Darkginger wrote:
>
> I've got 2 friends coming for dinner this coming Saturday, in order to
> celebrate the 50th birthday of one of them (this is not the lot who are
> coming for the Chinese meal the following week!). DH has requested that I
> keep food spending to a minimum (because we seem to have a lot of dinner
> parties lined up!), so I'm looking at cooking up something from the contents
> of my feezer, plus some fresh stuff bought on the day. Trouble is, I can't
> decide what to cook, so that's where you come in - can anyone suggest
> something impressive (I don't mind spending 2 days cooking, if that's what
> it takes!) that could be made from any selection from the following:
>
> a turkey
> 2 loins of lamb
> 2lbs of stewing beef
> 2 lbs of stewing lamb
> 4lbs of pork ribs
> 8 mackerel
> 2 duck breasts
> a free range chicken
>
> I also have access to free mussels, and DH wouldn't object to 1 lobster,
> crab or a few scallops being bought. We are currently overwhelmed with eggs
> (got chickens) plus I make bread every day, so have various flours (strong
> white, strong wholemeal, granary, rye, gram) to hand. There's also frozen
> puff, shortcrust and filo pastries in the freezer, plus some vol au vent
> cases. Growing in the garden are peas, fench beans, nasturtiums, mangetout
> and radishes, plus the usual herbs. I have a huge spice collection, but no
> access to Penzey's mixes. I can buy most veggies that grow in temperate
> climes (plus some that don't!). Got rice, got cous-cous, got polenta, got
> noodles.
<snip>
Starter: Make some thin small egg pancakes. Slice up the radishs and
mangetout finely, stirfry very briefly and marinate them in some soy
sauce, a little vinegar or lime juice and a pinch of sugar, perhaps a
little garlic if your company likes that. Drain the vegs and wrap them
in the egg pancakes. Sprinkle some of the marinade on top or serve it as
a dip. (Can be made ahead and served at room temp.)
Fish course: Those lovely free mussels steamed with some herbs and
aromatics. Normally I'd add white wine to the mix, but you can skip it
since the guest of honour is teetotal. Serve in soup plates with some
of your great crusty bread to mop up the broth. (Can be steamed while
eating the starter.)
Main course Go with a simple well-roasted chicken with the sauce made
from the chicken juices etc. Add a selection of vegetables. Cook some of
those great Irish potatoes and roll them in chopped herbs after cooking.
Or else make a rice pilaf, which can sit for a while after cooking.
(Chicken can be resting and vegetables steaming while eating the fish
course, sauce made up ahead, with chicken juices/fond added before
serving).
Sweet: Fruit salad with is always good! Liven it up any way you choose.
For the birthday boy/girl make a traditional Dutch 'Abraham/Sara'. It's
a sweet bread made for someone's 50th birthday.
This makes a very large figure; recipe can be halved.
Dough
1 kg flour
80 g fresh yeast (40 g dried)
2 eggs
5 dl milk
150 g unsalted butter
150 g brown sugar (the recipe doesn't say dark or light; Demerara would
work)
20 g salt
Filling
400 g raisins (soaked and drained)
400 g currants (soaked and drained)
100 g mixed peel chopped fine
Decoration
Icing sugar glaze (icing sugar and water or milk or lemon juice)
Glace fruits
Slivered nuts
Chocolate bits etc (all as desired and what you have in the store
cupboard)
Method:
Make a normal yeast dough and let rise until doubled.
Knead the filling into the dough. Form the dough on a baking sheet into
a male (Abraham) or female (Sara) figure. I'll leave the anatomical
accuracy to you LOL!
Let rise until double.
Bake at 200 C for about 45 minutes. If the figure is very thick, bake at
180 C for 55 minutes.
Let cool on a rack.
Glaze the cooled figure and decorate (make the face, clothes) with the
fruits, nuts and chocolate bits.
Present to your birthday guest with great ceremony
Good luck!