1.) Keep the drinks simple
In our house, we like to keep our alcoholic beverages of choice on the simple, straightforward side: wine, beer, gin and tonic, bourbon and water, vodka on the rocks with a twist. I can assure you that we will never be serving up some fancy "mixologist" drink that has 12 different ingredients in it and involves bitters. I know those drinks are all the rage, and there's a place and a time but we just aren't those kind of those people at home. But sometimes the occasion calls for mixing it up a little bit (no pun intended) and you need a go to, jazzed up drink. The beauty of this delight is that it can be served morning, noon or night (because in my book, it is always acceptable to indulge in a bubbly bev anytime) and involves minimal ingredients.
Black and Bubblies
In a champagne flute or wine glass, add a tablespoon of black current, or black raspberry puree (any berry on that note will do). Add a splash of St. Germaine elderflower liquor to each one (which if you haven't had this already, you have no idea what you are missing...it's amazing on so many levels). Fill the remainder of the glass with prosesco or cava (the Spanish cousin in the bubbly family) and give it a quick stir to mix all together. And there you have it, that's all there is to this fabulous 30 second cocktail. It's also a good starting point to an event that makes it easy to jump to something else such as wine later in the night because God knows we have all been there when we mixed the bar and it is never pretty nor enjoyable the next day.
In a champagne flute or wine glass, add a tablespoon of black current, or black raspberry puree (any berry on that note will do). Add a splash of St. Germaine elderflower liquor to each one (which if you haven't had this already, you have no idea what you are missing...it's amazing on so many levels). Fill the remainder of the glass with prosesco or cava (the Spanish cousin in the bubbly family) and give it a quick stir to mix all together. And there you have it, that's all there is to this fabulous 30 second cocktail. It's also a good starting point to an event that makes it easy to jump to something else such as wine later in the night because God knows we have all been there when we mixed the bar and it is never pretty nor enjoyable the next day.
2.)Appetizers should be a nibble not a meal
I happen to love appetizers and can make an entire meal out of them but I know their place on a full dinner menu. They are a prelude, a quick snapshot or a tone-setter of what the meal holds. Give your guests enough snacks to nibble on to hold their attention while everyone is settling in and then call it a day. Because as I've said before "Do you really want your guests filling up on cheese and crackers when they really should be saving their appetites for the main event". I usually either make one or 2 simple things that can be served at a variety of temperatures depending on when your guests arrive or follow this fail proof formula for a perfect appetizer platter:
-A fruit or vegetable (red pepper slices, peaches...think color but the sky is the limit).
-A cheese (most recently I went with a triple creme gouda that caught my eye at Trader Joe's but I always try to get something a little different that you wouldn't snack on during your average weeknight)
-A meat (very few people out there do not get excited when they see a fun cured meat or pork product whether it be salami, prosciutto, or something else in the pig family. I happen to love either the plain sliced salami or pepper edged one from TJ's but if you are lucky enough to have a local Italian market, try whatever looks good and they always love to give you a sample!).
-A cracker or bread product (These have become my latest obsession but fresh bread ripped into pieces, or any interesting cracker will do. Anything above the triscuit or cheez-it is a safe bet and I've found that the best finds are always in the cheese sections of stores).
-A dip or spread. Depending on the season and if you are feeling ambition, you can pretty much make some sort of bruschetta or caponata out of so many vegetables or there are good store bought ones out there as well. I happen to like hummus as well a lot and have a go to recipe for a hot buttered Israeli version that I love. I was on my way to making that this past Saturday until I was browsing the dips at TJ's and saw something new on the shelf which was a white bean basil spread and thought "Oh I can make this just like I usually make my hummus" and an idea was born. Out when the chickpeas, in went the cannelloni beans and we were off. Here is the rundown:
Warm White Bean and Basil Spread (based on the TJ's version and Zahav Hummus)
-Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
-In a small frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter until foamy and then toss in 1 to 2 garlic cloves depending on size. Saute until soft but watch to make sure they do not get too brown. Set aside to cool slightly.
-Into a food processor or mini prep, add 1 can of cannelloni beans (drained but reserve the liquid), 2 tablespoons of butter cut into small pieces, the juice of half a lemon (2 tablespoons), the sauteed garlic and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Puree until smooth and then add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon or 2 of the reserved bean liquid if you think your spread needs it. Continue to puree. The whole key to success with this spread is to puree far longer then you would ever believe is necessary. Just let the food processor run continuously for a couple of minutes and you will end up with the most smooth spread. Season with salt and pepper and throw in a handful of fresh basil leaves. Give it one more quick whirl to combine by the basil and you are good to go.
-Transfer the spread to an oven safe baking dish. Top with a few pine nuts (if you have them around) and sprinkle of oregano and and swirl of olive oil. (You are basically going for aesthetics here so whatever you have in your kitchen to make it pretty is going to work out well...it's the garnish).
-Bake for 15 -20 minutes until it begins to bubble on top and is warm throughout.
3.) Don't be afraid to change up the plan
There are times when I am a meticulous planner and list maker. I am all about the "plan of attack" and executing it perfectly and then there are times where I really have no idea what I'm going to do until I'm in the middle of a grocery store and then you just have to go with your gut and what looks good. This happened to me this past Saturday where all along I thought I was going to make roasted zucchini as my veg but then walked into Whole Foods in Fairfield (which can I just say blows the Milford one out of the water and is pretty much only 10 minutes further from my house) and got swept up by some beautiful skinny asparagus grown in New Jersey. After taking a quick peak at the zucchini to see what my options were and discovered that it was grown in Mexico for only a dollar cheaper per pound it became a no brainer what I was going to get. Don't be afraid to not have a plan or abandon the current one if it isn't working because we all know that the best thing in life are surprises and the unexpected always wins out.
4.) Remember you are a guest at your dinner too
So many times, people think they need to be short order cook when having guests over for dinner where they end up chained inside the kitchen while everyone else is having a good time and relaxing. Above all else having a dinner party is mainly about your guests and the food secondary. If you're with the right group of people, it really doesn't matter what you eat and almost anything will taste good when you are laughing so hard it feels like you're cleansed by the end of the night. But because this is a food blog, I just can't leave you to your own devices so here is what will be my dinner party dish of the summer of 2012...the Candied Pork from one of my favorite blogs. I made mine with skinny pork tenderloins that went on the grill instead of the oven and the only enhancement that I added was brining the pork overnight. What can be better then a recipe that you brine overnight, make a simple marinade in the morning and then all that is left to do is grill up 30 minutes before you are ready to serve it? The spinach salad that accompanies the pork recipe is also amazing and with a few candied pecans thrown in it's the perfect dinner party salad.
Warm White Bean and Basil Spread (based on the TJ's version and Zahav Hummus)
-Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
-In a small frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter until foamy and then toss in 1 to 2 garlic cloves depending on size. Saute until soft but watch to make sure they do not get too brown. Set aside to cool slightly.
-Into a food processor or mini prep, add 1 can of cannelloni beans (drained but reserve the liquid), 2 tablespoons of butter cut into small pieces, the juice of half a lemon (2 tablespoons), the sauteed garlic and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Puree until smooth and then add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon or 2 of the reserved bean liquid if you think your spread needs it. Continue to puree. The whole key to success with this spread is to puree far longer then you would ever believe is necessary. Just let the food processor run continuously for a couple of minutes and you will end up with the most smooth spread. Season with salt and pepper and throw in a handful of fresh basil leaves. Give it one more quick whirl to combine by the basil and you are good to go.
-Transfer the spread to an oven safe baking dish. Top with a few pine nuts (if you have them around) and sprinkle of oregano and and swirl of olive oil. (You are basically going for aesthetics here so whatever you have in your kitchen to make it pretty is going to work out well...it's the garnish).
-Bake for 15 -20 minutes until it begins to bubble on top and is warm throughout.
3.) Don't be afraid to change up the plan
There are times when I am a meticulous planner and list maker. I am all about the "plan of attack" and executing it perfectly and then there are times where I really have no idea what I'm going to do until I'm in the middle of a grocery store and then you just have to go with your gut and what looks good. This happened to me this past Saturday where all along I thought I was going to make roasted zucchini as my veg but then walked into Whole Foods in Fairfield (which can I just say blows the Milford one out of the water and is pretty much only 10 minutes further from my house) and got swept up by some beautiful skinny asparagus grown in New Jersey. After taking a quick peak at the zucchini to see what my options were and discovered that it was grown in Mexico for only a dollar cheaper per pound it became a no brainer what I was going to get. Don't be afraid to not have a plan or abandon the current one if it isn't working because we all know that the best thing in life are surprises and the unexpected always wins out.
4.) Remember you are a guest at your dinner too
So many times, people think they need to be short order cook when having guests over for dinner where they end up chained inside the kitchen while everyone else is having a good time and relaxing. Above all else having a dinner party is mainly about your guests and the food secondary. If you're with the right group of people, it really doesn't matter what you eat and almost anything will taste good when you are laughing so hard it feels like you're cleansed by the end of the night. But because this is a food blog, I just can't leave you to your own devices so here is what will be my dinner party dish of the summer of 2012...the Candied Pork from one of my favorite blogs. I made mine with skinny pork tenderloins that went on the grill instead of the oven and the only enhancement that I added was brining the pork overnight. What can be better then a recipe that you brine overnight, make a simple marinade in the morning and then all that is left to do is grill up 30 minutes before you are ready to serve it? The spinach salad that accompanies the pork recipe is also amazing and with a few candied pecans thrown in it's the perfect dinner party salad.
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