Party time!
September 5, 2016 Leave a comment
My in-laws both turn 80 this year (my mother-in-law in July and my father-in-law in November.) They wanted a joint birthday party so Keith and I catered the food and my sister-in-law and her husband took care of the bar. I wanted the food to be nice and knew that some of the preparation would be done in their kitchen (although it is well-equipped, it is always harder to cook in someone else’s kitchen.)
This was my menu:
Passed hors’doevres
- Crab salad in cucumber cups
- Tuna tartar in tasting spoons
- Bacon avocado cherry tomatoes
On the table
- Beef tenderloin with two sauces (mustard horseradish and basil parmesan mayonnaise)
- Gazpacho (served in parfait tasting glasses we got at Pier One years ago)
- Bruschetta with three toppings (shrimp, tomato and spinach)
- Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto
- Deviled eggs topped with caviar
For dessert we had cake from Graul’s (two cakes so they could each have their preferred) served with the amazing homemade ice cream from Victor’s Highland Creamery in Oxford where they live. It’s always interesting to see what is popular with different crowds. The crab salad and bacon avocado tomatoes were slightly more popular than the tuna. Everyone loved the beef (it’s hard not to like tenderloin) and everybody always loves deviled eggs. Somebody commented that they never make them because they are too labor intensive but I know that whenever I serve them people gobble them up. (Often with the remark “I haven’t had deviled eggs in years.”) The asparagus was also demolished.
Here are the recipes:
Crab salad in cucumber cups
- 2 seedless cucumbers sliced about 3/4 inch thick
- 1 pound of crabmeat (lump or jumbo)
- 3 – 4 TB mayonnaise
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 tsp celery salt
- 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Scoop the flesh out of the center of the cucumbers with a spoon making sure not to go all the way through the cucumber. (This can be done ahead with cucumber cups stored in the fridge until party time) Gently combine crabmeat with mayo, lemon juice, celery salt and Worcestershire. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Spoon a dollop of crab salad into the cucumber cups and serve.
- 1 lb fresh tuna, chopped finely
- 4 TB olive oil
- zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 tsp wasabi powder
- 1 1/2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- 5 dashes Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 2 scallions, minced
- 1 small jalapeno pepper with seeds removed, minced
- 1 1/2 avocados, chopped
Place tuna in a bowl. Whisk together olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, wasabi, soy sauce, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Pour over tuna. Stir in scallions, jalapeno and avocado. Refrigerate for a few hours until ready to serve.
Bacon stuffed cherry tomatoes
- cherry tomatoes (I did about 50)
- 1 lb bacon, cooked to crisp
- 2 avocados
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 TB mayonnaise
With a sharp knife, cut a small slice off the bottom of the tomatoes so they will stand up flat. (I made these for a family reunion in June and thought I could skip that step but it’s important – otherwise they roll around on the serving platter.) Scoop out enough tomato from the top to make a little cup without cutting all the way through the tomato.
Crumble bacon in a bowl. Add in chopped avocado and squeeze lemon juice over. Stir in mayonnaise. (Refrigerate until ready to serve.) Scoop some of the bacon avocado mixture into each tomato and serve. Labor intensive but delicious.
Beef Tenderloin
We always used to cook tenderloin at high heat until we discovered this slow-roasted technique. Meat is moist and tender.
- 1 beef tenderloin, trimmed and tied
- 3 TB olive oil
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- coarsely ground pepper.
Preheat oven to 275. Brush filet with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check temperature – when a thermometer registers 125, your meat is rare. If you want medium rare, cook to 135. Remove from oven and cover with aluminum foil. Let rest for about 20 minutes and then carve and serve with sauce of your choice. Every time we make the beef this way, people say it is the best they have ever had.
Mustard Horseradish sauce
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 3 TB Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 TB whole-grain mustard
- 1 TB horseradish
- 1/4 cup sour cream
Whisk together to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Gazpacho
- 4 cups tomato juice
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chooopped
- 2 scallions, chopped
- juice of 1 lime
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 TB white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp tarragon
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 parsley, chopped
- 3 TB olive oil
- 2 large tomatoes, cored and chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Bruschetta Toasts
- 1 loaf of French bread (I used two since I made all three toppings)
- olive oil
- 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 TB olive oil
- 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 3 oz ricotta salata or feta cheese, diced
- 2 TB chives, minced
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 bags baby spinach
- 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 TB olive oil
- 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 lb cooked shrimp, roughly chopped
- 2 – 3 TB olive oil
- 1 TB lemon juice
- 2 chopped shallots
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 TB chopped parsley
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to assemble – up to overnight. Spoon onto toasts.
Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto
- asparagus
- cream cheese (slightly softened)
- proscuitto (thinly sliced)
Blanch asparagus by dropping into boiling water for about two minutes and then running under cold water. Refrigerate.
Cut prosciutto slices into smaller pieces. Spread with cream cheese and roll asparagus spears in it. This is a bit labor intensive but worth it. I had them ready to go and then refrigerated with a damp paper towel over them. I’ll also confess that I’m not good at managing the quantities. I bought a bunch of asparagus and a pound of proscuitto. We ran out of asparagus and the big platter of them was decimated.
- eggs
- Worcestershire
- dry mustard
- cayenne pepper
- paprika
- mayonnaise