Dinner Party Diaries – Volume 3 Issue 5 – Feeling Fancy
I feel like my dinner party cooking so far this year has been an exercise in minimizing the time required for prep–food and otherwise. Well for this week’s Feeling Fancy Dinner Party adventure, we’re adding in a few more involved recipes and serving in courses. However, if that’s not what you’re feeling, fear not. You can pick one or a few recipes and work them into your next hosting adventure.
Remember: If you need a recipe made for a different dietary restriction, you can request it here. Don’t be shy.
The Details
- Number of People: 10
- Serving Style: Coursed (Served one thing at a time)
- Guest Arrival Time: 7 pm-ish
Hors d’Oeuvres
We started everyone off as they entered with a refreshing Welcome Cocktail made with vermouth, creme de cassis, and some sparkling water.
Despite having multiple courses to come, we wanted to make sure that there were some tasty options for our guests upon their arrival. For this party we had two–Savory Blini Salmon Bites and Sausage Cheese Balls (brought by a guest). I’m happy to say that both of these were made with my Dinner Party Diaries Savory Baking Mix.
Once the Welcome Cocktails had vanished we started off the wine pairings with a nice dry rosé for the Hors d’Oeuvres and the Amuse Bouche. (Cakebread Cellars Vin de Porche)
Amuse Bouche
While I typically have a hard time confining myself to an appropriate serving size for an amuse bouche, I think these Blue Cheese Cream Filled Puffs were pretty reasonable. For the “puff,” I made a choux-like puff with my Dinner Party Diaries Original Baking Mix. Then using a special piping tip, I filled them with a blue cream cheese filling. As noted, one of my special diet criteria for this dinner was what I’ll call lactose light alternatives. To this end, I used a sheep’s milk Roquefort for the flavor base and then created two variations–one with regular cream cheese and one with vegan cream cheese substitute.
Starter
Okay, now that we’ve staved off the hunger of the crowd, we’re ready for the Starter. I served two variations of a Savory Goat Cheese and Cashew Panna Cotta. Still keeping the lactose light option available, I made one “regular” version using goat cheese and heavy cream. For the other option, I used cashew cream in place of the heavy cream. This may sound fancy and complicated, but it’s actually super easy. To add some texture and acidity, I topped each serving with a Pistachio Dukkah and slices of grape tomatoes.
For the wine pairing, we served a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc (Peju Winery Sauvignon Blanc). At this point we also introduced a rather bold pinot noir as an alternative for our guests who prefer red wine to white (Walt Wines Brown Ranch Pinot Noir).
Seafood Course
By this point, everyone’s tastebuds were warmed up, so we moved on to the seafood course. I made Keto Crab Cakes (also using my Dinner Party Diaries Original Baking Mix) and served it with a Lemon-Garlic Aioli and a couple dabs of Chili Sriracha. For one guest, I made an alternative Lemon-Garlic Dipping Sauce that avoided mayo.
To match this dish, we served it with non-buttery chardonnay with some nice minerality but still a solid body (Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Reserve).
Entrée
For the entrée we wanted to keep easy while still offering a delicious option. To that end, we served Beef Tenderloin cooked via the sous vide cooker and then seared under the broiler. For a fancier twist, I served the filets on a bed of Turnip and Rosemary Purée with a drizzle of my Blackberry Red Wine Reduction Sauce.
To pair with this dish as well as the sides, we opted for a well balanced Cabernet Sauvignon (Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard).
Sides
In addition to the Turnip & Rosemary Purée mentioned above, which technically counts as a side, we plated the beef with some Furikake Roasted Asparagus and Individual Zucchini Gouda Bakes.
The Roasted Asparagus with Furikake was topped with burrata. However, for a dairy free alternative, I made a Savory Plant-based Spread. There’s a chill time involved, but otherwise this still wasn’t bad to make. I will tell you: it makes a tasty topping and I will continue to use it for dairy free dishes. It is not burrata. Do not expect it to be.
The Individual Zucchini Gouda Bakes were also made using my Dinner Party Diaries Original Baking Mix. (If you’re not sensing a theme yet, you probably should be.) For my lactose light option on this dish, I used a goat milk gouda. No other changes were needed.
Desserts
By the time we got to dessert, I really needed simple options, so I went with my ice cream bar fall-back. From the store, I grabbed a dairy free ice cream, a keto ice cream, and a regular ice cream. I picked a caramel flavor theme and ran with it. Super creative? Perhaps not. However, after the previous ~18 recipes, everyone was contentedly stuffed and more than happy with ice cream.
Although a bit out of character, we didn’t serve a dessert wine this time around, sticking to espresso offerings instead.
Wine and Cocktail Pairings
- Rosé
- Cakebread Cellars Vin de Porche – with the Hors d’Oeuvres and Amuse Bouche
- Whites
- Peju Winery Sauvignon Blanc – with the Starter Goat Cheese Panna Cotta
- Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Reserve – with the Seafood Course of Keto Crab Cakes
- Reds
- Walt Wines Brown Ranch Pinot Noir – alternative pairing for the Goat Cheese Panna Cotta and the Keto Crab Cakes
- Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard – to pair with the Entée of Beef Tenderloin and Sides
Feeling Fancy Dinner Party Recipe Ideas
Assorted Ice Cream Options
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