Another post to catch up on all that I've been meaning to do! A few weekends ago I was visiting friends in the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania (my husband and another couple were with me) and I brought back with me two awesome party dishes.
I love parties. I love planning them and hosting them. I love going to them and preparing for them. I always thought I'd make a pretty good party planner, but alas, that's not my calling. However, my love of gatherings is contantly keeping me on the lookout for fun new ideas - decor, invites, themes, cocktails and of course, the star of every party: the menu.
In my years of hosting friends for soirees I have discovered the secret to easy, effortless and breezy hosting: amusebouche. Okay, that's a fancy term for small bite. It means to tease the mouth - just a taste, as it were. Small bites are found in every culture - we have appetizers, tapas, antipasto, dim sum ... you get the idea. I'm all about a menu of lots of little items, all a little different, all easy to make and even easier to eat: cutlery-free. Less dishes (utensils included) equals less to clean up!
So back to the Poconos. The friends I was visiting are both amazing cooks. We ate very well that weekend. As a guest, but also as a foodie, I rolled up my sleeves and plunged into the kitchen looking to be put to work. And my reward was delicious! Two side dishes: stuffed mushroom caps and goat cheese-stuffed figs wrapped in prociutto; and a dessert: a sweet cream and candied blueberry phyllo cup.
The mushrooms were white button mushrooms, the stems removed and chopped finely, added to a mixture of onion, jalepeno, bell pepper, spices, and breadcrumbs all cooked down on the stove. The mixture is stuffed into the caps and topped with cheese then broiled for a few minutes to warm everything through and melt the cheese. They're so good! And I'm not a big fan of mushrooms.
Goat cheese-stuffed figs are super easy to make and such a dichotomy of flavor. Cut the tops off of fresh figs, stuff them (gently) with creamy goat cheese (which you can find just about anywhere), then wrap a strip of prociutto (a cured italian ham) around each fig. Grill them for a few minutes and then be sure to cut it up so you get a little of everything in every bite. The idea is to get the sweet fig, creamy cheese and salty prociutto all at once. These are a great party food if you want something easy to put together but super elegant.
And finally, the phyllo cups. You can find these in the freezer section of your grocery store. Phyllo is a paper-thin pastry dough that is laid out in sheets, layer upon layer, and then filled, usually. You see it a lot with baked Brie and baklava. These cups are pre-made so they're super convenient.
Let the cups thaw out to room temperature. In the meantime, mix together a brick of cream cheese with one stick of butter (room temp, please) and half a box of powdered sugar. You want it smooth and evenly blended. Chill the mixture. Next, add a pint of blueberries (or any berry really) to a bowl with a sprinkle of sugar and a tablespoon or so of preserves - it doesn't have to be the same flavor as your berries, but something relatively close is best. Gently fold the berries into the preserves and put them in the fridge to mascerate (allow the flavors to come together). When you're ready to serve, remove the phyllo cups from their tray to a serving dish, spoon a bit of the sweet cream into the cup and top with a small spoonful of berries. An alternate version of this would be to add a can of dark chocolate icing to the sweet cream (mix well) and substitute the blueberries for raspberries.
I love parties. I love planning them and hosting them. I love going to them and preparing for them. I always thought I'd make a pretty good party planner, but alas, that's not my calling. However, my love of gatherings is contantly keeping me on the lookout for fun new ideas - decor, invites, themes, cocktails and of course, the star of every party: the menu.
In my years of hosting friends for soirees I have discovered the secret to easy, effortless and breezy hosting: amusebouche. Okay, that's a fancy term for small bite. It means to tease the mouth - just a taste, as it were. Small bites are found in every culture - we have appetizers, tapas, antipasto, dim sum ... you get the idea. I'm all about a menu of lots of little items, all a little different, all easy to make and even easier to eat: cutlery-free. Less dishes (utensils included) equals less to clean up!
So back to the Poconos. The friends I was visiting are both amazing cooks. We ate very well that weekend. As a guest, but also as a foodie, I rolled up my sleeves and plunged into the kitchen looking to be put to work. And my reward was delicious! Two side dishes: stuffed mushroom caps and goat cheese-stuffed figs wrapped in prociutto; and a dessert: a sweet cream and candied blueberry phyllo cup.
The mushrooms were white button mushrooms, the stems removed and chopped finely, added to a mixture of onion, jalepeno, bell pepper, spices, and breadcrumbs all cooked down on the stove. The mixture is stuffed into the caps and topped with cheese then broiled for a few minutes to warm everything through and melt the cheese. They're so good! And I'm not a big fan of mushrooms.
Goat cheese-stuffed figs are super easy to make and such a dichotomy of flavor. Cut the tops off of fresh figs, stuff them (gently) with creamy goat cheese (which you can find just about anywhere), then wrap a strip of prociutto (a cured italian ham) around each fig. Grill them for a few minutes and then be sure to cut it up so you get a little of everything in every bite. The idea is to get the sweet fig, creamy cheese and salty prociutto all at once. These are a great party food if you want something easy to put together but super elegant.
And finally, the phyllo cups. You can find these in the freezer section of your grocery store. Phyllo is a paper-thin pastry dough that is laid out in sheets, layer upon layer, and then filled, usually. You see it a lot with baked Brie and baklava. These cups are pre-made so they're super convenient.
Let the cups thaw out to room temperature. In the meantime, mix together a brick of cream cheese with one stick of butter (room temp, please) and half a box of powdered sugar. You want it smooth and evenly blended. Chill the mixture. Next, add a pint of blueberries (or any berry really) to a bowl with a sprinkle of sugar and a tablespoon or so of preserves - it doesn't have to be the same flavor as your berries, but something relatively close is best. Gently fold the berries into the preserves and put them in the fridge to mascerate (allow the flavors to come together). When you're ready to serve, remove the phyllo cups from their tray to a serving dish, spoon a bit of the sweet cream into the cup and top with a small spoonful of berries. An alternate version of this would be to add a can of dark chocolate icing to the sweet cream (mix well) and substitute the blueberries for raspberries.
Just a few ideas to make your next party a little more delicious!
