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Tag Archives: dinner party

HIGHLIGHTING OUR HOMEGROWN INGREDIENTS

09 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by Ceri Wilkin in Cocktails, Dessert, Recipes, Salad

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Tags

backyard chickens, dinner party, easy, eggs, entertaining, home grown, lemons, local

At our most recent dinner parties, we have endeavored to feature and highlight our own home grown and local ingredients. Lemons from our glassed in front porch (or what I facetiously refer to as our orangerie), eggs from our back yard chickens, the newly emerging mint from our herb garden, and the venison, pheasant and heritage pork my husband harvested over the Fall.

eggs from our back yard chickens

lemons from our front porch

MAPLE BOURBON CIDER

Fill four glasses and a cocktail shaker with ice. To shaker, add 6 ounces bourbon, 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, 2 teaspoons maple syrup and 1 cup apple cider, shake vigorously. Strain into glasses.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

www.marthastewart.com/

SALADE LYONNAISE

5 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 shallot, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

fresh salad greens

4 eggs

Cook bacon in skillet until crisp, transfer to a paper towel. Transfer 3 tablespoons bacon fat to a large bowl, add lemon juice, mustard, shallot, salt and pepper. While whisking, slowly drizzle in oil until vinaigrette is emulsified. Add bacon and salad greens, toss and divide among plates.

Poach eggs, divide among plates, garnish with more black pepper.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Saveur

www.saveur.com/

SALTED BUTTERSCOTCH POTS DE CREME

 

1 1/2 cups cream

1 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons Scotch

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1 (12.25 ounce) jar butterscotch topping

8 egg yolks

Heat oven to 325F. Place 8 ramekins in a roasting pan, set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine cream, half-and-half, brown sugar, Scotch, vanilla extract and salt. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture boils. Remove from heat. Add butterscotch topping, whisking to combine.

In a medium bowl, whisk butterscotch mixture and egg yolks to combine. Pour 1 cup hot cream mixture into yolk mixture, whisking constantly.

Pour tempered egg mixture into cream mixture, whisking to combine. Return pan to heat, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.

Divide mixture among serving cups. Fill roasting pan with enough water to come halfway up sides of cups. Cover pan with foil. Bake until set, approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Remove roasting pan from oven, remove foil. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Remove pots de creme from pan, cover, refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with sea salt if desired.

Enjoy!

SMOKED SALMON APPETIZERS

04 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by Ceri Wilkin in Appetizers, Recipes

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Tags

capers, caraway, cognac, dill, dinner party, easy, elegant, entertaining, Fish, quick

At our last two dinner parties, I have served smoked salmon with a dash of cognac – a simple, light appetizer to compliment the heavier meat dishes that followed.

SMOKED SALMON WITH COGNAC CARAWAY MAYONNAISE AND TOASTED FRENCH BREAD

smoked salmon with caraway cognac cream

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons sour cream

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoons Cognac

smoked salmon

dill and toasted French bread to serve

With a mortar and pestle, grind caraway seeds fine. In a small bowl, stir together the ground seeds, mayonnaise, sour cream, dill and Cognac.

Arrange toasted French bread on a platter, top with mayonnaise, smoked salmon and dill.

Enjoy!

SALMON RILLETTES

salmon rillettes

3 cups water

8 ounces fresh salmon fillet

4 ounces smoked salmon, chopped fine

6 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

rind and juice from one lemon

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons drained capers, chopped

2 teaspoons Cognac

French bread to accompany

In a skillet, bring water to a boil and add fresh salmon. Reduce heat and poach salmon at a bare simmer, about 4 minutes, or until just cooked through. Transfer salmon to a bowl and cool.

Flake fresh salmon and add smoked salmon, butter, red onion, parsley, lemon zest and juice, mustard, capers, Cognac and salt and pepper to taste. Stir mixture until combined well and pack into a serving terrine.

Serve salmon rillettes with toasted bread.

Enjoy!

 

SPARKLING CELEBRATORY COCKTAILS

03 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by Ceri Wilkin in Cocktails, Recipes

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Tags

aperol, blood orange, celebration, champagne, dinner party, easy, entertaining, friends, gin, ginger, guests, lemon, quick, sparkling wine

When hosting a dinner party I always like to greet our guests with a fun and delicious cocktail – to start the evening with a festive flair and set the mood.

These two libations are both topped with champagne – so our guests immediately feel sparkly and celebrated.

APEROL, BLOOD ORANGE AND MINT

aperol blood orange

Stir together 1/4 cup Aperol and 1/2 cup fresh blood orange juice. Pour into a glass, top with sparkling wine and garnish with mint.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Southern Living, February 2017

www.southernliving.com/

GINGER FRENCH 75

ginger french 75

1/4 cup sugar

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 cup gin

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

sparkling wine

In a saucepan, boil sugar, ginger and 1/4 cup water, stirring until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Strain.

In a shaker, vigorously shake ginger syrup, gin, lemon juice and ice until chilled. Strain into flutes, top with sparkling wine.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray, January/February, 2015

www.rachaelray.com/

ORANGE CARDAMOM MADELEINES

10 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by Ceri Wilkin in bars and cookies, Recipes

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

breakfast, brunch, Dessert, dinner party, easy, entertaining, friends, hostess gift, snack

We were invited by a fabulous and very fun friend in our neighborhood to a dinner party, and looked forward to it all week. She sent the menu in advance, and assured us we need not bring a thing to accompany the roasted marrow bones, boeuf bourguignon with buttered baguette and macarons – not even pizza for the kids (although I did insist and was very glad to carry the hand warming boxes of pepperoni and gluten free sausage up the hill to their house, along with my extraordinarily high heels that I promptly put on in place of the fur lined flats I had walked over in).

Although there was no difficulty in locating a couple of bottles of wine to reflect the theme of the evening, I had trouble thinking of an appropriate hostess gift to take. So in order to show our appreciation, I collected our daily yield of yard eggs to accompany the Orange Cardamom Madeleines I baked for our hosts to enjoy for breakfast the next morning.

ORANGE CARDAMOM MADELEINES

orange cardamom madeleine

1/4 cup butter

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

juice from one orange

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in honey and vanilla. Let cool 10 minutes.

Whisk flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt in a small bowl, set aside.

Stir together sugar and eggs in a medium bowl. Gently fold in flour mixture until combined. Add butter mixture, and fold until combined. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 325F. Coat molds of madeleine pan with cooking spray.

Spoon batter into prepared pan, filling each mold halfway. Tap pan on work surface to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until cookies are puffed and edges are golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, let cool slightly. Unmold cookies onto rack and let cool completely.

MAKE THE ORANGE GLAZE

Stir together confectioners sugar and orange zest and juice in a small bowl until glaze is smooth and thick. Using a pastry brush, coat ridged side of each cookie with glaze. Let set 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

www.marthastewart.com/333936/orange-cardamom-madeleines

CHILLED CARROT SOUP and SPICY CHICKEN THIGHS WITH RHUBARB-CUCUMBER SALSA and SWEET TEA ICEBOX TART

11 Saturday Jul 2015

Posted by Ceri Wilkin in Chicken, Dessert, Recipes, Soup

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

celebration, dinner party, entertaining, friends, menu

Once the adults had each been poured a Sour Cherry Mojito, and were enjoying the cocktail along with wonderful conversation and light appetizers, the kids gathered at the table for pizza then scattered to the ends of the house and yard.

A fabulous local wine expert was present, and paired and poured the wines perfectly with each course. However, as lovely as the champagne was with the dessert, the evenings finale was ultimately provided by a group of students who happened to be walking by with musical instruments. We invited them in to play for those of us who remained at the table for a delightful end to the evening.

CHILLED CARROT SOUP

chilled carrot soup

3 cups peeled and diced potatoes

2 cups diced carrots

1 1/2 cups chopped leeks

1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth

1 tablespoon jarred chicken soup base

1 cup half and half

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Combine potatoes, carrots, leeks, chicken broth and chicken soup base in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Cool 10 minutes.

Puree vegetable mixture until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl, whisk in half and half, salt and white pepper until blended. Let cool 1 hour, cover and chill 4 hours (I served it at room temperature and it was delicious).

Serve in chilled cups.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Southern Living, February 2012

www.southernliving.com/

SPICY CHICKEN THIGHS WITH RHUBARB-CUCUMBER SALSA

spicy chicken thighs with cucumber rhubarb salsa

1 jalapeño pepper, with seeds, stemmed

2 garlic cloves

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

6 chicken thighs

salt

1 1/2 cups 1/4-inch cubes rhubarb

1 cup 1/4-inch cubes unpeeled seeded cucumber

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon lime juice

freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 500F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Pulse jalapeño, garlic and green onions in food processor until finely chopped. Drizzle in soy sauce then olive oil, process until emulsion forms. Transfer sauce to a bowl.

Place chicken thighs, skin side up, on a work surface and slash each crosswise at 3/4-inch intervals down to the bone. Season lightly with salt. Place on prepared baking sheet and brush with sauce. Bake until skin is crisp and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165F, about 20 to 25 minutes. Broil on high for an additional 2 to 3 minutes for crisper skin. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss rhubarb, cucumber, cilantro, honey and lime juice in a medium bowl to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let stand for at least 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2012

www.bonappetit.com/

SWEET TEA ICEBOX TART

sweet tea icebox tart

2 tablespoons unsweetened instant iced tea mix

1 (14-ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon lime zest

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 eggs, lightly beaten

gingersnap crust (recipe follows)

1 cup cream

3 tablespoons sugar

Heat oven to 350F. Stir together iced tea mix and 2 tablespoons water in a large bowl. Whisk in sweetened condensed milk, orange zest, lime zest, orange juice, lemon juice and eggs, until blended. Place gingersnap crust on a baking sheet, pour in condensed milk mixture.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or just until filling is set. Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Cover and chill 4 hours. Remove tart from pan, and place on a serving dish.

Beat cream and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Place on top of tart, or beside plated pieces.

Enjoy!

GINGERSNAP CRUST

1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies

6 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Stir together all ingredients. Press mixture into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

Recipe adapted from Southern Living, May 2011

www.southernliving.com/

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About Ceri

Hello, I’m Ceri.

Thank you for visiting Recipe Doodle!

I am a wife, mother and recipe follower. For years, I have tackled one new recipe a day. Some are fabulous, some most definitely are not!

I am originally from New Zealand (posts about NZ here), and I have spent my life surrounded by passionate foodies. My husband owns pizzerias...

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