The following post is from a previous blog. I came across it this morning and thought the information may be helpful. These recipes are still among my favorites, except the spinach bites! I hope you enjoy!
I'd been saying I was planning to host a dinner party for my friends since my son's birthday (in January). Six months later, I finally did it! On the Fourth of July weekend, I began what I hope will become a new tradition. I prepared the week before and crafted a menu, a grocery list, and planned out the whole weekend. I was prepared to do a lot of prep work on the 3rd and finish the meal on the 4th in time for guests to arrive. However, a family crisis emerged and I couldn’t complete anything on the Fourth! So, I prepared the entire meal the day of. The menu consisted of three appetizers: mini crab cakes, gougères, and spinach cheese bites. For the main course I planned to serve a classic Caesar salad, beef tenderloin drizzled in a blue cheese sauce, and twice baked potatoes. For dessert I chose cheesecake accompanied with blue berries and a strawberry drizzle. I will admit that due to the shortened time frame, I bought a premade cheesecake from Costco, and used premade croutons for the Caesar salad. Despite being rushed to cook, I believe the party went well. However, I will tell you that this hostess committed the worst of all party fouls… I completely forgot to serve the wine! After everyone left I looked at the bottle of wine I had opened on the counter and realized I’d forgotten it completely! At that moment I made a silent vow to Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, and all the party hosting Goddesses that I will not do that again!
I listed my review of the appetizer recipes from the 4th of July dinner party below. I also listed the Caesar Salad recipe I used because it was simple and oh so good.
Mini Crab Cakes
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mini-Crab-Cakes-352041
I originally found the mini crab cake recipe in the April edition of Bon Appétit. These crab cakes are amazing! I’ve made them twice, once for a mother’s day dinner I hosted and again for this party. People who don’t normally like crab cakes, love these. The secret to their success is using the freshest ingredients. I purchased my crab meat from Central Market and kept it on ice until I put it in the oven to bake. Another great thing about this recipe is that you can do a lot of the work a day ahead, the recipe details exactly what can be done ahead. In order to keep the crab meat as cold as possible, I made the crab mixture in a metal mixing bowl and covered in saran wrap. I then took a slightly larger mixing bowl and filled the bottom with ice. I placed the crab mixture bowl on top of the ice and stuck it in the refrigerator until I was ready to bake.
Classic Gougères
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Classic-Gougeres-352040
I found this recipe in the April edition of Bon Appétit also. I have made these little bites of goodness three or four times. What I love about this recipe is that it sounds very prestigious and intimidating, but is surprisingly easy. Even the texture of these rolls, eggy like an éclair, makes the recipe seem difficult. But, don’t be fooled, these are pretty much fool proof. I love to serve these as an appetizer to my guests, firstly to impress them, but also because they go fabulously with red wine. The secret to making them beautiful is to wet your finger slightly to round out the peaks of the batter prior to placing them in the oven. Also, if you decide to make these, please pay close attention to the time, they’ve taken as little as 18 minutes in my oven depending on the size you make.
Spinach Cheese Bites
(http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-Cheese-Appetizers/Detail.aspx ).
I'd been saying I was planning to host a dinner party for my friends since my son's birthday (in January). Six months later, I finally did it! On the Fourth of July weekend, I began what I hope will become a new tradition. I prepared the week before and crafted a menu, a grocery list, and planned out the whole weekend. I was prepared to do a lot of prep work on the 3rd and finish the meal on the 4th in time for guests to arrive. However, a family crisis emerged and I couldn’t complete anything on the Fourth! So, I prepared the entire meal the day of. The menu consisted of three appetizers: mini crab cakes, gougères, and spinach cheese bites. For the main course I planned to serve a classic Caesar salad, beef tenderloin drizzled in a blue cheese sauce, and twice baked potatoes. For dessert I chose cheesecake accompanied with blue berries and a strawberry drizzle. I will admit that due to the shortened time frame, I bought a premade cheesecake from Costco, and used premade croutons for the Caesar salad. Despite being rushed to cook, I believe the party went well. However, I will tell you that this hostess committed the worst of all party fouls… I completely forgot to serve the wine! After everyone left I looked at the bottle of wine I had opened on the counter and realized I’d forgotten it completely! At that moment I made a silent vow to Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, and all the party hosting Goddesses that I will not do that again!
I listed my review of the appetizer recipes from the 4th of July dinner party below. I also listed the Caesar Salad recipe I used because it was simple and oh so good.
Mini Crab Cakes
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mini-Crab-Cakes-352041
I originally found the mini crab cake recipe in the April edition of Bon Appétit. These crab cakes are amazing! I’ve made them twice, once for a mother’s day dinner I hosted and again for this party. People who don’t normally like crab cakes, love these. The secret to their success is using the freshest ingredients. I purchased my crab meat from Central Market and kept it on ice until I put it in the oven to bake. Another great thing about this recipe is that you can do a lot of the work a day ahead, the recipe details exactly what can be done ahead. In order to keep the crab meat as cold as possible, I made the crab mixture in a metal mixing bowl and covered in saran wrap. I then took a slightly larger mixing bowl and filled the bottom with ice. I placed the crab mixture bowl on top of the ice and stuck it in the refrigerator until I was ready to bake.
Classic Gougères
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Classic-Gougeres-352040
I found this recipe in the April edition of Bon Appétit also. I have made these little bites of goodness three or four times. What I love about this recipe is that it sounds very prestigious and intimidating, but is surprisingly easy. Even the texture of these rolls, eggy like an éclair, makes the recipe seem difficult. But, don’t be fooled, these are pretty much fool proof. I love to serve these as an appetizer to my guests, firstly to impress them, but also because they go fabulously with red wine. The secret to making them beautiful is to wet your finger slightly to round out the peaks of the batter prior to placing them in the oven. Also, if you decide to make these, please pay close attention to the time, they’ve taken as little as 18 minutes in my oven depending on the size you make.
Spinach Cheese Bites
(http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-Cheese-Appetizers/Detail.aspx ).
I made this recipe because I thought I needed another appetizer and it sounded like it would go well with the other two. However, it paled by comparison. They were very greasy from all of the butter and cheese. In addition, they needed A LOT of salt. On the flip side, they were decent tasting and my son, a toddler, loved that he could eat them with his hands. If nothing else, this recipe is a great way to get kids to eat spinach.
Caesar Salad
The secret is in the sauce (or the salad dressing in this case). It’s very simple and worth the time, the dressing can also be made in advance to save on day of preparations. Here is what you’ll need for the dressing:
1 can of Anchovies (8 filets in oil)
2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
One egg
2 ½ Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
6 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Preparation: Mash the anchovy filets with the chopped garlic with forks until they become like a paste. Whisk in egg and lemon juice. Then very slowly add the olive oil while whisking until it becomes fully emulsified.
After the dressing is made, the rest is simple. Toss in some romaine lettuce, shredded parmesan, and croutons. Voila! In one word: Yummy, I’ve never had a bottled Caesar dressing that tastes as good.
Beef Tenderloin drizzled with Blue Cheese Dressing:
I learned how to properly trim a PISMO cut of Beef Tenderloin by watching Good Eats on Food Network. If you haven’t seen Alton Brown’s “Tender is the Loin,” and you’re interested, then I would highly recommend searching for it on YouTube. It is the best tutorial for properly trimming this cut of meat that I’ve ever seen. After you have the beef properly trimmed, I just marinate it in equal parts teriyaki sauce and red wine with a couple cloves of chopped garlic for approximately 30 minutes. After marinating, I add freshly cracked pepper and kosher salt liberally and pat it onto the meat on all sides, then I pan sear it on all sides before placing it in the oven at 375. I use a thermometer as my timer, and cook the meat until the thickest part reaches 135 degrees. This usually results in the thickest part being medium rare. (The next time I cook this I plan on also adding crushed bacon to the “rub” before pan searing it. Stay tuned to find out how this turns out.)
