topic Re: Dinner party help in Community Spirit

Dinner party help

fiestas*girl — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 23:52:55 GMT

I am having a dinner party 20th and i have NO clue what to make!

I used to think I was a pretty good cook but years of feeding a plain diet to teenagers/young adults has killed any inspiration and skill i may have had

the people comming to this event are 'foodie' types, when i ahve lunch with them its twice baked pork belly, or some duck thing...

seriolusly i am looking for simple but packed with punch luncheon ideas, something fairly easy but looks impressive

AND, i ahd a great salad out the other night called 'chicago chopped salad' it was to die for and while i figured most of the ingredients, the dressing is a mystery to me....anyone know of this?

I have some fantastic wines from our local wineries and i was thinking of a starter and and main course, i can do cheese and fruit for a dessert to go with the sticky

Re: Dinner party help

lurker172602 — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 23:58:49 GMT

A tried and true entree of mine is stacks made up of a slice of cooked kipler potato, a slice of chorizo and a seared scallop on top. I usually arrange 3 stacks on a smear of garlicky pea purée on a rectangular plate. Looks very flash, tastes great and is simple and easy to do.

Re: Dinner party help

jean2579 — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 23:58:59 GMT

fiesta, go to the MasterChef, Nigella Lawson or Rachel Khoo websites, they have an amazing selection of recipes to choose from for lunch. An easy fall back is always fresh seafood platters in the middle of the table with salads and they help themselves. Good luck with it.

Re: Dinner party help

fiestas*girl — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:24:12 GMT

thanks lurker i might give that a go sounds good and do able

jean, where i used to live fresh seafood would have been definately the way to go, but here in ACT we are soo far from the coast I always wonder how old the seafood really is or is it even fresh

alot of canberrans are 'sus' of seafood (I miss it big time!)

i will also check out those websites, thanks

Re: Dinner party help

freddie*rooster — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:40:12 GMT

http://stolenmomentscooking.com/homemade-portillos-chopped-salad/

http://suburbanscrawl.com/2013/09/make-portillos-chopped-salad-home/

Re: Dinner party help

daydream**believer — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:43:27 GMT

this salad is delish amd i dont normally like salads

http://www.changs.com/recipes/oriental-fried-noodle-salad/

Re: Dinner party help

daydream**believer — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:44:56 GMT

Ive become addicted to the '4 ingrediants' cookbooks.

Great recippes and only 4 ingrediants

Re: Dinner party help

tcmsecretuseid — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:45:37 GMT

I've made a version of that cabbage salad for many parties. If you toast the almonds(in a pan on the stove) before tossing them into the salad, it adds a wonderful taste. I use less sugar, and more sesame oil in mine.

Re: Dinner party help

fiestas*girl — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:51:18 GMT

hey thanks everyone,

all good ideas..off to check out the websites

Re: Dinner party help

lurker172602 — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:59:30 GMT

Fiesta, re the fresh seafood in Canberra. I know what you mean having lived there up until about 5 years ago. (I'm now down on t he coast.). There are some people from here who have been in the commercial fishing game for generations who apparently take their fresh catch and sell it at the EPIC (or whatever it's called these days) farmers markets. Maybe give them a go sometime?
I'll see if I can find out what name they trade under.

Re: Dinner party help

lurker172602 — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 01:04:28 GMT

Here you go
http://www.naroomanewsonline.com.au/story/1978235/marketing-the-freshest-seafood-direct-from-narooma/#slide=2

And
http://capitalregionfarmersmarket.com.au/directory/listing/narooma-seafood-direct

Re: Dinner party help

fiestas*girl — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 01:14:00 GMT

thanks Lurker!

EPIC isnt far from me

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>runs to look at links

Re: Dinner party help

bright.ton42 — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 01:54:39 GMT

@daydream**believer wrote:
Ive become addicted to the '4 ingrediants' cookbooks.

Great recippes and only 4 ingrediants

I couldn't agree more, you can't go wrong with those.

Re: Dinner party help

sandypas — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 02:53:14 GMT

A really easy but simple and easy entree is deep fried avocado. The recipe was amongst a pinterest page they sent me and I was having "Foodie" type people for dinner who dine at the best resturants - they once paid around $600 pp a meal at the top of the tall building in Melbourne (Rialto I think).

You cut avocados into quarters, dip them in plain flour, beaten egg then panko bread crumbs. Prepare them before hand and put into the fridge - this helps them set and the breadcrumbs stay on better. Shallow fry them when needed and lay onto paper towelling to drain then serve with sweet chilli sauce. Everyone loved them and hadn't had them before. You can put a bit of shredded lettuce and half a baby tomato etc to make it look posher!

Re: Dinner party help

fiestas*girl — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 02:56:47 GMT

ooohhhh never had that sounds goood

all sounds great!

Re: Dinner party help

*raqshaki* — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 04:07:12 GMT

easy flash recipie

Buy whole skin free chicken breasts - small ones

basil cashew dip

pruscuitto

phyllo pastry

cut breasts in half

smear with basil dip

cover with 1 piece of pruscuitto

brush phyllo sheets lightly with olive oil

wrap breasts in 2 phyllo sheets 1 at a time - neatly

bake at 170 c for an hour

they look really flash and have a fab flavour and are moist

serve with greek salad and baked potatoes

Re: Dinner party help

fiestas*girl — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 05:25:35 GMT

ooohhhhh looks good, printing that one too! thanks

Re: Dinner party help

the_great_she_elephant — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 06:39:49 GMT

What about a cold avocado soup for starters? so quick and easy to make a so refreshing.

2 ripe, Fresh Avocados
1 cucumber, de-seeded
1/2cup Feta cheese
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4cup fresh herb (basil, mint or cilantro)
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and seed avocado then place avocado fruit in a food processor.
Add cucumber, feta cheese, yogurt and fresh herbs to food processor and blend until mix is smooth like a soup.

Adjust taste with salt and pepper. Place in refrigerator for one hour before serving.
Tip: If soup is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and pulse to combine.

*Large avocados are recommended for this recipe. A large avocado averages about 8 ounces. If using smaller or larger size avocados adjust the quantity accordingly.

Re: Dinner party help

fiestas*girl — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 09:07:22 GMT

ohh thats different