Monday, June 9, 2008

My first dinner Party

for a friend from work who's relocating to the east coast, i did a small dinner to send her off properly... here's what we had

my mini bar


i decided to serve passion fruit cosmo... the recipe: 1 part vodka (i used Ciroc brand), 1/2 part triple sec, 1/2 part fresh lime juice, 1/2 part passion fruit nectar... Shake with ice, strain and voila...


first course, crab toast served with baby spring mix and orange. i made up the recipe: crab meat, parmesan, mozzerella, diced red bell, thinly slice chive, crushed pink peppercorns. mix and mount over butter/chive toast, pop in oven for 10-15 minutes at 375F. Mix green salad toss with orange segments and your favorite dressing. done!


second course, corn soup. cook sliced fresh corn in chicken broth (i prefer shrimp broth but since i made small quantity, i used store bought chicken broth to simplify). season with salt if need, puree with hand blender. bring to a boil and add cream when ready to serve. sprinkle with thinly sliced chive and crushed pink peppercorns.


third, beef stew. sprinkle beef with pepper and flour, brown in hot oil. sautee diced onion, carrot and celery until fragrant, add beef back in. add 1/2 part beef broth and 1/2 red wine, bunched thyme and rosemary, bring to a simmer and keep simmering at low for a few hrs until the beef is tender (depending on what cut of meat you use, cooking time will be different). brown 1/2" diagonal sliced carrot and pearl onion in hot oil (seperately). add to stew when beef is tender. add cream at butter (optional) when ready to serve. sprinkle with thinly sliced chive and crushed pink peppercorns.


dessert, summer berry crisp. i used blue, black and raspberries. serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

use any of your favorite crisp recipe and any kind of seasonal fruits. i used flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and sliced almond for the crumb.


dinner table afterward

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