Skip to main content

What are the ingredients for a successful dinner party?


We had a lovely dinner on Saturday night. 

What were the key ingredients?
First and foremost, really nice people (you know who you are) who we haven't seen for ages, so we had plenty to talk about. 

Also our kids are all very grown up, so no one was under any pressure to get home for the babysitter.

Add to that the fact that it was a lovely early summer evening and you can see that the Gods were on our side.

However, as the 'chef' the other really important thing was that the menu worked too. 

But what do I mean by 'worked'? Well, appreciative noises are always nice but the probably the most important thing is that you don't either a. get incredibly stressed out and not enjoy the evening or b. cook something that promised to be great but just turned out a bit ... meh!

One simple way of avoiding this is obviously to resist the desire to cook something experimental in favour of cooking something you've done before. I also like to do as much preparation as I can in advance, so you can still enjoy the evening from behind 'the pass'.

One way of there being a good chance of the menu working as a whole is to choose dishes that all emanate from the same part of the world.

I don't normally put all the recipes from an evening on one blog but I think that this combination worked really well  ... so much so in fact, that I even enjoyed it myself!

It won't surprise any of my 'legion' of regular followers that the part of the world I chose was Italy and my main inspiration was of course the River cafe, aided and abetted by a bit of Lucy Boyd and Polpo.

I think I have blogged about all of the dishes we ate before but maybe not in combination, here's the full set of recipes.


I will also follow up with the recipes for the fabulous dessert that Lisa made which was baked peaches, raspberry and almond tart and incredible mascarpone cream 

(n.b We ate the asparagus and the hot fried fingers standing and the rest at the table)



River cafe - asparagus with anchovy and milk sauce


I know this sounds very weird but suspend your disbelief ... its amazing.


Ingredients for 6


24 spears of asparagus


sauce


6 anchovy fillets(1/2 a small tin)

grated peel of 1 lemon (I do mine on a microplane but a grater will do)
1 small dried chilli (or ½ teaspoon of chilli flakes)
1 garlic clove (peeled and crushed with a little salt)
125ml whole milk
4 tbs ex virgin olive oil

method


Put the anchovies, lemon peel, chilli and garlic into a food processor and chop briefly.

Add the milk and pulse to make a smooth sauce.
Pour into a bowl and stir in the olive oil until it emulsifies. It should be a lovely thick runny consistency.

Boil the asparagus in salted water until al dente (about 5 minutes) don’t overcook there’s nothing worse than squidgy asparagus.


Drain well. Serve on warm plates with he sauce dribbled over liberally.


note: I find that if you put it in the fridge for an hour or so it improves it because it thickens up ... but remember to take it out with enough time for it to warm to room temperature again



Lucy Boyd - Hot fried fingers with mozzarella and prosciutto 

When I lived in Florence I sometimes used to go and sit and chat to Leo, who was the head barman at Harry’s Bar. He would make me a very sour whiskey sour and then produce a little plate of hot fried sandwiches, made with some sort of melting cheese and ham cut into fingers.
This is very quick and easy and a delicious hot bite to have with a cocktail.

ingredients
1 cup milk
6 slices of white bread such as Pugliese or San Francisco (a bread that is not too crumbly and has some elasticity to its texture), crusts removed
1 medium-size ball of good-quality mozzarella, drained and cut into slices ½cm thick
3-4 slices of prosciutto or speck (ask the deli to slice from near the end of the prosciutto, if possible, where the flavour is more intense and sweet and the slices are smaller)
2-3 tbsp olive oil for frying

method
Pour the milk into a bowl and dip the bread in briefly, then tap any excess milk away on the side of the bowl – the bread should be damp but not soggy. Place slices of the mozzarella on a slice of bread and season with a little black pepper, then place a slice of the prosciutto or speck over the cheese – you may need to tear it to fit.

Place another piece of milky bread over the filling to form a sandwich and press together. Make as many as will fit in the frying-pan in one go.
Heat enough olive to coat the bottom of the frying-pan. When the oil is hot, place the sandwiches in the pan and cook for a minute or so until golden. You may want to turn the heat down a bit to prevent burning.
Then, using a spatula, flip the sandwiches over, press the top down and cook until golden and the mozzarella has melted – about another minute or two.
Transfer to kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil, then place on a board and cut into wide fingers. Serve immediately.


Lucy Boyd - seared Tuna carpaccio with chillies rocket, lemon and marjoram

Ingredients
Best piece of Tuna loin you can get (sashimi grade)
Rocket
lemons
olive oil
2 fresh red chillies, chopped very fine
fresh marjoram

method
season the tuna loin all over with s&p
get a non stick frying pan very hot then sear the loin for 30 seconds all over, put to one side (it can go in the fridge)
slice as thinly as you can, and cover each plate with slices of Tuna 
squeeze over plenty of fresh lemon juice and sprinkle with marjoram and  chillies to taste, drizzle with a little olive oil and season 
dress the rocket leaves lightly in good quality olive oil and season and then add to each plate.

River Cafe - Roast Beef with Rosemary

Ingredients For 6

1kg - 1.5kg Piece of beef from the thick end of the fillet
sea salt and ground black pepper
10 sprigs of fresh rosemary (or more if they are short. You need to cover the whole length of the meat)
extra virgin olive oil
1 glass red wine, preferably Chianti.

Method

Pre heat oven to 225c

season fillet all over with s and p

Make a layer of rosemary on a board using half the sprigs, place the fillet on top and then cover with the remaining rosemary. it should be completely covered.




Now tie with butchers string (or the great silicone ties Martha gave me...see above)



Choose a roasting tray in which the beef will fit snugly. Drizzle the tray with olive oil, add the filet and then drizzle more oil over. Place a piece of foil over loosely and put into the oven.

The River cafe recipe says to roast for 10 minutes, then turn the meat over, add the wine, replace the foil and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes for medium rare. My experience has been that means that the meat is extremely rare even for a blood loving carnivore like me. I would cook it for at least another 5 minutes but obviously caution is required to avoid over cooking. If you have a meat thermometer you want the meat to be between 50 and 52 degrees at the centre when you take it out of the oven.

Once you have removed the beef from the oven let the beef sit in the roasting pan for 5 minutes..... be patient don't carve too soon or you'll lose all the precious juices. 

Now remove the rosemary and place the meat on a warm serving dish. Strain the juices into a jug and serve the beef cut into slices about 1cm thick with a little of the wine juices and plenty of olive oil poured over it.


River Cafe - Roast potatoes from Lucca


ingredients

1.5kg waxy potatoes
1 medium red onion peeled
6 garlic clove, peeled and kept whole
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 sprigs fresh sage
120ml dry white wine
100ml ex virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fennel seeds crushed

method


Pre heat oven to 200c

peel potatoes and slice into very fine slices (5mm) use a mandoline if you can.
Put them in cold water to wash off excess starch, drain and pat dry and then put in a large mixing bowl.

finely slice the red onion and, keeping the garlic cloves whole just press them to partly crush them. Wash the herbs and pull the leaves from the woody stems.. Add the onion, garlic and herbs to the bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss well to make sure the potatoes and herbs are coated with the oil and wine.

choose a baking tray that will fit all the potatoes in spread in not too thick a layer (but not too thin or they will burn at the edges). 

you can prepare this at least a couple of hours before you are ready to cook

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 25 mins.


Remove the foil , then, using the back of a large spoon or a potato masher, breakup the potatoes and herbs to make a rough mash. Drizzle with olive oil.

Return the tray to the hot oven and roast for a further 30-45 mins, until the potatoes are brown and crisp and still light and fluffy underneath.

Green beans with tomatoes

For 6

Ingredients

1 500g jar or 400g tin of peeled plum tomatoes
1kg green beans, tailed
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
extra virgin olive oil

Method


Heat the olive oil in a thick-bottomed saucepan and add the garlic. Gently fry before adding half of the basil and season.

Add the tomatoes, and keeping the heat high, cook to reduce to a thick sauce, which should take 10 minutes.

You can prepare to this stage this at any time before the dinner even the night before


Blanch the beans in salted boiling water until tender. Drain and allow to steam for a couple of minutes.

Add the beans, stir to combine and season with black pepper. Add the remaining basil leaves and serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

River Cafe - Salsa verde

Ingredients


Flat-leaf parsley leaves large handful
Mint leaves 10 - 15 leaves
Rocket leaves, small handful
Extra-virgin olive oil
Garlic clove 1
Capers 1 tbsp
Anchovy fillets 3
Dijon mustard 1 tbsp
Red-wine vinegar 1 tbsp

Method
This can be prepared ahead and kept in the fridge
make sure your knife is sharp ... otherwise you will just bruise the leaves
Chop the parsley, rocket and mint, put into a bowl and cover with olive oil. Peel the garlic, and chop with the capers and anchovies. Add to the herbs and mix. Stir in the mustard and vinegar, season and add more olive oil to loosen the sauce.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Crack potatoes courtesy of Ottolenghi. Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

Another recipe from Ottolenghi's Simple, another recommendation from Will Saunders.   I know its the middle of summer but who doesn't love a roastie? These little tinkers are so good that they are like crack, class A calories. The clever bit is the addition of semolina and caraway seeds which adds a new level of crunchiness to add to the delicious warm heat of Harissa. Heres the recipe These make a lovely, spicy change from the traditional Sunday roasties. They’re especially good with spiced roast meat. Serves six to eight. 2 large heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled 130g goose or duck fat 4 sprigs fresh rosemary  6 sprigs fresh thyme  2kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks 40g ground semolina 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa Flaky sea salt Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the garlic, fat and herbs in a small ovenproof pan or saucepan for which you have a lid. Cover and roast for 40 minut

Nigel Slaters deceptively brilliant monkfish

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind

Sea Bass on mushroom potatoes with salsa Verde

I felt the overwhelming need to cook something new on Saturday night. I didn't want the tired and tested I wanted to explore new culinary waters. However combined with this desire was an equal and opposing force, driven by being absolutely knackered, that meant it had to be simple too. I returned to one of Jamie's early books, to a recipe that IO had meant to do on countless occasions but never quite got round to. I have done several versions of Sea Bass on a bed of potatoes, some that I have written about on this blog. The one question I would have is about the thickness of the potatoes and the length of time they need to be cooked through ... in my oven I reckon they need about 10 minutes more than the recipe suggests. I would suggest a bit of a trial run if you are going to do it for a dinner party ... however once you have given it a whirl I think this makes for a very easy recipe for a crowd. Here's the recipe. Roasted slashed fillet of sea bass stuffed with herbs, bak