I want to have a dinner party. Any ideas?!
I want to have a dinner party. Any ideas?
I've done an Italian night, tapas dinner, grilled pizza, sangria, cioppino. I need a new idea.
Answers:
what about a last of the summer theme. grilled foods, bbq etc. or a entering fall theme with alot of stews and soups...pumpkin desserts etc
Take it outdoors. Nothing's cooler than dinner outdoors at sunset. Then you stick around the table with wine at the table and a few candles burning away. The experience becomes more important than the food, so it doesn't matter what you serve but I'd say go with cool foods.
pot roast?
fondue!!!!!
fondue just isnt cheese and chocolate, check out
www.themeltingpot.com and see the different cooking methods for fondue.
they have the cheese, they have one method of cooking in hot oil, another is a broth cooking, and of course, the dessert/chocolate fondue course
maybe an asian style dinner party...
Try soul food night.
We are throwing a Tribute to the Life of Steve Irwin party this Saturday night. Everyone is bringing some type of tropical kinda dish... Wearing khakis or bikinis... (bikini wearers will get a prize - a plastic crocodile toy)... and we will be playing his videos in the background... for some reason... everyone we know connected with his death... and what better reason to get together than to celebrate someone who made a difference in our lives with his passion...
Seafood/Lobster boil? We use our Turkey Fryer for this in the late summer or early fall. Lobster, Shrimp, Steamers, corn, potatoes. MMMM. The Easy Entertaining guy did one recently on his show and he ended with a doughnut bread pudding that looked wonderful!!
We've done this for as many as 12 people with steak and chicken for the non-seafood folks. The fennel spice rub I don't use for this recipe but LOVE it on pork. No one ate the artichokes the first time we did it so I never added them again.
Seafood Boil Recipe courtesy Michael Chiarello
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
1/2 cup sea salt, preferably gray salt
2 bay leaves
1 (3-ounce) box crab boil spice (recommended: Zatarain's)
1/4 cup fennel seeds
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
6 lemons, halved
4 medium artichokes (no need to trim)
8 small boiling potatoes
2 onions, unpeeled, ends removed
5 whole, unpeeled heads of garlic
1 cup dry wine
2 (1 1/2 pound) lobsters
1 dozen fresh clams
1 pound jumbo shrimp in the shell
Garnishes:
Melted unsalted butter
Sea salt, preferably gray salt
Fennel Spice Rub, recipe follows
Hot pepper sauce
Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. When water is at a full boil, salt generously and then add bay leaves, crab boil seasoning, fennel seeds, peppercorns, red pepper flakes, coriander seeds, and lemons. Return to a boil, add artichokes, and cover. Boil for 10 minutes and then add potatoes and onions; reduce heat to a simmer and return the cover to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes and then add garlic and wine. Simmer, covered, until artichokes, onions, and potatoes are tender; as they vegetables become tender, remove them to a serving platter (the potatoes should take about 20 to 30 minutes, and then artichokes and onions, about 30 to 40 minutes).
After you have removed all the vegetables, add the lobsters. Cook just until they begin to turn pink, about 3 minutes. Then add the clams; after 30 seconds, add shrimp. Cook until the shrimp turn pink and begin to curl and the clams open fully, about 5 minutes.
Cut the onions in half. Cut the artichokes in half and scoop out and discard the chokes.
Serve the shrimp, potatoes, onions, and artichokes with shallow bowls of melted butter, sea salt, and the Fennel Spice Rub for dipping, and with jars of hot sauce.
Fennel Spice Rub:
This is my favorite spice mixture. There is almost nothing it doesn't taste good on or in. Use it to make spice-encrusted pork ribs, chops, or tenderloin; veal chops; chicken breasts; duck; beef; liver; or eggplant; or add a teaspoon to lentil soup.
1 cup fennel seeds
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons white peppercorns
3 tablespoons kosher salt
Put the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns in a heavy pan over medium heat. Watch carefully, tossing frequently so the seeds toast evenly. When light brown and fragrant, pour the seeds onto a plate to cool. They must be cool before grinding, or they will gum up the blades.
Pour the seeds into a blender and add the salt. Blend to a fine powder, shaking the blender occasionally to redistribute the seeds. Store in a tightly sealed glass jar in a cool, dry place, or freeze.
Cake Doughnut Bread Pudding Recipe courtesy Michael Chiarello
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Bread pudding:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins
16 cake doughnuts
Rum sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound confectioners' sugar
Dark rum, to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a food processor, combine butter and sugar briefly, just until it forms into a ball. Add eggs, heavy cream, cinnamon, and vanilla, and process until blended.
Lightly butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Break up the doughnuts into 1-inch pieces and layer in the pan. Scatter the raisins over the top. Pour the egg mixture over the doughnuts; soak for 5 to 10 minutes. You will need to push doughnut pieces down during this time to ensure even coverage by egg mixture.
Cover with foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes to brown the top. The doughnut bread pudding is done when the custard is set, but still soft.
Make the rum sauce: melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan, and take off the heat. Add confectioners' sugar to the melted butter and whisk to blend. Add rum, to taste. Pour the sauce over the bread pudding and allow to soak in.
Well since we are in summer I will do something outside.
This idea me & some friends did about 2 years ago for a friends birthday. ****Mediterranean****
In the patio of the house we created 4/5 areas where we laid matts on the grass & and on top some colorfull fabrics then we used futton matresess, all kind of cuchions and pillows. All in all kind of suave and silky fabrics & every shape. Then we draped all across the patio this white pieces of fabric and ran thrugh them white christmas lights. We also had torches and big candles set around the whole area to create a nice ambience.
Finally for the food we had, cheeses, fruits, puff pastries, hummus, taztaki, babaganush, all king of kabobs, tapenade, tabouli, stuffed grape leaves, lamb chops, etc. All kind of mediterrenean food displayed on trays at the center of each area we had created with the pillows, along with ice buckets, wine & spirits and mixers.
Then we asked everyone to be prepare for a fun laid back night, to take their shoes off and to dress confortable. No body knew the theme of the party only the ocasion...
if i want to keep it simple, i would make those chix wraps w/ flour tortilas, like fajitas, and each person can make their own (include cheese, salsa, sour cream, maybe some lettuce, onions, pepper) or whatever else u would like. AND u can have it outdoors, as mentioned before.
perhaps, u can have some doritos too.
and u have to have margaritas w/ this...
A great website for this is Evite. It helps you from start to finish for your event.