Special dinner party coming up..ideas

W

Wilberforce

Jeannine
Location
BC Canada
I have to do a dinner for a 12 , maybe 16. The menu has to be very special for this occasion.. lots of ideas floating around in my head but I am curious as to what you folks would classify as special.

The only thing I am sure about at this time is I will make a croquenbouche, I haven't done one for a couple of years and I always enjoy doing it and it looks so impressive on a dessert table.

Cost is not really a factor on this one, well within reason as I am not buying a $25,000 bottle of wine for anything , but you all know what I mean.

I have access to live seafood by the way.

I would do maybe 3 other deserts apart form the croquen.


All ideas gratefully accepted
 

Butterfly said:
What's a croquenbouche, Jeannine?
Click to expand...

Butterfly, you've probably seen or seen pictures of one and just didn't know what they were called. I admire anyone who would attempt one. Very labor intensive! (And impressive!)

IMG_2291.JPG


  • For the Croquembouche:

    9 Eggs

    8.8oz Flour

    6oz Unsalted Butter

    Pinch of Salt



    For the Pastry Cream:

    12.6oz Milk

    4 Egg Yolks

    3.5oz Sugar

    1oz Flour
    ( or Corn Starch )

    0.24oz Vanilla Extract

    Pinch of Salt



    For the Caramel Angel Hair:

    1.7oz Sugar








  • Cups:



    For the Croquembouche:

    9 Eggs

    2 cups Flour

    12 tablespoons Unsalted Butter

    Pinch of Salt



    For the Pastry Cream:

    1.5 cups Milk

    4 Egg Yolks

    0.5 cup Sugar

    0.25 cup Flour
    ( or Corn Starch )

    1.5 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

    Pinch of Salt



    For the Caramel Angel Hair:

    4 cups Sugar








Directions:

01 - Heat oven to 220C / 425F.

02 - In a saucepan, bring Butter, Salt, and 300gr / 10.5oz / 1.5 cups Water to a boil.

03 - Remove the pan from the heat and add the Flour stirring vigorously for about 3 minutes, or until a thick dough has formed.

04 - Return the Dough to the cooker and heat, stirring constantly for another 3 minutes, until the Dough is lightly dried.

05 - Transfer the Dough to a bowl, and let it cool for 5 minutes.

06 - With an electric mixer, beat in 8 Eggs, one by one. Make sure the Egg beaten is well incorporated before you add the next one. At this point the Dough will come together and be thick, shiny, and smooth.

07 - Put the Dough mixture into a piping bag and sqeeze a walnut-size piece of Dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, 1in apart one another.

08 - Lightly beat the remaining Egg with a pinch of Salt and brush each piece of Dough with it.

09 - Bake for about 10 minutes, or until puffed and light brown.

10 - Reduce oven temperature to 180C / 350F, and continue to bake for 10-15 minutes or until well browned.

11 - Remove the tray from the oven and let cool.



For the Pastry Cream:

12 - Warm the milk: Warm the milk in the saucepan until you start to see wisps of steam. D not reach a boiling point.

13 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the Sugar, Flour, and Salt.

14 - Add the Egg Yolks and whisk until a thick paste is formed. The paste may look crumbly or smooth. As far as the Mixture is thoroughly combined, it will be fine.

15 - Pour in the warm/hot Milk to the Egg Mixture and whisk to combine.

16 - Pour everything back in the pan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until it starts to thicken. This should take a few mintues.

17 - When the Pastry Cream has thickened to a pudding-like consistency, pause whisking every few seconds to see if the cream has come to a boil. If you see large bubbles popping on the surface, whisk for a few more seconds and then remove the pan from heat.

18 - Stir the Vanilla into the Pastry Cream and then pour the Cream into the strainer set over the bowl. Stir to push it through the strainer. This will catch any bits of cooked Egg that may be in your Pastry Cream.

19 - Cover the Pastry Cream with a piece of plastic wrap pressed right up against the surface of the Cream and chill completely.

20 - Transfer the Pastry Cream onto a piping bag and squeeze a bit into each Croquembouche.



For the Caramel:

22 - Place 400gr / 0.8lb / 2 cups of Sugar and 125gr / 4.4oz / 0.5 cup Water in a saucepan and stir to combine. When the Sugar has turned light Amber, about 15 minutes leter, remove from heat.



22 - Using tongs, dip top of filled puffs in hot caramel.

23 - Place the Puffs, glazed side up, on a plastic-lined tray and start forming the Piramid glueing all Puffs together with Caramel. Or, if you have one, stick them on a Hollow Cone.



24 - Make extra Caramel with the remaining Sugar ( direction 20 ).

25 - Allow the Caramel to cool into the pan, until it is the consistency of honey. With a Spoon, drizzle thin strings of Caramel on a cold oven tray.

26 - Let the strings cool, but nor solidify, remove them and place them on the Croquembouche.
 

Jeannine-- there is no end to your talents! I could not make one of those if my life depended upon it! Good for you.

My suggestion might be Beef Wellington. Or, just keep it simple with fillet mignon. Stuffed mushrooms are always a good appetizer if you plan on having one. I hope you let us know what you decide. I'm sure whatever you decide will be quite good!
 
A rich lobster or seafood Newburg with toast points or in puff pastry cases as a starter, prime rib, baked potatoes or Hasselback potatoes, buttered asparagus or broccoli, tossed salad greens with Stilton, coffee and your croquenbouche or a tray of small cookies, pastries, etc...

 
Something si funny with my computer it has just happened again. I get way down the list and my page goes blank. I will try and do the replies individually
 
Croquenbouche, thank you for posting the picture, mine is a bit different but basically the same. My cone mold id 22 inches high so I drape the spun sugar gently down the sided and top it with a ribbon and floral decoration. It is not as difficult as you may think. much of it can be assembled ahead of time it is just the spun sugar that has to be done late..
 
BlodieBoomer, great idea for a fish course and I will keep that to try another day but favab eans are not available in February sadly.. thank you for the lovely idea though
 
Carla, thank you and thank you again, Beef Wellington had slipped my mind, it will go to the top of the probably likley list, it is especially good as it is quite forgiving for time too and I could use that
 
Aunt Bea, lobster is one of my favorite foods, I cooked two live ones on New Years Eve and I do like Lobster Newburg but the party could be for 16 and the prep time for live lobster and cleaning after will be a bit too much for this dinner but it is a great idea and I appreciate it very much, thank you.
 
Radiah Rose, multiple desserts, same with nibbles ahead, I have a selection why, just habit I guess, I have a dessert table so folks can take their pick. I think the second one is going to be a Framboise and white chocolate cheesecake which is easy and can be done ahead. There will be a tray of assorted dainties , squares, baklava, truffles that sort of thing. I might do a Banoffi Pie. It is banana set in a caramel base in a tart shell covered in whipped cream with a bit of a coffee hint. The caramel is made by boiling unopened tins of condensed milk for several hours and it turns to a lovely soft caramel inside. Drop dead easy but really good. Recipe available if anyone wants it.

We have not yet decided whether to make this a sit down or buffet style. I think buffet is less formal but it is easier on me and there are folks there who don't know one another so iit is easier to mingle. Sit down means someone has to serve and I think I should avoid that
 
Whew , I think I thanked everyone, I don't know what is going on but my pooter is being naughty, some really great ideas, keep them coming. I get a bit stale on starters sometimes so any help there would be great
 
Jeannine said:
Radiah Rose, multiple desserts, same with nibbles ahead, I have a selection why, just habit I guess, I have a dessert table so folks can take their pick. I think the second one is going to be a Framboise and white chocolate cheesecake which is easy and can be done ahead. There will be a tray of assorted dainties , squares, baklava, truffles that sort of thing. I might do a Banoffi Pie. It is banana set in a caramel base in a tart shell covered in whipped cream with a bit of a coffee hint. The caramel is made by boiling unopened tins of condensed milk for several hours and it turns to a lovely soft caramel inside. Drop dead easy but really good. Recipe available if anyone wants it.

We have not yet decided whether to make this a sit down or buffet style. I think buffet is less formal but it is easier on me and there are folks there who don't know one another so iit is easier to mingle. Sit down means someone has to serve and I think I should avoid that
Click to expand...

Boiling the unopened cans of condensed milk is interesting. I've never heard of that before. They don't blow up? I would be afraid of them blowing up, like whole eggs in a microwave.
 
Radish Rose, I know how you are feeling as I felt exactly the same when I first did it but I have since done it many times with no mishaps. I do several cans at a time as it keeps indefinitely and it is not worth the effort to do just one , just be sure you mark the cans in your pantry so you know which ones are caramelized. I put the cans in cold water, bring them up to the boil, then turn the temp down so they are simmering gently and cover. I top up with boiling water from a kettle as the water level will drop and you must not let the pan go dry. There are varying ideas about how long, I do mine about 5 hours. Let them go cold in the water, dry and store.


There are many recipes for Banoffi pie, I use the one put out by the original chef it is called Hungryman Banoffi Pie and I feel sure it will be on the net. It is really easy to make and it tastes heavenly, do try it.


PS, you can buy the caramel already done of you are hesistant it is called Dulce de Leche, it is quite expensive though and is a little softer than I like for Banoffi but it will work perfectly. The more you boil the cans the darker the caramel if you want it more light Dulce de Leche do if for about 3 1/2 hours. Oh and make sure the cans are covered by 2 inches of water.. think canning !!
 
You certainly don't have to worry about me crashing the dinner party......I've haven't seen you mention a large roll of salami & baloney, horseradish mustard, loaf bread, a big chunk of cheddar cheese, canned sardines, vienna sausage, saltine crackers and plenty of ice cold beer. :)
 
Jeannine, unless you're bringing in waitstaff, I absolutely agree with buffet style, like you said; the added bonus is mingling. With the amount of food you're thinking of, you should have at least one designated helper anyway, for part of the night. Just my thought.

I don't bake, so I don't know why I did this, but I once made Banoffi pie. My teeth still ache. It didn't involve boiling unopened cans of condensed milk, though.

I like Aunt Bea's menu with the Hasselback potatoes, but also Blondieboomers Dover sole on the fava; you can puree white cannellini beans instead of fava. I also like Carla's idea of stuffed mushrooms and I think Julia Child's crab meat stuffed mushrooms are da bomb!

How I wish I was coming for dinner.
 
He doesn't follow any recipe, but my husband makes a good Gumbo, and it's easy to serve over rice. I don't know how many this would serve, but maybe four people and leftovers for the next day? Since you have access to good fresh seafood, it might work for you, but labor intensive. (Rough recipe only, everything can vary).
.

(Use large thick bottomed pot, preferable stainless steel.)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. butter
2 med. or 1 lg. onion
1/2 - 3/4 tablespoon crushed garlic
1/4 cup flour (sifted)
1 lg. can whole tomatoes (blended)
4 - 5 bay leaves
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon thyme
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
12 ounces okra (maximum)
1 can crab meat
1 - 1 1/2 lb. shrimp (peeled and cleaned)
1 lb. scallops (large sea)
3 - 4 sausages (browned and sliced 1 in. thick)

- Saute butter, onions, garlic on medium heat until soft

- Slowly add sifted flour, while stirring

- Saute, stirring almost constantly until dark golden brown, do not let it burn at all. The darker the roux, the more flavorful the gumbo.

- Add blended tomatoes, spices, bay leaves, then simmer and stir until tomatoes are completely blended with the roux.

** Last 10 - 15 min **

- Add okra, crab, shrimp, scallops and sausages.

(Remove bay leaves before serving)

 
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