Help with gourmet sheva brochos menu

Silver Member Joined: Feb 11 2008 Posts: 981

I am making a small intimate sheva brochos just for family, and I need ideas of a knockout menu! I enjoy cooking and presenting dishes in an interesting way, but am looking for new ideas!
I want to make a meat or fish appetizer,
soup or salad
main dish
dessert I already made

any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!

Gold Member Joined: Jun 08 2007 Posts: 1331

I think a stuffed cornish hen is a beautiful main (cornish hens are small so its one per person, makes a beautiful presentation)

Senior Member Joined: Sep 21 2006 Posts: 248

appetizer ideas: salmon skewers over angel hair pasta, beef bundles with sweet tomato sauce ( recipe in bais yaakov cookbook, its a ground beef mixture inside a puff pastry bundle), plated salad with some kind of meat or fish like salmon cubes or pastrami strips

soup - blended soups present nicely especially with toppings

salad - purple cabbage salad, asian coleslaw, a nice lettuce salad with terra sticks

mains - I like the cornish hen idea, capons are nice too, chicken marsala

let us know what you end up doing! hatzlacha!

Senior Member Joined: Nov 12 2009 Posts: 155

entree-poached salmon on a skewer is a beutiful entree served with angel hair past or a vegetable turnover with mushroom sauce
soup- maybe a potato garlic soup would be interesting or a broccoli soup.
main dish - I like to serve for small affairs a good rib steak or veal chops with the small blue potatos as a sidedish with grilled vegetables its different and has a great taste.

Silver Member Joined: Feb 11 2008 Posts: 981

Senior Member Joined: Oct 03 2011 Posts: 136

if your into fiddly dishes then

smoked chicken salad for a starter (smoked using tea bags) - on bed of crest and rocket with fried pinapple and tostated pine nuts

2 toned soup- 2 really thick soups with differnt colours then pressent in a swirl patten (tricky but looks good)

Silver Member Joined: Jan 05 2010 Posts: 526

You can serve the soup in bread bowls and/or the salad in tortilla bowls

Silver Member Joined: Feb 24 2011 Posts: 677

I recently went to a very upscale home made sheva brochos, and the menu went something like this
appetzier: a london broil salad with some sort of candied nut plus a pureed (I think potatoe or parsnip) soup served in a small tea cup with pesto swirled on the top, plus two slices of garlic bread with bruschetta on top

main course: this was the real knockout item- they did everything in minatures. so in the middle of the plate there were two mini ribs (where htey got them I ahve no idea) they did a mini hamburger(also called slider) on a bun. with differnet bundles of vegetables and threee small dips (I think kethcup, a honey mustard and a garlic mayo)

dessert: was like a lemon freeze with pomegranite seeds and then three minature cakes (like bite size, cake pops)

Platinum Member Joined: Mar 24 2008 Posts: 6528

We recently made one and by each seat we placed a small chocolate and the wrapper was the monogram from the invitation. You can have them professionally done or print them yourself and wrap the chocolate.

Silver Member Joined: Feb 11 2008 Posts: 981

Gold Member Joined: Mar 23 2007 Posts: 1877 Location: NY

You're all making me hungry. I have nothing else to add other than can I sample something?
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I'm not the popular Mama Bear. I'm "the other one."

Soup: curry parsnip soup, carrot soup with cumin. (Both are pureed). Or cream of chestnut (you can get either vacuum packed or pureed chestnuts, cook with sauteed celery/onion)

Main: beef wellington or salmon en crute. Make sure to "insert" chopped liver for beef wellington between beef and pastry. For salmon en crute, add two layers of fillings--mashed sweet potato and spinach/water cress puree. Or lamb chops with herbed crust.
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Side: jewelled rice pilav with toasted pine nuts, dried cranberries and fresh pomegranate seeds. Or safran rice with toasted almond slices and golden raisins.

Dessert: individual meringue shells or pavlova with raspberry coulis. You can also make individual filo parcels (grease shallow muffin tins, cut fillo doughs into squares, lay 4-5 layers overlapping edges brushing with oil with a pastry brush between layers, bake till crisp and fill with custard/parve whip/fruits and drizzle sauce over top)

Silver Member Joined: Feb 11 2008 Posts: 981

ok! I'm sold on the slider idea! love it I think I will make 2 sliders, one a traditional meat burger with pickles and lettuce etc. and one with a burger and sauteed strips of pastrami and onions on it. I have pretty ceramic dip spoons and I think I'll put it on the plate with garlic mayo or something like that.

now I'm looking for a knockout main dish. I love the look of meat rolled up with some veggie inside, just don't have a recipe, any ideas?

Platinum Member Joined: Apr 12 2010 Posts: 5799

How about a miniature main dish.
I did this once: chicken stuffed rolls (tiny bread rolls with cooked meat in the middle), wontons with dipping sauce, mini bitesized shnitzels, a small lettuce leaf with tiny chopped veg and drizzle of dressing.
Looks really really good on a square plate. Other sides such as rice, big salad, kugel etc can be served on platters for self service.

Other ideas:
trout flower roll ups
mini salmon skewers
mini shnitzel/cold cut skewers
mini pavlova (meringue with strawberry whipped cream on top)
meringues
mini mousse cups
checkerboard cake
baked alaska

(check out efrat libfroinds book she has tons of great elegant recipes in there which are easier than they look).
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Platinum Member Joined: Jun 30 2009 Posts: 8233

I love the mini ideas! Maybe save it for the main and you serve a variety?

Senior Member Joined: Sep 21 2006 Posts: 248

Silver Member Joined: Feb 24 2011 Posts: 677

hi op, I mentioned the slider idea..
it was a traditional hamburger, but the size of a slider bun, with the same sized onion and pickle.
Everything else on the plate more or less matched the size of the slider, which was the star of the plate. The plate was not however filled with that much food (my DH kindly pointed out) they had 3 grilled mushrooms (also same size) 'potato chips' (ditto) string beans and sweet potaote fries, both in bungles (tied with chives btw) as I said three mini containers of sauces.. and if remember correctly thats it...
o besides the 2 mini peices of ribs..