PARTY 101-
STEO BY STEP – BLOW BY BLOW – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
to throw it down like a PRO!!
RULE 1, when it comes to cooking is: ALWAYS COOK ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.
When you cook, you should always listen to your hungry stomach speak, which will tell you, if what you are cooking is any good, or not.
The whole purpose of cooking is eating, so if you eat before you cook obviously it’s not going to work out for the best. I always like to complete all my prep before 2 pm and then I sit down and taste it all.
RULE 2: every super hero has an arch nemesis, and in the kitchen your cryptonite, is time.
Time will trip you up every time. Start early, don’t stop until you drop and everything, you can pre prep is done. And then you can eat.
RULE 3: menu writing.
Half of success is giving everyone atleast something they can eat. Your guest list and your menu should be able to feed someone old (grandparents), someone very young (kids), someone with a diet fad or diet that is rad (vegan, gluten free, dairy free, nut free) and perhaps a few four footed friends. It is not a real party unless at least one person brought their dog.
I went to a FANCY dinner party recently, a high end socialite, who had just shot a TV pilot, about “party hostessing” and I was served a choice of BEEF stew or LAMB stew. People, these are not choices. She was sweet but….clearly was not adhering to the “rules” and her TV show never made the air, which was fair, because rules are rules.
Beef or fish.
Chicken or vegan/ vegetarian.
Dairy or dairy free.
Gluten or gluten free.
Choices.
For parties, I like to make one healthy (quinoa, farro etc) starch, and one friendly crowd pleaser (potatoes, pasta etc).
In sauces, the same, one creamy and one spicy, or tart.
Vegetable selection, one friendly, such as corn or broccoli, and then something else, such as okra or kale.
Choices.
Cool vs Comfort.
Healthy vs Not.
Spicy vs Sweet.
Creamy vs Tart.
RULE 4: which is more of a philosophy.
Never make enough!
Say what?
In this case, less is more.
If you make and serve too much, you will
a) end up with too many leftovers,
and
b) always have the guest leave wanting more
The better the restaurant, the smaller the portions.
You don’t want to be an “all you can eat buffet”.
If they want more of your super delicious home made organic food, they can come again.
That’s what the next party is for!!!!
Alright,LET’S THROW IT DOWN, and time to get cooking!
to get the party started we made some mini chicken quesadillas and fresh garbanzo beans hummus with garden vegetables.
I’m declaring the grilled vegetable platter “out”, and I am declaring the two veggie combination “in”.
We made green beans with butternut squash, but go ahead, it could be asparagus with fresh corn, or zucchini with english peas, or cauliflower and broccoli combo, really any two. Not three. Not assorted platter.
No, no, no. 2011 is the year of the two veggie combo plate.
Every party needs a salad.
In fact it needs two.
Again, choices. For parties I always make two salads.
The party salad rules are:
if one salad has cheese in it, the second must be cheese free.
If one salad has nuts, or a nut oil in it, then the second must be nut free.
Not to hammer the message home any more but If one has bacon in it, then don’t put prosciutto in the other one.
No reason to fret, no reason to worry, it’s time to party down like the pro’s!
MEET THE PARTY MEATS!
Doesn’t matter if it is beef, chicken or fish. The party prep step is always the same. You are trying to sear and brown it on the visable surfaces, while leaving it still uncooked.
We will season it, and chill it, when it comes party time, all we need to do is bake it.
Fresh fish
Slice your fish into individual servings pieces before cooking. For party prep always cut your servings small, espcially if there are multible choice items, since many guests want a “little bit of this and a little bit of that”. If you cut your servings too big, every other person is going to try to cut a smaller piece which will make a mess on your beautifully made platter, or they will just eat half of a piece and toss the rest. Wasteful. And we don’t want that. They can always take two pieces if necessary. So for 30 guest, I want to see 45 mini pieces.
Then in a hot skillet with butter (to help it brown) and oil (to raise the burn temperature) we will brown the top (side up) of our fish fillet only until nice and browned and looking good. But stop. I said, top side only. We are not trying to fully cook it. You want your fish cooked fresh at the party, so all you are trying to do, is sear it, so all you have to do is finish it off in the oven, it should still be raw inside.
Then we will season it with salt and pepper, maybe add some citrus zest and some herbs of choice. Then put it in the fridge and you are all done.
You can also do a slow baked salmon and serve cold, super easy with the swedish roe sauce, or a simple mustard dill sauce
PARTY FINISH STEP: put your pre seared fish (really any kind you like) into a preheated 400 degree oven until done, depending on what type of fish, and if you want it rare or well done, but since it should be cut into small individual portions, it should take about 10 minutes. Then from to oven to a platter. Scatter a little sea salt and serve with sauce of your choice.
Party Pollo
I prefer to work with a chicken with skin on for party and pre prep because as much as i love skinless breast, they tend to dry out very quickly, and are not as suitable for pre cooking.
Thighs are totally awesome, and can be fully cooked a few days before and just heated at the party, I find that most chicken breast will be too large for a party situation, so I lightly flatten my skin on breast and then cut it on the diagonal to create two smaller servings. Again, you want to allow your guest to have “a little of this and a little of that” and you don’t want to give them a giant chicken breast they are not going to finish. Once your breast is appropriately sized we are going to brown the skin only, either on a hot grill or on a hot skillet. If you add a touch of something sweet (such as a tiny brush of agave on the breast) it will brown faster and easier and get a nice char on it. After your chicken skin is nice and brown, but the chicken is still raw inside, take if off the grill. Season with salt and pepper, garlic, herbs and or zest. You can also marinade the chicken at this point, depending on what your marinade is. I don’t like to expose my protein to citrus or soy marinades over night, as it may begin to “cook” it, making for a texture that is unpleasant. Those marinades are ok to apply in the morning or a few hours before serving. Alternativly, if you are working with a citrus/soy marinade, and you have time the day of the party, you can start marinading the chicken first thing in the morning, then sear it around noon.
You can never go wrong with a salsa served with your chicken or fish; avacado tomatillo salsa (recipe below), or fresh summer corn salsa
PARTY FINISH STEP: place your seared but still raw inside chicken, in a 400 degree preheated oven until cooked thorugh, depending on size of the chicken about 15 minutes. Serve with sauce or salsa of your choice.
THE BEEF
The best party meats are those that produce a large quantaty of meat, with the least amount of effort. There’s a reason why every catered party serves either fillet mignon or rack of lamb. Sear it, season it, chill it, bake it, slice it, serve it.
How easy was that?
So get a large whole side of beef tenderloin. One whole side will serve about 10 guest, if you are serving a standard thick steak. If you slice it thinner, you can serve more guests.
Clean it, to the best of your ability. Or ask the butcher to do it. You can tie it with string. If you have some. Then on a hot BBQ, which would be easiest if the fillet is too large for a skillet. If it’s a smaller fillet, and it fits in a skillet, you can do it there instead. Point being is that we want high heat. We are not trying to steam it, or cook it all the way through. We are trying to get a nice beautiful sear on the beef. Once seared all around, but still raw inside, season generously with salt, and pepper. If you wish you can rub some garlic, and or herbs on it. Then into the fridge until ready to use. Bring to room temperature before baking in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes (depending on how thick it is). The best thing with a beef tenderloin, vs a rack of lamb, is that it is thicker at the top and thinner at the end, which means, you will naturally end up with some pieces that are rare (top end), medium (center section) and well done (the thin end). Let the fillet rest for ten to 15 minutes before carving, either thick or thin.
Rack of lamb, can be treated exactly the same way, but it will take less time to cook in the oven. Each rack has 8 ribs in it, but if you are not careful when you are slicing it, as you may “loose” one or two ribs, then only getting 6 ribs per rack.
Sauces
Should always be made in advance, when you have time to season and try it first. And if you don’t like it, you can always do it again.
Avocado tomatillo sauce
tired of salsa and guacamole?
well no, cause i am never going to tire of that. but sometimes i may want to shake it up and do something else.
the tartness of the tomatillos and the lime juice, will keep the avocado bright green for days. This sauce can be made up to 4 days in advance.
I prefer to use my tomatillos raw, but if you prefer to roast yours do, so under a broiler until slightly blackened.
4 tomatillos, husks removed and discarded
1 ripe avocado
jalopena chili to taste
juice of three limes
1/2 cup cilantro
salt and pepper
whirl me all toghet in a blender or food processor. Taste for seasoning, add more lime, chili or salt, if needed.
STARCHES and SALADS easy prep easy reheat
Watermelon cucumber salad with feta dressing
Cabbage salad with flower power dressing
Ok, really use anything you like, red cabbage, green cabbage, curly kale, black kale, thinly sliced carrots, bell peppers, raw thin sliced asparagus, or green beans, cucumbers, chives, or green onions, even thinly sliced raw pumpkin. Just try to work with a variety of colorful ingredients.
Use a mandoline, to slice all your vegetables super thin, you can do this up to two days in advance. Chill, cover and set aside.
FLOWER POWER DRESSING…..Peanut…NOT…. dressing
I was going to say peanut dressing but obviously the peanut is on the high allergen list, so that is a NO nuts PARTY invite for the peanuts. Did you know how does a peanut grow? Underground is where the peanut is found, but other nuts as you may see all around are grown on the tree? So tree nuts are; almonds, walnuts, cashews, but those crazy allergy peanuts are legumes from the family of beans, peas and lentils.
Anyway, and although you can use a peanuts or a tree nut butter for this recipe we are doing to with FLOWER POWER, and what comes from the beautiful flower? A bouquet of beauty that ends up as seeds, and seed butter, the magic of sunflower butter which is usually consdiered one the lower risk no nut butters. This dressing can be made with any of the above options and can be made up to 7 days in advance. Let it come to room temperature before using and whisk it back together, as it may separate while chilled.
1/3 cup each: agave, sunflower seed butter, and seasoned rice vinegar, and vegetable oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
grated ginger and garlic (i always keep a piece of ginger in the freezer, ready to grate at al times)
Whisk it all together until combine. Toss your vegetables with the dressing. If desired, garnish with edible flowers.
SWEET END
Well we have been baking a lot lately, so my suggestions for party desserts are:
chocolate cake – make a head and freeze
berry crumble – make ahead
coconut croissant pudding – assemble the day before, bake off before party starts
FINAL TOUCH:
get plenty to drink, because as long as the bar is open, the party is on!