Welcome to part 1 of the crystal ball edition. This week I'm going to walk through some of my thoughts on themes for next year and beyond. "If you can't think one step ahead, you'll end up lost."
When I decided to go to Germany for TH2.6 I also decided to suggest future themes for myself. I could map out the next several years by staying in Europe. The hard part however, is figuring out where I want to go next. I have around 9 choices in my head right now. France, Scandinavia, Italy, Spain, England, Russia, Turkey/Middle East, and the former Soviet Block Eastern Europe.(Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, The Czech Republic and Slovakia). I want to weigh the choices and have an idea for next year by the time Christmas 2 (July 20) comes around.
First and what would probably be the easiest is France. I only say easiest because I actually have a tiny amount of experience in making French food. I also have a few French cookbooks. If you like rich foods and fancy sounding desserts then this is the country you want me to go with. Initially, I thought this is definitely where I would go, but by choosing France I won't really be stretching my cooking skills. The other hand says that by going this route I will have a slightly easier time all around. My recipe searching would be relatively simple. Also, on the plus side is that I know a native French person. One of my friends has married a French woman. Clearly, I did not have access to someone from the 1700's last year. This should be a big advantage. The downside I find with France is almost all alcohol related. I try and provide an assortment of beers and wine for the gathering, but can you tell me 1. to name a French beer, or 2. finding several bottles of wine from France that aren't over $20. The beer problem I figure I can fix by offering a wide variety of somewhat local craft beer. As for wine, I do not know which way to go. I usually purchase my wine from vineyards that are within 3 hours of my home. I would have to offer at least 3-4 bottles of French wine just to have them represented. France is easier in the food department, but more difficult in the drinking area.
Second in my mind is Scandinavia. This came up at a friend's wedding. He married someone this past year who is native to this area of Europe. (It's funny, I wonder if more of my friends will marry more Europeans. They should get on this before I hit Italy or Russia) She happened to mention it to me in passing, but it placed the seed of an idea. A dream can come true when I can finally call my spread a Smorgasbord and have the name be literal. I'll have access to someone who can answer many of my questions, and assuming my friend's wife is able to attend I will get immediate feedback about the all of the food. I feel I could find 4-5 foods from each of the 3 main countries (Denmark, Sweden and Norway) easily. The region is somewhat known for its fermented fish recipes. For anyone that is thinking of coming know this, there will be none of these in my house. The abundance of fish in their diet will be an interesting set of experiments for me. I do like the bread heavy menus I have found though. Anything that can help me gain some baking experience will be nice. The beer situation is almost a combination of the German experience (many beers available in the US) and the French situation (very few in the US). Thankfully, several Scandinavian beers are readily available in the US. This
For my third idea was just a fleeting one.We should visit merry old England. The idea came to me at the start of the Polar Palooza. One of mt friends brought Newcastle Brown Ale to have me serve to everyone. I had already come up with the idea of a German theme and I thought of all the great English beers that are available. I would love to have the whole gamut of beers that are made over there. The recipes would be familiar to the guests and wouldn't be overly difficult for me. The only issue I have with doing England is how similar some of the foods will be to the Colonial Menu I made in 2012. I did a minor amount of research and found some interesting ideas, but there were a lot of similarities. I feel that when I go to England it will be in a few years, maybe 2015-2016.
The final country I'll go over today is Italy. This would seem like a no-brainer, but I think this could be more difficult than first glance. Why would this be hard you're asking? I'm Italian and my mother, grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins have been making Italian food for my whole life. The issues I will have are 1. my family have all been making variations on the same 6-8 dishes, and 2. I will be fighting against . . . The Olive Garden. Not literally that particular restaurant, but all chain Italian places. Of course, I would have a few staples, lasagna, fettuccine alfredo, etc., but what else? I figured I would find some of the dishes from the various parts of Italy, Sicily, Naples, Venice, Rome, Bologna, and Sardinia. The regional dishes would make it more interesting and keep the buffet from feeling like "An Evening at Bertucci's Garden". As far as drink selection goes, I would probably go out and find some wines styles that are unique to Italy. The Italian beer varieties that I've seen locally are limited and a bit boring. I'd have to play up the local craft beer selection.
I think these four are the most obvious and the easiest for people accept without a lot of explanation. I know there are a few more choices out there for me to explore. Any thoughts one way or the other are appreciated.
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