Holiday Dinner party - Our Turn to Host (Lots of Recipes)

Two weekends ago with had a small and wonderful dinner party with Wendy, David, Caroline and Laura. Last Saturday we invited them over to our house for dinner - and oh, what fun we had!

(Caroline and I)

Ellie helped by doing the tablescapes. The kid's table was a challenge since we used a card table. I loved using my Christmas dishes. (I have a "thing" for dishes.)

Ethan helped by making the pizzelles.



Larr managed the family to make sure the house was in order - getting ready was a family affair.

We cooked up a lot of great recipes. I made a kid friendly mixed drink that was very festive.

We began with appetizers that were wee phyllo cups with Italian sausage and mozzarella, Ham & Swiss, and a cheese with mushroom mixture. We followed it up with Ellie's favorite, Zucchini and Garlic Soup.

Wendy and Laura don't usually eat meat, so I went with a primarily vegetarian menu. I plated a nice Moroccan salad with Quinoa, pomegranate seeds, almonds in sea salt and olive oil, craisins, sauteed zucchini coins and avocados. You can find the recipes I was inspired by here.

From there we moved onto lovely cheese fondue. I offered many items for dipping including tricolor fingerling potatoes roasted with olive oil and rosemary, green apple bites, coins of venison Polish sausage and cubes of two types of rustic, crusty bread.

We enjoyed lots of interesting conversation and wine. All of that was followed by some of Ellie's special hot chocolate drinks and two kinds of cookies, including Chocolate Kissed Gingerbread. You can find the recipe here.



Reisha always enjoys a good party and a chance for more pets.


Holiday Cranberry Spritzer

4 cups Cranberry Juice
3 cups Ginger Ale
3 TBL. Lime Juice
* Garnish - pomegranate seeds, cranberries, wedge of lime)

Mix together and serve.

Classic Swiss Cheese Fondue
Adapted from: Fondues by M. Weston
serves 4-6

1 Garlic clove, smashed with the side of a knife
1 Onion, small, finely diced
3 TBl Olive Oile
1 cup Dry White Wine or Chicken Broth (kids seem to prefer this over the wine)
1 tea Lemon Juice
2 cup Gruyere Cheese, grated
2 cups Emmental Cheese, grated
2-4 TBL Cornstarch
Pinch of White Pepper
Nutmeg, freshly grated, if possible

Rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic.

(I make my fondue on the stove and then transfer it to the fondue pot. That allows me to make extra for refills later on.)
Saute the onion in the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat, being careful to not burn the onion. Add the wine/broth and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and gently stir in the grated cheeses. Be sure to stir with a wooden spoon for the best mixture and smoothness.

In a small cup mix the corn starch with a small bit of cold water. Just before serving the fondue, stir the cornstarch mixture into the melted cheese mixture and stir. This will cause it to thicken after 2-3 minutes. Grate a bit of fresh nutmeg into the fondue, transfer to the fondue pot and serve.

I do not recommend doubling this recipe. When I need more, I simply make two pans of the lovely stuff.

Zucchini and Garlic Soup

2 Zucchini, small, cut into coins
1 Onion, small, diced
3 TBL Olive Oil or Butter
4-5 cups Broth (chicken or vegetable)
5.2 oz Boursin Gournay Cheese with Garlic and Fine Herbs
2 TBL Cornstarch

Saute the onion and zucchini until they are both limp. Add in the stock and cook for about 20 minutes. Add in the Boursin cheese and stir to break it up. At this point I use a stick blender to puree most of the soup. Just before serving mix the cornstarch with a small bit of water and add to the gently boiling soup. Stir 2-3 minutes, or until thickened. Serve with slices of good sourdough bread.

Pizzelles

YIELD - Makes 30 pizzelle cookies

Ingredients:

* 3 eggs

* 1 3/4 c. flour

* 1/2 tsp. anise seed or extract (optional see substitution ideas below)

* 1/2 c. UNSALTED butter (1/4 lb.)

* 2 tsp. baking powder

* 3/4 c. sugar

* 1 tsp. vanilla extract (I use 1/4 tsp. Anise Extract, orange extract is nice, too.)



Procedure

* Beat eggs and sugar.

* Add cooled melted butter and vanilla and anise.

* Sift flour and baking powder and add to egg mixture.

* Drop the stiff batter by spoon.

(Batter can be refrigerated and used at a later time)

Oh My, So Many Tomatoes and Zucs! An Inspired Recipe

Our garden seems to have exploded in the last month.
If you take a walk in my messy garden (the weeds are trying to take over) you may feel like you have gone into a jungle- a wonderful fresh tomatoey smelling garden, filled with lots of light green textures, a carnival shapes and lots of fruit (veggies, really) each fighting for center stage.

This time I was lured in by the sweet, cheerful cherry tomatoes. Then the yellow pear tomatoes insisted that they join the party. And I could not leave out the Romas, so they joined in, too. Lest they become some sauce, they whispered in my ear that I needed to stroll over to the zucchini patch where those plants were taking over like so many cousins piling out of a station wagon. I had to pick a few of them to join us in the kitchen. On my way out the basil leaned over, blocking my way and grabbing hold of my nose with their wonderful scent. I think you might get the picture...

Once I was back in the kitchen I started looking for stuff that I might use to highlight my garden treasures. Out came the phyllo dough, the olive oil, the pesto, the feta and the Parmesan. With these items gathered, I knew I was onto something. After washing everything off, I began. I layered sheets of phyllo dough brushed with olive oil on top of each other about 10 times. I topped that with a thin compliment of pesto.

I sauteed the zucchini in olive oil on the stove and I placed them on the bed of prepared phyllo.

The zucs were joined by tomatoes artfully placed, basil interspersed next to Feta cheese. This was all topped with a sprinkling with Parmesan cheese and baked until the phyllo was crispy. It was a hit with the fam. I can't wait to make another one!


Here's the recipe:

Tomato, Zucchini and Cheese Tart

1/2 cup Olive Oil
10 sheets Phyllo Dough
1 med. Zucchini, thinly sliced and quarted
2 cups Tomatoes (Cherry, Roma, etc. small ones work best)
1 cup Feta *
1 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated *
1/3 cup Pesto *

(* = this amount is merely a suggestion. Go with how much or low little compliments your taste.)

Preheat the over to 350 degrees.

Saute the zucchini in 3 TBL. of olive oil in a sauce pan until it becomes slightly translucent (about 5 minutes).

Set this aside to cool while you lay down one or two layers of phyllo dough on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Use a silicone pastry brush to brush on a think layer of olive oil. Top this with one or two more sheets of phyllo and repeat the process until you are out of phyllo dough.

Top this with basil, gently spreading it around as if it were pizza sauce. You may want to adjust the amount of pesto according to your taste. Consider being light with your touch so as to not overwhelm your tart with pesto.

Arrange the zucchini, tomatoes and basil to your liking.

Spread out the Feta as much as you like. Top it all with the Parmesan cheese. The tart can be refridgerated, if needed, at this point.

Bake until the cheese is melted and the tart is warm, about 15-20 minutes. Cut with a pizza wheel or knife. This can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!