Tonight's State Dinner - menu & pics

[housewolf]

Prawns, Pralines and Pumpkin Pie on the menu tonight, along with
Potato and eggplant salad
Red lentil soup
Roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney
Chick peas and okra
Or
Green Curry Prawns with collard greens and coconut aged basmati

read more about it:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/prawns-pralines-and-pumpkin-pie-on-state-dinner-menu.php?ref=fpb


Here's a close-up of one of the table-settings
http://twitpic.com/qryba

[Inchworm]

1. WTH is a prawn?

I kid! :rofl:

Sounds yummy!

:9

[katkat]

2. Can I brown bag my own food? Seriously, what the heck :-)

And pea green tablecloths. If they ever invite me, I'll remember to pack Dramamine.

[Tesha]

3. actually they said "apple green" not pea green

That sound much better, and the color scheme...

"Purple goblets are on the tables, matching the deep-purple flowers on the table which are meant to pay homage to the state bird of India, the Indian Peacock."

[Vinca]

4. I wish I could get the red lentil soup recipe. I've got some to use up.

[grasswire]

5. why do we cook food from the visitor's country...

...and decorate with that theme, rather than featuring an American dinner with the best of American food and themes?

That has always puzzled me.

When the POTUS goes to India, do they serve him cheezeburgers and sweet potato pie?

[elleng]

6. This OK?

Marcus Samuelsson, the award-winning chef of Aquavit, a Scandinavian restaurant in New York City, was brought in by first lady Michelle Obama to help prepare a largely vegetarian meal in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is vegetarian. At an afternoon preview of the dinner, Mrs. Obama called Samuelsson "one of the finest chefs in the country."

Samuelsson's mission: dinner for 320 using fresh, sustainable and regional foods that reflect the best of American cuisine and evoke the flavors of India.

The result: a menu featuring potato and eggplant salad, red lentil soup and roasted potato dumplings or green curry prawns.

Samuelsson, who was born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden and recently became a U.S. citizen, was out in the garden Monday night and Tuesday harvesting pineapple sage and arugula for the salad, oregano and thyme for the vinaigrette, fresh dill to garnish the soup, and thyme and marjoram for the curry paste. In addition, he selected garden herbs to garnish plates and trays of passed appetizers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/24/AR2009112402884.html

[grasswire]

7. I understand that.

But the "flavor" of the evening is Indian, not American. I'm not faulting Michelle. It seems to always be the way of the White House, no matter who is in it.

[elleng]

8. More!

And at the tables, the meatless menu included a mix of Indian and American favorites, including some African-American standards. Collard greens and curried prawns, chickpeas and okra, nan and cornbread were served to the 320 guests — including some well-known Republicans and prominent Indian-Americans — who started off with arugula from the White House garden and finished up with pumpkin pie. (After a tasting at the White House on Sunday, the Obamas gave the dishes their stamp of approval, Mr. Samuelsson said.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/us/politics/25dinner.html?hp

[katkat]

9. both

The Times said it was a mix of Indian and African American food. I can see that since the invitees are mixed, gives each a taste of the other's culture.

I'm just saying not a lot on that menu that looks appetizing, though. And I write that as a vegetarian.

[tigereye]

11. wonderful to see her so concerned with sustainability!

we were just in DC and when we walked by the White House, I was wondering where the garden was, and if it was visible. It's very hard to see anything now due to all the shrubbery and security and small building on the grounds.

[tigereye]

10. ah! or poi?

:rofl: