Happy Hour at the New Chateau

Well, the house is really coming together.  We are STILL waiting on shutters, which in turn, means we are waiting on window treatments as well.  Regardless, the landscaping is complete in the backyard.  Stay tuned for project gardening!  We plan to plant some herbs and vegetables...

In the meantime, we decided to host our first official happy hour.  We had over my husband's coworkers with their kids and some of my friends as well.

The Menu

Shrimp & Scallop Ceviche

Balsamic Chicken Skewers

Spicy Sausage Toasts

Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Sourdough Crostini

Assorted Crudite

Chips & Salsa

Pomegranate Blueberry Lemonade

Pretzel M&Ms

I wanted to keep the fare as finger foods but maintain a fairly hearty menu for all the boys!  I also had to keep the kids in mind.  I started with thinking about a beverage (this was a happy hour afterall, and libations were a must).  I bouht some crystal light lemonade and some ocean spray pomegranate blueberry juice and mixed them together for a very pretty, very refreshing summer beverage.  This was perfect for kids and adults and provided a wonderful mixer to go along with vodka or rum.

The spicy sausage toasts are a major crowd-pleaser.  Everyone always asks how its done and its very simple.    You need some HOT ground sausage like Jimmy Dean or something comparable.  You cook it up and stir in garlic and herb creamy cheese.  I usually use Alouette or Rondele cheese.  It looks like this:

Then, you spoon the mixture onto rye bread and bake approx 20 mins at 350.  Its nice if you can find those miniature loaves of cocktail bread but I couldn't so I sliced marble rye in half.  

For the ceviche, I chose shrimp and scallops.  You could also use lobster, or fish.  You need raw seafood to make ceviche.  It is ok if it is frozen but it can't be cooked and frozen.  First, thaw if frozen, then chop up seafood into a small dice size.  In this particular version, I added chopped cilantro, diced mango, fresno chile, red onion and diced avocado.   Fresno chile looks like a red jalapeno.  

Toss it all together and top with zest and juice from 3 lemons and 5 limes.  Keep in the refrigerator and toss sporadically for a few hours.  The seafood will become opaque as the acid in the citrus coagulates the proteins.  "Ceviche" is a method of marinating seafood.  It essentially becomes "cooked" without using any heat.  Drain off the juice and serve it with your favorite tortilla chips.  I personally like the multi grain.  That bowl disappeared quick!  

You could use other things like different types of chile, different fruit like papaya, grapefruit, watermelon, cantaloupe.  You could add bell pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, edamame and so on!  Its light, refreshing and very healthful for summer parties.

Another healthy and flavorful appetizer is balsamic glazed chicken skewers.  Start by thawing and dicing boneless skinless chicken breasts.  Cut baby bella mushrooms in half, and get some cherry tomatoes.  Soak some skewers in water before you start.  Dry skewers will burn easily when cooking.

Skewer the items, 2 of each piece, and season with salt and pepper.  Sear off with a bit of olive oil on a griddle pan, on the grill, or in a skillet.  In the meantime, reduce some balsamic vinegar slowly over low heat.  I threw in a sprig of rosemary to add some herby flavor.

When almost cooked, place on a sheet ban and brush with balsamic glaze, and finish baking in the oven.  Top with extra glaze to serve.  The balsamic reduction should thicken up and sweeten significantly as it reduces.  Keep it very low and slow so you don't burn it and give it a yucky bitter taste.  

The spinach and artichoke dip is far from healthful but delicious nonetheless.  Thaw a bag of frozen chopped spinach and squeeze out all the excess water.  Stir it together with 1 can of artichoke hearts, chopped, 1 cup of mayonnaise, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan and 1 cup shredded mozzarella. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes.  I serve it with mini slices of sourdough bread, brushed with butter, sprinkled with garlic and salt, and baked until slightly crisp and golden.  A mini crispy bread item is also know as a crostini.  You can also serve the dip with pita chips, pita bread, chips, crackers and raw vegetables, also known as crudite.  I had baby carrots, celery sticks, and sliced cucumber for my crudite. 

On this particular day, I worked 8 - 4 then everyone showed up at 5:30.  You can throw these things together quickly!  However, I didn't have time for a goody so I just put out a bowl of pretzel M&Ms. It was a hit! The kiddos especially enjoyed them.  Also, I invested in some bubbles while I was doing my grocery shopping.  They were 50 cents and they kept those munchkins entertained for hours!  It is always nice to have something special to offer a kid...it doesn't have to be expensive.  

Whenever you are entertaining, write a menu.  Print it on a piece of cardstock and place it on a little easel or write it on a little dry erase board.  People love to see a menu! Furthermore, it adds a touch of class to any event.  Make sure you talk like a chef on your menu.  Use words like those noted in this blog: ceviche, crostini, crudite and so on.  Other fun appetizer words are: pouches, pockets, rounds, tarts, purses, cups, boats, or shots.  For example, you could serve chilled soup in a shot glass, then name it appropriately.  Aaagh, but that will be another day.

What is your favorite party appetizer? Do you have a fun name for it? Any struggles when entertaining groups?

Nothing bundt ease!

We've been working diligently on our new house.  Unpacking, organizing, hanging, wiring, painting, and so on.  We haven't had a chance to do any serious entertaining yet but we have had a few friends pop in to see our progress.

Saturday, my girlfriends stopped by to scope the new digs and for a little chat.  These girls are notorious for liking their sweets so I knew I had to whip something up to offer them.

Let me preface this by fully admitting, I am not a baker!  Baking is immensely different than cooking.  Most people make the false assumptions that chefs, especially female chefs, love to bake.  Most chefs suck at baking. Baking is like doing math.  It requires TONS of patience.  If you measure wrong, or open the oven at an inappropriate time, the whole thing is ruined and, usually, you have to start over.  When cooking,  if you mess something up, or it doesn't taste right, you add a little of this, a pinch of that and voila!

I decided on something light and summery: a lemon blueberry sour cream bundt cake.  First you'll need these:

I mixed up a box of lemon cake mix, 4 eggs, 1 cup or sour cream, and 2/3 cup blueberries.  I sprayed my bundt pan and poured it in....that was easy!

I baked the cake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  I let it cool for about 15 minutes on top of the stove.

Meanwhile, I whisked up 1 stick of room temperature butter, the zest and juice from one lemon, and 1/2 box of powdered sugar.  I flipped the cake out of the pan and onto a pretty platter.

I slathered the frosting/glaze on top of the still warm bundt and let it melt down the sides.  I sprinkled a few more fresh blueberries on top to finish the presentation.

The girls loved it! They both went back for a second piece.  Making people smile, feel good, and say yummy, are all part of the joys of cooking.  I served a piece to my mom in the morning with coffee.  Great then too!

This was so easy, that even I could whip it up between all the chaos.  In order to be a successful baker, make sure you have everything you need before you start, measure your ingredients, and be patient.  It's worth the delicious smell of baked goods that will waft through your house.

Lakeside luncheon

On a recent trip to Northern Wisconsin, we landed at my aunt's cabin on Loon Lake.  Famished from a daunting* 2 1/2 road trip to this fabulous destination, we immediately rallied the troops to whip up a fabulous luncheon. 
*Note: joking...wasn't very long...we are just always ready to eat!)
This is the first key to success when feeding hungry troops: get yourself some sous chefs.  Even my sister, who is a self proclaimed kitchen dunderhead, was an unstoppable force at trimming artichokes. 

The menu:

Steamed artichokes with white wine butter sauce

Miniature Reubens

Assorted Wisconsin cheeses and summer sausage

Fresh fruit

Hummus and flatbread

Sausage and lemon pasta salad

Schezuan green beans

I cut the artichoke stems off at the base; then, my sister neatly trimmed the sharp, pointy tips off of the artichoke leaves.  Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, I sauteed some minced garlic in olive oil, sprinkled in some lemon zest* and deglazed with white wine.  I placed the artichokes upside down in the wine and added broth, fresh herbs, lemons, salt and pepper.  I covered them up and let them simmer for about 30 minutes. 

*Note: A microplane works best for zesting citrus.  It also comes in handy for hard cheeses, garlic, nutmeg and more.  It is used like this:

A must for every kitchen - and at about $14, affordable.

Next, I diced up and sauteed some bacon while my sous chef snapped the tips off the fresh green beans, also known as haricot vert. 

When the bacon was cooked, we sauteed the beans in the bacon fat and added a bottle of Schezuan chili sauce.  We sprinkled them with toasted sesame seeds and voila!  This is so simple and they were amazing.  The dish would be great to bring to a potluck or barbecue.  Very tasty!

My aunt whipped up some mini Reubens on rye bread with pastrami, thousand island, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese.  Also, super easy and delightful.

My other aunt worked on a lemony pasta salad.  It was so summery and flavorful.  She used chicken sausage, spaghetti, lemon, roasted tomatoes and garlic.

I cut the flatbread into triangles, brushed it with a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and warmed in the oven.  I placed it on a platter with hummus, cheese, sausage, and fruit.  Perfect lunch nosh.

My hubby pulled out the artichokes, arranged them on a platter and finished the liquid in the pot with butter to create a dipping sauce for the leaves.  

Although we had a slew of goodies to eat, it all took about 45 minutes.  Furthermore, it was so fun to have everyone in the kitchen together.  Lots of fun banter and a bit of learning.  Lastly, we simply sat by the lake and enjoyed.  Cooking for a crowd does not have to be stressful.  Give your sous chefs a task...even kids.  Kids can be a great help in the kitchen.  They would have been able to snap the tips off the green beans perfectly.   Getting your family or friends involved in the cooking process makes the result that much more enjoyable for everyone!