The Dinner

by du Barry
Newport, RI

My dear, older sister, Alexis du Bois kindly asked me to contribute to this site by drawing on my many years of event planning here in Newport. Much will be coming, but a family cruise pressures me into what is perhaps just a wish-list for the perfect dinner. It will be short and to the point.

Perhaps the grandest dinner is a la Russe. Imperial Russia was nothing if not over-the-top. This dinner is as follows: Oysters, soup, fish, roast, Roman punch, game, salad and cheese, dessert, fruits, sweets and coffees. This can, of course, be shortened to need, but it remains the standard of fine dining. Every dinner should begin with soup. From this there is never any deviation. Soup is to dinner what the overture is to an opera. Mock Turtle Soup is the classic and the recipe will follow after the cruise. Follow this with salmon in lobster sauce, cucumbers, chicken croquettes, roast lamb with spinach, canvas-back duck, celery, string beans served on toast, lettuce salad, assorted cheese, pineapple Bavarian cream, ices, fruits, and coffees. There will be no complaints.

It is here that your gift as a host comes into play. Wherever possible, serve every course on a different dish. There is nothing as boring as the same pattern being thrust under you nose. Make the dishes wildly diverse and you will create a thrill to match the serving of food. Recipes to follow.