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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
How to pair food for menu
I am at a total loss, I have no idea how to really pair foods. I'm a good cook, but I don't know what foods to serve together for a meal. Is there a book about this or does anyone have some suggestions for how to figure it out? A example...tonight we are having:
grilled chicken breasts, mixed oven roasted vegetables, salad, country fried potatoes, with cottage cheese, bread w/ butter on the table. Cherry pie for dessert.
Re: How to pair food for menu
i agree. a ton of food.
grilled chicken breasts: prepared how? Just plain with nothign on them?
Mixed oven roasted vegetables: which veggies?
Salad: consisting of?....................
country fried potatoes: why? you already have bread and mixed veggies and salad.
with cottage cheese: huh? for what?
bread w/ butter on the table: ok.
Cherry pie for dessert. sounds good.
I completely agree with all of this. I usually do a protein, starch and veggies, but I'm boring and totally not a foodie. (just a wannabe that can't get there)
I agree, its just a lot of food.
I used to think that every dinner had to have a protein, starch and veggie, but its not always the case. Think about the ingredients your using and if they are heavy or light and don't use too much of either.
There's no real reason why I combine or don't combine certain things together. I guess its just preference. I don't like broccoli or mashed potatoes with chicken, beef or pork with roasted potatoes and I don't really like fish/seafood with any starch other than pasta.
Married / The Cookaholic Wife
this is pretty much what's going through my head.
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I see nothing wrong with 2 veggies, espcially since roasted veggies can be so hearty and salad feels lighter...
Your menu sounds a-ok to me...
if you like it, then go for it!
I like to make meals colorful....but I have ended up with chicken, cauliflower and potato or similar for a meal! Maybe you can start with 'cooking a rainbow', try to have a fruit or veggie of every color every day.
Sometimes I cook things based on whether the main dish is oven or stovetop (but not necessarily). Like if I have baked chicken, the oven is already on, so why not roast the veggies or bake the potatoes.
I always have a protein (hopefully fatty, as I am trying to go the more full fat, low carb thing), 1-2 veggies (because kids feel in control if they get to pick), sometimes a carb. sometimes a fruit for dessert.
I pick flavors of the sides based on the main dish. Like if I was doing lemon pepper chicken, I wouldn't put cumin on steamed carrots or something like that.
This might sound strange, but I think creating menus is like a lot like creating a painting or decorating. Foods have weight, texture, and "color." When I create a menu I try to create a balance of those elements. "Color" is the most abstract of those, but I think it's important to think about. Color, for me is more related to the seasoning of the foods. For example, roasted chicken spiced with thyme, lemon and garlic would have a very different "color" than a chicken roasted with cumin, oregano and chili powder.
Weight is an important topic in creating a menu as well. For a summer evening, you may want a light meal, where all of the elements are lighter, but in the spring or fall, you may want to blend the elements more evenly. A roasted chicken served with a nice gravy might be a little heavier, (because of the gravy) but served with a green salad with a lemony vinaigrette will lighten the meal and add a brightness.
Texture is important as well. For a quick dinner, I often make pasta with peas, Parmesan cheese and white truffle butter. For a little crunch, I toast a few pecans and toss them over the pasta just before serving. The texture of the pecans helps balance the dish.
I'm not sure how helpful this is, but I'm just trying to explain my approach to menu planning.
Good luck!
Thanks everyone. I guess I feel like my menus are sort of random :-)
Last night, I ended up just adding the potatoes to the vegetables and called it good. So, we ended up with:
Grilled chicken (brushed with olive oil, sage, garlic, salt, and pepper)
Salad (baby lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots, cucumbers, salad peppers, and Italian or Bleu cheese dressig)
Oven roasted vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, green peppers, red peppers, new red potatoes, mushrooms, and pearl onions tossed with garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and olive oil)
Fresh whole grain baguette w/ butter
Cottage cheese (I know its weird, but I eat it with basically everything)
Cherry pie
This was for 3 teenagers, my husband who eats like a teenager, and myself.