and bubbly. Cool slightly, then serve.


For a salad you could try my niece's recipie which calls for;
Spinach,
Romaine,
Apple slices,
Goat Cheese,
a very small amount of Vinegar & Olive Oil.

I don't know the exact amounts (her little secret), but it's damn tasty when done right.


I don't have any appetizer ideas for you though.
Sorry.
Although Bruchetta is usually nice.
just go real easy on the Green onions and garlic.

Answer 8

Pride-Steak
Greed-This is a green dish aspargus, green beans, salad
Envy-Red I picked Hot Damn (alcholic drink)Red Wine
Wrath-Cheese
Lust-Chocolate Cake
Gluttony-Chicken Wings
Sloth_Cheese Potatoes

Answer 9

pride+grilled scallop
greed+lobster cream Connolly
envy+fillet Mignon
wrath+wasabi pasta salad
lust+jerk chicken with passion fruit sauce
gluttony+cheese cake
sloth+double chocolate truffle

Answer 10

How about Oysters for lust
Caviar for envy ( makes most people envious)
Anything chocolate for gluttony
Alcoholic beverage for sloth, just pick oue that makes you think of slowing down and relaxing.
Pride is the tough one for me ....