hday. I find that every time I cook for a large group I learn more about myself as a cook and pick up a little more knowledge to use for dinner parties in the future. Here are some observations from last Saturday.- When pairing wine with food, remind guests to slow down on the wine early. I once had a girl get a bit too inebriated by the 3rd course. She fell strangely silent for a while then leapt up from the table and went home (My friend Rob ate her steak). It’s important to tell guests, especially thirsty mid 20’s types, that they will have enough to drink by the end of the night. No need to drink too much too early and be that guy or that girl.
- Buy really good ingredients. If you are serving a large group its nice to have some courses which really only require assembly. It’s much easier to throw unaltered delicious ingredients out there than it is bad ones.
- Try to shop at smaller stores. This makes the shopping experience more fun and can also help you learn more about food. I went to DiPalo’s dairy and was able to try several of the different cheeses and talk with the guy behind the counter. He even recommended two Sicilian Cheeses that were both excellent. I wish I could remember what they were but the label simply reads miscellaneous.
That’s actually all I can think of right now. This is probably the 8th or 9th dinner party I’ve thrown for 8+ people and I feel like it turned out really well. The food never looks as nice as I want it to look, but it always tastes good and I think that my guests left full, happy and a little bit drunk. After my friend Aaron (he’s the guy who looks really pleased by his dessert) asked me for a ‘foody word’ to describe the meal. He picked out his own and called it ‘Delicissimo.’
Here is my rundown of what was served:
- Lobster Ravioli--This course was pretty much assembly only. I bought the pasta from Raffetto’s and I roasted the corn and made a key-lime avocado puree. The puree was good and limey and seemed very versatile. I think it would probably go well with a number of other dishes. I’m thinking of a tequila marinated skirt steak.
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- Cavatelli with Rock Shrimp--This course involved marinating the rock shrimp, roasting the artichoke hearts, peppers and rock shrimp, chopping parsely, zesting oranges (I got to explain zesting to my friend Jim, who then told me that a zester might work well for toenails). Although I don’t think this course looks that great, it is very flavorful and tastes of orange, garlic and heat all at the same time. The ’05 Kartauserhofsburg Kabinett Riesling also turned out to be an excellent wine.
- Porcini Crusted Chicken with Swiss chard, truffled polenta and tomatoes. This dish is really easy to make and requires very little work. I could try to figure out a way to present it better, but I suppose I’ll settle for the taste right now.
- Chocolate terrine with frozen mascarpone, chocolate sauce, amaretto and hazelnuts. I got to use squirt bottles to put this one together. The terrine was a little dryer than I would have liked but still tasted alright. Perhaps I overbaked it. (Unfortunately I let it sit a little too long before the picture was taken, causing the amaretto and the chocolate sauce to blend a little.)
In the end, I would give myself a B for the food, an A- for the wines, and an A-/B+ for environment and goodness overall.
That’s it for now. I’ll post some of the recipes later in the week for people to try, I promise they will be easy and tasty.
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