Perfect Dining with ARVA LIGHT
Hosting a meal with friends or family is the perfect opportunity to get closer together again. The choice of food and drinks is just as much a part of a successful evening as the appropriate table decoration and long-lasting seating comfort with ARVA LIGHT.
Text and Photography: Victoria Birgel
Nothing makes you as happy and nervous at the same time as hosting a meal among friends or with family. Because on special occasions, something more needs to be dished up than good old Bolognese with M - after all, Frederico is not one of the guests either. That requires planning. With meat, fish or vegetarian? Are there children in the party or are only adults being cooked for, who can stand a little more spiciness and a good deal of seasoning? So if you know your guests well, you're well advised, because allergies or poke on the plate can break up the get-together faster than you'd like. However, there is one thing we should not forget between all these questions: above all, we ourselves should like what we serve.
So the first thing to do is to reach for grandma's recipe collection - or mom's, dad's, your trusted friend's... But if you can't find anything suitable there, we have prepared a menu suggestion. For the main course there is a detailed recipe, for starters and desserts we have compiled some simple dishes as inspiration, which can be combined and prepared according to your own taste. By replacing a few ingredients, the evening can hereby be adapted in the most diverse culinary directions. A versatile menu that should keep pretty much all guests happy. Especially if there is the right wine to go with it. We know that from experience.
Menu suggestions
Pointed cabbage steaks in two culinary worlds
Regional vegetable cuisine
Starter
Creamy celery soup with roasted salsify and almond brittle
Main course
Pointed cabbage steaks in yellow curry coconut sauce with sun wheat
Dessert
Tartlet of carrotcake with lemon cream cheese and lemon balm
Flavors from Asia
Starter
Crostini with marinated shiitake mushrooms and terriyaki sauce
Main course
Spitz cabbage steaks in yellow curry coconut sauce with sun wheat
Dessert
Cooled mango cream with coconut top
What is cooked is therefore already clear. But the how is also decisive. A little practice in the kitchen and a cool glass of wine as accompaniment bring the necessary serenity. A host characteristic that is unfortunately more noticeable when it is not present. Waiting until 10 p.m. and then serving frantically as well? That's not how it should be. That's why the menu is set up in such a way that appetizers and desserts can be easily prepared. The time gained can be used to be with the guests or to put a little more time and effort into serving. Because as we all know, the eye eats with you, and not in short supply.
Similarly, everything around the plate. So when it comes to table decoration, there are no limits. The ARVA LIGHT chair brings a minimalist, yet expressive language of form to the dining space, which is best reflected in the choice of tableware and matching decorations. We have chosen to adapt the linear structure established by the corduroy velvet cover LISBOA.
Thus, grooved vases or candlesticks - for example, the classics from Lyngby - are a very harmonious combination. In terms of color, we also follow a rather restrained, muted approach that combines matte black, beige and green tones. Depending on the incidence of light, the green-grey shade of ARVA LIGHT, which turns out very iridescent, plays excellently with dried flowers and linen fabrics. Matt table surfaces can be perfectly complemented by the special feel of Manufacture Rock tableware from Villeroy & Boch. A collection that offers very versatile design options through the use of different plate sizes, shapes and colors and catches the eye of every guest who strokes the rough surface for the first time. Thin, light-refracting glasses with a straightforward design language act as a counterpart. Enthusiasts will enjoy the Denk'art line from Zalto, for example. The small artisan glazier from Austria produces outstanding, mouth-blown quality glasses that are extremely light, filigree and yet robust in nature.
This is how we can enjoy a successful evening in good company. But if the culinary part of the evening ends early, the ARVA LIGHT is perfect for spending a few hours longer. The slight flexibility of the back is very pleasant and offers the possibility to easily adjust the seating position again and again. Our guests have never complained about "tired sitting". On the contrary, since we have re-seated our dining area, our evenings are getting longer. Still, we like to imagine that it's more due to the good food and wine.
Pointed cabbage steaks
in yellow curry coconut sauce with sun wheat
Ingredients
For 4 people, as a main courseVegan (vegetarian with dairy butter).
1 pointed cabbage
400 ml coconut milk
200 ml vegetable broth
3 curry leaves
1 stick lemongrass
2 cloves garlic
1 large onion
1 lemon
1-2 tbsp curry paste
1 tbsp harissa paste
1 tbsp red pepper
250 gr sun wheat
3 tbsp butter
4 tbsp coconut oil
1 bunch parsley
1 red chili pepper
1 Cut pointed cabbage into four large slices at the thickest part. Depending on the size of the slices, heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in one or two cast-iron pans and sear steaks in it. Cut the onion in half and then into thin slices, also slice the garlic. Cut the lemongrass in half crosswise and then tap it with the back or handle of the knife so that the fibers break.
2 Heat the remaining coconut oil in a saucepan. Sauté the onions for approx. 3 min over high heat until they are heavily toasted. Then add the garlic, whole chili pepper, lemongrass and curry leaves. When garlic is lightly browned, add 1-2 tbsp curry paste and 1 tbsp harissa to taste and heat preference and sauté for 1 min.
3 Deglaze with coconut milk and vegetable stock. Allow to boil down. Meanwhile, cook the sun wheat according to package instructions. Carefully turn steaks and brown well from the other side as well. Crush red pepper in a mortar so that the grains break up.
4 When the sun wheat is almost ready, add a good knob of vegan butter to the pan with the steaks. Season the steaks generously with the pepper and salt. Serve the sun wheat with the sauce and steaks. Slice the lemon and add to the still hot pan. Serve steaks with the lemonized butter and the sautéed lemon slices.
More Inspirations & Stories
High-quality and star-awarded restaurants need furnishings that are just as high-quality as they are nuanced to the individual needs and philosophy of the kitchen in each case. KFF and star restaurants have more in common than you might think at first glance.
Cookbook author and food photographer Stefanie Hiekmann invited us for a relaxed trial run and pizza shoot day and let us in on a few secrets.
