Food Dinner Party Menu

So, I am throwing a dinner party this Sunday for 2 couples, my wife and I, one of the couple's housemates, and my kids. Stressing out a bit because I still have some shopping to do...

Here's the menu:
Amuse bouche: Cubed watermelon with balsamic reduction on Mint leaves. Served with a dry riesling or citron vodka martini. Diet 7-up for non Alcohol.

Appetizer: 3 dates stuffed with Gorgonzola, Saga Bleu, and Chevre, wrapped in Bacon, Broiled en brochette. (Garnish of frisee with balsamic reduction).

Salad: Romaine, Arugula, and Frisee, with Red onion; firm, mild goat cheese, dried cherries, candied walnuts, and Orange/Ginger vinaigrette. (Drinks to order - Tom Collins for me. Maybe)

Entree: Burgundy marinated, Garlic Studded, Charcoal grilled London broil with grilled veggie kabobs and hoppin' john. Served with a nice Peppery Pinot or a Manhattan. Homemade Diet Cola for Kids.

Palate Cleanser: Lemon Sorbet with a fresh raspberry on top. Iced shots of Vodka will be offered. (Citron, Pepper, or Vanilla)

Dessert: Vanilla custard tart on shortbread crust with sliced (canned, I am afraid) peaches, on top, with a broiled sugar crust, a dribble of chambourd, and some strawberry slices. With Vanilla Ice Cream. Served with Spiced Coffee (With optional brandy & liqueur); a Sweet, pink, sparkling wine the missus got, or a liqueur (I have a number of appropriate ones.)

Camels or Cloves on the front lawn for afters. Blue Motorcycle for Mr. Fingaz. Diet Seabreezes for Mrs. Hat and Ladyfingaz. Stormy Monday (Gin, St. Germain, Creme de Violet, Sours, Soda) for me. Sombreros for the Hatlings. Vodka/Redbull for Mr. & Mrs. Electric. Choice of beverage for Mr. Mike.

Then off to Karaoke for recovery (assuming anyone can drive - Starts at 5, ends at 9. 6 drinks offered in 4 hours. More if folks like. Should be OK.)

Should be a good night.

 

I've had a dinner party before (once where I was doing cooking)... I didnt go to the extent you had, just had simple things that meant I didnt have to spend all the time in the kitchen when people was there.

I did:

starter - tomato soup (which I brewed myself) and some bread (which I bought)

main - shepherd's pie and a bit of salad

afters - ice cream (I had different flavours so people could choose)

Level of effort was minimum and I didnt have to spend much time in the kitchen. I am sure the food elitists would think I was a filthy animal if I served up such food to them! But it all tasted ok to me and I had cold beer which is the main fact.

_

Also, your mates have funny names! Is Mr Fingers a professional thief? I dread to think what else a man could do to get a name like that!! I always tried to sow the seeds of getting people to call me "Adam the Horse" but it never worked... people called me "Jo Jo or Dougie Rooster instead"

 

OK, that worked out well. Took two solid days of work to put together. I didn't get to hang out until the entree. And I don't recall the wines offhand. Ended up getting 2 rieslings and 2 pinots (one peppery, on fruity). Didn't have time to put together the tray of vodka shots, but after the cubed watermelon was done, I had enough in scraps to make a mint/watermelon soup. Served that with the Lemon Sorbet.

Next time, 4 courses max. I can do the feast thing once every 3 or so years. Next one next month, one other couple instead of 2. Probly build it around a butterflied leg of lamb on the grill.

 

Can you post recipes/preparation notes for the best parts of your meal?

I will try to duplicate anything you recommend.

 

I'll post some recipes when I get some time. I do a lot of my cooking by nose, though, rather than by measuring cup, so amounts will be rough.

 

Eh, what's the worst that could happen?

I will be lurking and waiting.

 

We did an impromptu dinner with our neighbours on Monday night (Tuesday was a holiday). We kept it pretty simple because I work until 7pm and didn't want to take forever to finish dinner.

Starters: Assortment of dips served with tortillas and pita

Main: Sirloin steaks, pan seared with a lemon, garlic and rosemary sauce. Topped with aruguala and shaved parmesan.
Grilled sweet potatoes and ratatouille stuffed eggplants as the sides.
Wine: Cabernet Sauvignon

Dessert: Vanilla cakes with whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
Single Malt for those who wanted it.


It was super easy to pull off and we were eating dinner by a little bit after 8pm.

 

Burgundy Steak:
Get a top round steak, just under an inch thick, 1/3 lb per person. Sliver a clove of garlic. With a sharp, thin knife, make a bunch of little slits all over it and stuff the garlic slivers in. Mix Soy Sauce (half a cup), Olive Oil (1/3 cup), worchestershire (half dozen good shakes), hot chili oil (1/2 tsp), ground celery seed (1 tsp), Basil (2 tsp), Oregano (ditto), onion powder (1 tsp), and half a handle of cheap burgundy (about a quart) in a large bowl or tupperwear. Put the steak in a gallon ziploc and pour in as much of the marinade as possible (or just lay the steak in the tupperwear or bowl and cover). Let soak at least a couple hours in the fridge (4 is about optimum. Overnight is not too long.) An hour or so before cooking, drain the marinade off (reserve a 3 cups), pat the steak dry, and let rest to bring to room temp. Start a good, hot fire on the grill. While that gets going, bring 2 cups of the reserved marinade to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low and reduce to 1 cup. When you've got a nice bed of coals going get it as close to the grill as possible, rub the grill with olive oil, get it smoking hot, and sear the steak, a minute or so on each side. Then drop the coals down, adjust the airflow to cool the fire a bit, and finish cooking over lower (but still pretty high) heat. pour some of the reserved marinade on each side. 4 minutes/side for medium rare. Note: This will be redder inside than you expect, because of the wine. Remove to a platter and let rest under foil for 10 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain. Serve over rice, mashed potatos (or suchlike), polenta, crusty bread, whathaveyou (I used hoppin john), with a couple of spoons of the reduced marinade poured on.