The Bubbo wrote:
> This afternoon I finally settled my Christmas dinner menu, which is good,
> since it's tomorrow.
> I'll have a small cheese plate set up in the living room for nibbling while I
> am in the kitchen. Mirableu sheep's milk blue, Humboldt Fog chevre and an aged
> irish cow's milk cheddar. There will be mixed olives, sweet and spicy walnuts
> and this sour cherry/lemon balm conserve I picked up not too long ago for a
> different dinner. I have a rosemary olive oil loaf and a multigrain loaf.
>
> Salad will be greens with thin slices of roasted sweet potato, pears, walnuts
> and a bit of the mirableu along with a champaign vinaigrette.
>
> Dinner is bouillabaisse, but with crab instead of lobster, i just don't have
> the time or the tools to futz with lobster.
>
> Dessert is a gingerbread trifle with gingered pears, apples and dates and
> spiced whipped cream.

I just can't understand your choice of a cheese appetizer lead in for
fish stew, that's actually pretty awful... cheese is so cloyingly
lingering, no one will really enjoy your bouillabaisse... the mere
thought of bouillabaisse and cheese makes me wanna puke. I would have
choosen something acid, marinated veggies (a la three bean salad
style), and egg salad on toast points topped w/salmon caviar is a good
prelude for a seafood main course. So where's your bouillabaisse
recipe... I hope it's the real deal and not one of those fercocktah no
account red guinea versions, blech! People slap down a cheese platter
for two reasons, they're lazy and they don't have what to think... if
you wanna do lazy for fish then do the assorted nut bowl, same calories
(same cost too) but not so lingering (and no fercocktah peanuts unless
it's a polka game). I'd do a big bowl of pistachios and another of
cashews.

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