Wednesday 21 November 2012

I wish food snobs hadn't ruined American Thanksgiving.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/11/15/dining/thanksgiving-menu-generator.html?ref=dining#/?id=all
 
The Thanksgiving-erator

Still uncertain about what kind of menu to plan for Thanksgiving? Choose from one of the following themes. After answering a few simple questions about your preferences regarding main dishes, sides, desserts and drinks, your menu will be planned for you. The results may be surprising.

I want my menu to be...Hedonist

What’s the main course?

1)       The type of bird is immaterial. But I must have my foie gras.  Foie gras is not enough. I also require black truffles.

2)       I prefer a more conventional turkey, though it should be slathered with at least 1/4 pound of butter.

What are my stuffing options?

1)      Rich

2)      Richer

3)      Richest

Which sides would fit in well? Pick up to two.

1)      A caviar-potato high-low.

2)      When in doubt, stuff a vegetable with lobster.

3)      What's missing from your potatoes? Oh, right. Truffles.

What’s for dessert?

1)      Forget plain pumpkin pie. Give me art.

2)      I want chocolate on the table and I'll settle for nothing less.

3)      Truffles, meet double cream.

What should I drink besides wine?

1)      A splash of bubbly is timeless.

2)      Cider, upscaled.

3)      I can drink truffles, too?

I want my menu to be...colonialist

What’s the main course?

1)      The centerpiece of a centuries-old tradition.

2)      Smother that tradition in oysters.

3)      Turkey was probably not on the table in 1621. Try this.

Which sides would fit in well? Pick up to two.

1)      Pie

2)      Pottage

3)      Pompion

What’s for dessert?

1)      Old world

2)      New world

3)      Timeless

I want my menu to be...nostalgist

What’s the main course?

1)      Anything beside stuffed turkey is heresy.

2)      Turkey? Nonsense. Ham for every holiday.

What are my stuffing options?

1)      Stuffing gone Hawaiian.

2)      Stuffing gone Hollywood.

3)      Stuffing gone wild.

Which sides would fit in well? Pick up to two.

1)      I'd like to work in a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom.

2)      Sweet potatoes and marshmallows: I will not be denied.

3)      It's not Thanksgiving if my cranberries don't quiver on the plate.

What’s for dessert?

1)      Dessert should be plainspoken, noble and homey.

2)      Dessert should be the frothy grande dame of the meal.

3)      Dessert should be a showstopper, requiring a blowtorch.

What should I drink besides wine?

1)      It's too early for egg nog, but the crowd has a craving.

2)      A brighter punch for a gathering.

3)      A darker drink for lights-out.

I want my menu to be...extremist

What’s the main course?

1)      I refuse to choose among turkey, duck and chicken.

2)      I crave the most authentic experience I can possibly create.

3)      Starting up the deep fryer makes me feel alive.

What are my stuffing options?

1)      My stuffing must include at least 30 ingredients.

2)      My stuffing must impress my blue-blood guests.

Which sides would fit in well? Pick up to two.

1)      I am devotee of molecular gastronomy.

2)      I am a carnivorous Anglophile to my core.

3)      I wish food snobs hadn't ruined Thanksgiving.

What’s for dessert?

1)      Shock them with something unexpected.

2)      Impress them with something intricate.

3)      Wow them with something otherworldly.

What should I drink besides wine?

1)      Hot. Very hot.

2)      Surprise!

3)      $$$$

I want my menu to be...purist

What’s the main course?

1)      There is only one choice here.

What are my stuffing options?

2)      I'm a New Englander.

3)      I'm a Southerner.

4)      I'm unaffiliated with either, and/or I just want some sausage tucked in there.

Which sides would fit in well? Pick up to two.

1)      Potatoes. Milk. Butter. Perfection.

2)      I want something green, but let's not upset anyone by deviating from casserole.

3)      Put some bread on the table.

4)      Cranberries must make it onto the menu.

What’s for dessert?

1)      Pecans with a splash of bourbon.

2)      Bring pumpkin and chestnut together in a pie pan.

3)      This is America.

What should I drink besides wine?

1)      Cool and creamy.

2)      Hot and cidery.

 

 


 

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