We live in an era – not to mention a part of New Jersey – in which there are whole industries catering to upper middle class folks who want the best of everything but don’t have the time to prepare it. They can pick up home-cooked meals at gourmet takeout places like Hoboken Gourmet or Anthony David’s, or they can hire personal chefs. Both of these are quick alternatives to TV dinners or fast food. It was only a matter of time before someone came up with another one: prepackaged gourmet dinners.
The Impromptu Gourmet, a New York-based company, recently started offering meals like lemongrass chicken, cedar planked salmon, filet mignon, breast of duck, and lamb chops “Scotta Dita” in Sobsey’s Produce at 92 Bloomfield St. in Hoboken. The meals are $35 to $40 a pop, and the desserts and forthcoming appetizers are cheaper.
They sent us over a few of their meals to prepare.
Caren: Chicken and crepes
I tried the lemongrass chicken, which came with sweet rice in banana leaf and Chinese long beans. Like all of their meals, this one was prepared by an accomplished chef: Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who owns 10 restaurants, including the four-star Jean Georges in Manhattan.
The box included almost all of the ingredients: The two seasoned breasts of chicken, green beans, red and blacked pepper, onions, rice wrapped in banana leaf, and even a bamboo steamer basket to steam the rice.
The box told me that “all” I’d need were two saut