We recently had our February dinner party. This time we went with an Italian theme as mentioned in a previous post.

Things played out pretty much as planned. The only real change was that a few people had to bail so we ended up with 6 including me and Suzanne.

While we finished cooking the pasta, there was antipasti for people to nibble on. Top to bottom: sun-dried tomatoes, anchovies, grilled eggplant, artichoke hearts, and roasted red peppers.

We also had a selection of Italian cheeses.

The final bit of antipasti was a mozzarella roll. Suzanne got the cheese at the Fancy Food Show (possibly NSFW if you work somewhere uptight). It was a sheet of mozzarella rolled up into a cylinder. The idea is to unroll it, put stuff on it and roll it up again. Like a jelly roll or sticky buns. Suzanne filled it wirh sundried tomatoes and fresh basil. Neither of us are quite sure how we felt about the result. I later found a great way to put it to optimum use. That’s for a latter post.

Then there was the pasta. We cooked up some dried faro linguini that @daksis had given me to try. Very nice flavor and texture. Also I made (from scratch) a ricotta gnocchi. For sauces we had a basil pesto and an “almost” puttanesca (leaving out the anchovies as one guest was vegetarian).

Then there was dessert! Suzanne made an incredibly good Ligurian lemon cake with raspberries, and I made tiramisu from the recipe in The Silver Spoon (also see this, which includes the tiramisu recipe) which I recently added to my cookbook collection (at the suggestion of @daksis).

Throw in lots of wine and plenty of coffee, and we had a very pleasant evening.

My (now ‘our’) February dinner party is starting to take shape. This month it will be an Italian meal. French might have been a stretch, but I’m largely in my element with Italian cooking.

The plan is to start with a spread of antipasti: roasted peppers, olives, cold meat, …

The plan is to have some pasta:

Not that much variety!

I’m thinking of making homemade fettuccini and gnocchi.

I’ll also make a selection of sauces.

A tomato based:

Of course, a pesto:

Add a salad, bread and some Italian wine.

And for desert: Tiramisu.

This part will be something new.

I’m considering my first dinner party a success. The food went over well, although the crème brûlée didn’t set right. That figures: 2 perfect practice runs and it fails when it’s in the limelight. Oh well… there will be more crème brûlée. In any event, it provided great entertainment for one my guests who appointed herself sous chef and manned the torch.

Here’s the menu:

Appetizers:

Mixed olives

Not much to say about this. Olives in a nice dish, and a place to discard the pits. Done.

Sun-dried tomato & bocconcini skewers

Again, trivial to make, and only takes a few minutes. I’d thought I saw this in The French Laundry cookbook. I was mistaken… I have no idea where saw it, I’ve flipped through so many cookbooks in the last 2 weeks! Both my own and at bookstores. It could have come from anywhere.

Take a tub of cherry sized bocconcini, a jar of oil packed sun-dried tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Take small skewer (cocktail style) fold a piece of tomato in half and skewer it. Add a piece of bocconcini and a second piece of tomato. Done.

Chunks of sweet baguette

This was from The Acme Bread Company in San Francisco, my preferred source of bread. I put this out at the beginning and left it out through the main course.

Main course:

Potato gratin

I used the Classic Potato Gratin recipe at Fine Cooking. I can not emphasize how much I appreciate my mandoline now: consistent extremely thin slices. Yes, I could see though them. It took about 5 minutes to slice half a dozen or so potatoes.

Boeuf bourguignon

This is the centerpiece of the meal, in my opinion. Julia Child’s famous recipe. From start to putting in the fridge for overnight, this took 7 hours to make:

• ~1 hour to prep & saute the various random bits
• 2 hours to brown all the beef
• 3 hours bubbling in the oven
• ~ another hour to finish the gravy, and let it cool enough for the fridge

Not something I’d make frequently, but I will be making it semi-regularly. It is Just. That. Good.

Brussels sprouts

Trim, wash, quarter, saute in plenty of butter with a bit of olive oil, freshly ground pepper (is there any other kind?), and a sprinkle of Sel Gris. Slowly sauté until the sprouts are golden brown and just caramelizing.

Roasted cauliflower and garlic

Again, pretty simple. Trim, clean & chunk the cauliflower. Trim, peel, and crush the garlic. Crush with the side of your chef’s knife… repeatedly, scrapping the spine of the knife over it mashing the garlic into the cutting board. Give is a course chop if required. Melt, butter and oil in an oven-safe skillet. Add a bit of pepper and a sprinkle of salt (these days I use sel gris for pretty much all my cooking). Add the garlic and let it soften a bit. Add the cauliflower and slowly sauté until it starts to brown. Pop it in the oven until it’s nicely roasted. (I put it in with the gratin in the 400F oven)

Dessert:

White chocolate crème brûlée

This recipe was also from Fine Cooking.

Ongoing:

A selection of cheese and fruit

Apple, pear, a mild gruyere, emmental, and a triple cream brie that seemed popular.

General comments

Pretty much everything on the menu was organic, local and/or seasonal, primarily from WholeFoods. Their pastured beef is amazing. The butter was standard off the shelf unsalted stuff, but will be better next time. I don’t think the olive oil is organic, but it’s from a family operation in Modesto: Sciabica.

As I said, this was my first time having more than a couple people over for dinner in a LONG time. And certainly the first time being so adventurous and experimental with the menu. As I was on my way home to start the cooking, I experienced the trepidation… “What have I gotten myself into? What if people don’t like my food?” But once I got home and starting doing prep, any anxiety evaporated. I was in my element. I got into the zone. I was cooking.

I’m already having ideas about next month.

The kitchen elves are hard at work (nod to JK Rowling). Ok… that’d be me. The boeuf bourguignon has been bubbling away in the oven for about 2 hours. I just topped it up with a bit more wine. Mushrooms are sauteing merrily.

I’m making a slightly larger batch this time… starting with nearly 5 pounds of beef rather than 3. That’s a lot of beef. It took over 2 hours just to brown it all! It’s amazing really.. it starts out as a pot full of beef & wine and transforms into a pot full of awesome in a mere 3 hours. That water to wine trick has nothing on this.

Another hour or so will finish it for tonight. Then I’ll grab a few hours sleep before heading out to Sur la Table & Whole Foods (this seems to have become a weekly pilgrimage) to get the final few things I need. Then home to make the custard for the creme brulee, get the gratin going, finish the bourguignon, make the side dishes, and assemble the appetizers.

It’s going to be a busy day, but hella fun! I’m already planning out next months’

My first dinner party is in a couple days.

OMG THAT HAPPENED FAST!!

I think I’m ready. It’s been a long time since I did a dinner party, and this is my first one solo. I’ve practiced the main dishes very successfully. I did another practice run of the creme brulee tonight and had some friends over to test & critique. It passed muster with flying colors.

I picked out some southern european appetizers (utilizing olives, sundried tomatoes, and Bocconcini) to kick off with, then we’ll slip into buffet-style with potato gratin, boeuf bourguignon, a side vegetable (I’ll see what’s good/local/seasonal Saturday morning), and a simple salad of greens. Add bread, oil, and wine and finish up with white chocolate creme brulee and coffee.

Seven guests are lined up. It’s going to be loads of fun.

After my friend Phil came over to help consume last weekend’s Boeuf Bourguignon, I realized just how much more fun cooking is when you share it with friends.  It’s been a couple years that I’ve been cooking for just myself.

I’ve decided that to get the most enjoyment out of my kitchen adventures, and to keep pushing myself, I will host a monthly dinner party. It will be on the Saturday most closely following the 15th.  I’ll be posting menu ideas, etc. here in advance.  It will, of course, be by invitation only.  I expect there will be some regulars as well as special guests.

I’m starting off this month with a classic French menu, including Boeuf Bourguignon, Potato Gratin, and Creme Brulee.  I’m still nailing down the other bits & pieces.