I promise this is my last post regarding throwing a party. If you haven't had a chance to read Part 1 & Part 2, here are the links:
How to Throw a Party, Part 1
How to Throw a Party, Part 2
This post, I want to focus on the food and drink of my wife's surprise birthday party, including some recipes.
Appetizers
On one table, I laid out all of the appetizers and a drink station near the front door. Since this was a fairly large party (over 60 people), I wanted a large variety of little bits to please any palate. Keeping with my Italian theme, I offered the following:
- Sliced Deli meats- Prosciutto di Parma, Salami, Mortadella (kids love this stuff because it tastes like bologna), Capicolla (hot) and Sopressata (sweet). I bought basically a pound of each which was plenty.
- Cheese- Fresh sliced mozzarella with a sprinkling of salt and black pepper, Fontal (sheep milk cheese), aged Provolone, Parmigiano Reggiano, Asiago and Gorgonzola. The idea here is to arrange the cheeses from mildest to strongest (which I did in the order above). This way your guests can progress on the cheeses until they reach their comfort zone. I also like to mix up goat, cow and sheep milk cheeses to make it interesting. With the cheese, I offered an array of fresh and dried fruits. These are natural pairings. I offered green and red grapes, fresh cherries, dried pear slices, dried cherries, figs (both mission and Smyrna) and dates (madjool). I also put together a nice mix of nuts including cashews, pistachios and almonds (blanched). Put the nuts on a baking sheet in an oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes until golden. These make boring nuts taste fantastic. I should have also put out some honey, but in all of the confusion I forgot.
- In the past, I always made a mini caprese salad on a toothpick, but this time I decided to deconstruct it. I took super sweet grape tomatoes and marinated them in balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, pepper and olive oil. Just before the party I added a bunch of fresh basil (torn up into pieces) with small balls of fresh mozzarella and plenty of salt. If you want to use toothpicks, simply put the mozzarella on first, then a basil leaf and then the grape (or cherry) tomatoes to cap it off. Salad on a stick!
- Olives, galore. I am not a big fan of olives, but my wife loves them. Here are some great ways to jazz up the olives: stuff them with crazy things. I love taking different varieties of pitted olives and stuffing them with: almonds, pistachios, any nuts, prosciutto, roasted garlic, fresh garlic slivers, gorgonzola, provolone, any cheese, roasted red peppers or really any flavor item you can fit in the little hole. Once I have stuffed the olives (or leave them plain), I use my microplane and zest lemons and oranges all over the top and then drizzle really good quality olive oil all over the place with a dash of white balsamic vinegar (add dried chili flakes if you want some heat to the dish). This is the best way to jazz up canned or jarred olives.
- I love bread. I decided to offer a big variety that included a semolina loaf, some ciabatta rolls, thinly sliced non-seeded Italian and a seasame seeded Italian round. Next the bread, I put some roasted garlic, butter whipped with gorgonzola cheese and a sformato (see recipe below).
- Sformato (ricotta cheese spread). Ingredients: 3 cups of ricotta, 1 cup of parmesean, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon zest, 1 tablespoon each of salt & pepper Directions: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Mix together the ricotta (room temperature), parmesean, egg, olive oil, lemon zest , salt & pepper and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Place the mixture into a non-stick baking pan about 9 inches in diameter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
Main Course
You are probably freaking out already that there is this much food, but there isn't a lot more food left. I like for people to fill up on appetizers and then wow them with just two or three entrée items. The appetizer stuff takes no time to prepare and can be done in advance. I didn't even start cooking my main course dishes until my guests arrived (with the exception of the veggies and the orzo in the egg bake). Since I was going to cook and entertain at the same time, my main courses have to be quick. I also like to prepare a meat, fish/seafood and a vegetarian option to satisfy all guests. Here you go:
- Pancetta wrapped jumbo shrimp with sage and a honey, orange glaze. This sounds like a restaurant dish, but is super easy. Use raw, deveined, cleaned shrimp (with the tail on). I buy big bags of this stuff frozen at Sam's and defrost the shrimp slowly in the fridge throughout the day. 30 minutes before you are ready to cook, mix together 1/2 cup of orange marmalade, 1/2 cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons of orange zest, 1/4 cup of finely chopped sage, 2 tablespoons of honey. Mix together well and drop all of your shrimp in, coating them well. Let them marinade for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grab your round slices of pancetta (thinly sliced) and unravel the rounds, slicing them every three inches or so. Get a nonstick pan over medium high heat ready. Grab your shrimp out one by one (no need to pat dry) and wrap the meaty party of the shrimp in pancetta in a spiral motion so there is only one layer of pancetta. Place in the hot skillet until the pancetta is crispy and browned on one side (about five minutes). Flip shrimp over and cook other side for five minutes more. Do not disturb the shrimp while they are cooking or the pancetta will not crisp up. . . HINT: You can also do this under the broiler, but the pancetta doesn't get quite as crispy and the shrimp tend to overcook. Serve immediately.
- Grilled Flank steak with Gorgonzola Cream. This is a cheap and easy way to feed a lot of people. Take a 5-7 pound Flank steak and stab it all over with a fork. Rub in a generous amount of salt, pepper and olive oil and marinade for 4 hours (or overnight). Let the meat come to room temperature before placing it directly on the grill over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes on one side before flipping and cooking for another 10 minutes. Close the grill, turn off the heat and let the meat roast for another 10 minutes for medium rare. Remove from heat and let rest for 15 minutes. Finally, thinly slice the meat against the grain at a 45 degree bias. To make the gorgonzola cream sauce, simmer a cup of heavy cream for 30 minutes until thick (should cover and stick to the back of a wooden spoon). Remove from heat. Add some white pepper and a 1/4 cup of gorgonzola cheese crumbles. Stir until combined and cheese sauce is smooth. Drizzle a bit of sauce over the meat and put any remaining sauce in a side dish so people can add more if they want. I served the steak on top of a bed of baby spinach that was seasoned with lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Egg bake with Orzo and herbs. Cook the orzo (a small pasta that looks like rice) according the box's directions. Drain pasta water well and pour some olive oil in to prevent the orzo from sticking. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat a dozen eggs with 2 cups of ricotta cheese, 2 tablespoons of milk, a pinch of salt, a pinch of black pepper and herbs finely chopped (fresh basil, fresh oregano and fresh parsley. Add in orzo and stir until all ingredients are combined. In a 9x12 baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Pour in egg mixture and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes until eggs bake is firm and a toothpick inserted in center is clean when removed. If the top is still soupy, put under the broiler for a couple of minutes. You can also sprinkle some grated parmesean on top for an additional flavor.
- Grilled Veggies with Roasted Garlic. I thickly sliced eggplant, zucchini, summer squash and red onion. I tossed the veggies in olive oil, lemon zest, juice of a lemon and a couple of splashes of balsamic vinegar. I placed the vegetables on the grill over medium high heat until they were softened a little bit. Meanwhile, I took 4 heads of garlic and sliced off the top half. I sprinkled with olive oil, salt and pepper and wrapped tightly in aluminum foil before sticking in a 420 degree oven for 40 minutes. After the veggies came off the grill, I sprinkled with salt and pepper with tons of chopped herbs (fresh basil, fresh oregano, fresh parsley and suck it in the 420 degree oven with the garlic for the final 20 minutes to finish cooking and to meld the flavors of the vegetables. I took some of the roasted garlic and mashed it up really well and mixed it into the veggies when they were done cooking. The remaining roasted garlic I also mashed with salt and olive oil and put it near the bread for a roasted garlic spread.
Dessert
I am not a baker by any means, but love inventing different types of cakes. My sister-in-law is an incredible baker and cake decorator so she was in charge of the birthday cake. My Aunt Marie also makes the best biscotti in the world (both an almond and toffee variety). I don't have the recipes, but here is the gist of the birthday cake (you can buy cake mix and replicate the filling that follows:
- Pistachio Cream Cake. To make the filling, finely grind 2 cups of pistachios in a food processor with 4 cups of powdered sugar. Mix in a stick of cream cheese (room temperature), a stick of butter and a cup of heavy whipping cream until a smooth consistency is achieved. You can also mix in store bought butter cream icing to smooth out the pistachio mixture. This is the filling for between the layers of cake. The icing on top was whipped cream. Take a quart of heavy whipping cream, 1 cup of powdered sugar and a tablespoon of almond extract and beat until soft peaks are formed. Decorate the cake with ground pistachios around the side of the cake with maraschino cherries on top.
Wines
With the huge selection of food, finding the right wines to pair with the food wasn't easy. Of course, all of the wines had to be from Italy to keep with the theme. Here are some of the wines I purchased from Wine.com:
- Prosecco- I bought two brands, Brio by Folonari and Zardetto. The Proseccos (sparkling wine similar to champagne, but a bit drier and sweeter with less carbonation) paired nicely with most of the cheeses, the caprese salad, as well as the dessert.
- White Wines- Again, I bought two brands: 2005 Lugana Zenato & 2005 Danzante Pinot Grigio. The Zenato is a fuller bodied white that paired nicely with the egg bake, roasted vegetables, olives. The Pinot Grigio is a little lighter with flavors of honey and lemon. This paired perfectly with the pancetta wrapped shrimp, the dried fruit.
- Red Wines- Two more reds. The lighter style 2004 Vitiano Falesco. This red is so smooth it doesn't need food, but went nicely with the cured meats (salami, sopressata, prosciutto, etc.), egg bake, sformato and practically everything else on the menu. For a fuller body, super jammy drink to go with the flank steak with gorgonzola cream sauce, I decided on the 2005 Di Maio Norante Sangiovese. This wine was the crowd favorite and is extremely quaffable for a big wine.
- Limoncello- The ultimate digestif. This homemade limoncello (also made by my Aunt Marie), takes the peels of lemons soaking in a liter of vodka in a dark closet for 2-3 weeks. Afterward, you strain out the lemon peels, you add 2 cups of simple syrup (equal parts of sugar and water that are brought almost to a boil or until the sugar is completely dissolved) and stir well. Stick the whole bottle in the freezer before serving in small glasses. This is some potent stuff, but so delicious and easy to make.
Okay, that's it. I hope this will inspire some of you who are hesitant about throwing parties to take the leap and entertain. It is so much fun to throw a surprise party and share an evening of great friends, food and drink. Just remember to keep it simple to spare yourself the headaches. Relax and enjoy the party and your friends.
I would love to hear about some of the parties you have thrown or attended in the past. Include any neat ideas for gift bags, food, decorations or any other comments.suggestions.
