Tithe Feast 2006

Our Tithe Feast was a smashing success this year, both in spirit and in the kitchen. Solace Girl asked if I would explain it and if she could do the same thing for her family. I say heartily "YES!" I think everyone with a willing heart should pull off a Tithe Feast for their friends and family.

The feast idea came out of two books called The Supper of the Lamb and another one I can't remember. They both reference Deuteronomy 14 as the seed for the idea. (Insert scripture here). Alan got the idea from his friend Noah, but we take the idea a different place, sort of like Babette's Feast if you've seen the movie.

We take months to plan the feast menu. We start with deciding courses and then we split them up between us with account for the responsibilities of arranging childcare, cleaning the house before the feast, design and table setting and the like. So this year I had relatively easy courses with the appetizers, fish course and dessert but I also had childcare, table design and set up and house clean up. I am a "do a little bit everyday" person so I start cleaning and designing my table about a month in advance. That seems to help me keep my stress at a minimum overall. But enough with the boring stuff, let's get to the pictures!

Appetizer course was a peach-ginger aperitif (with vodka), smoked salmon with olive tapenade and creme fraiche (it was awful) but the winner was the pesto grilled Camembert with grilled Parmesan-chive bread. Now THAT was an appetizer. The Camembert is almost smoky and the pesto is a great contrast on the bread. The bread alone was worth turning on the grill. Soup course was pumpkin soup and a lentil sausage with chives and sour cream. We served it in coffee cups since we still had 6 courses to go. We didn't want anyone to eat too much to early on.

Salad course was a zucchini-carrot with a fresh garlic cream dressing. The second salad was a green salad with persimmons and something else I can't remember (hazelnuts as you can see in the photo). Very good overall.

Fish course was my piece de resistance. I served barbecued sea scallops in hazelnut oil with a compound butter and lemon and grilled garlic prawns with a spicy-lime remoulade sauce. They were terrific and the presentation was perfect. Alan helped me cut out the inside of the lime slices to put the sauce in it. That kept it from getting into the compound butter that was melting over the scallops. Palate cleanser: THIS was a stroke of genius, a pomegranate lime shooter. Alan hollowed out a lime and froze it. Then he poured in sweetened pomegranate juice and served it. It was super cool, and very fun to look at. Plus, it tasted great and it really does clean out your mouth from the last course.

First main dish was sauerbraten with braised cabbage and herbed couscous. It looked spectacular but it turned out too sweet for my taste. We forgot to get a picture to my dismay. The second main course was my favorite; breaded chicken with an amazing mustard sauce over herbed couscous. It is so good folks. So. so. so. good. I could eat it right now (if I hadn't had breakfast already). Dessert was apple Napoleons with whipped cream with a Irish cream chocolate mouse cake. We served it with a cranberry wine- it was amazing. The cake was so rich that I can only handle a piece about an inch and a half wide at the base. It is good, and the imported Belgium chocolate I used really did the trick. Thank you Caprial Pence for the recipe!

Last course was the digestique; Coffee, tea and chocolates. We wrapped the chocolates up in little boxes I got from the craft store and wrapped in Christmas paper. They decorated my table with the apples and lights and Christmas tree branches.

We had a very good time with the feast this year. I think our very best idea overall was hiring a high school student to come in and wash dishes for 3 hours. That alone made life tolerable in the kitchen and we never ran out of spatulas, dishes or anything else. Thank you Karinna!

Now I hope you feel motivated to do a feast in honor of what God has given you. You can choose things that reflect your joy and gratitude that your family and friends would enjoy. If you want recipes, let me know and I'll e-mail them to you!