a Summer dinner party

A while ago, since the family came back from Canada my sister and I had been planning to have a special occasion in which we were to cook and serve the food and entertain a couple of our closest friends for one night. My mother was given specific instructions not to assist us and to act like a guest; leaving us free to pick whatever we wanted to make. There was no special occasion for this party, but we figured that we'd try it and if it turned out well it could become a yearly tradition :). And in this case, I really hope it does because it was all so much fun~

The dishes chosen were quite simple and Western-style foods, which made it double the fun since we rarely get to make non-Asian foods. It was a new experience for us, and I'm sure, for everyone at the table. Here's the menu:

Drinks: Homemade Citrusade

Soup: Seafood Chowder with a French Loaf

Main Course: Honey Garlic Chicken, Pork and Water Chestnut Rissoles and Broccoli Salad

Desert: Chocolate Dipped Strawberries with Ice Cream

We spent about 3 days in total for the entire cooking process, including buying all the ingredients, juicing the numerous oranges and grapefruits for the citrusade and slow cooking the honey garlic chicken the night before. The party was on a Friday and so I used my flexi time and came straight home to cook. And in the end we were nearly late, and managed to plate up the food before the guests arrived. 

Even with many of the guests unfamiliar with each other, I think they all got along quite well. There were many laughs and jokes, some solemn moments to enjoy the food, and only a few silences during the entire night. Unfortunately I don't have many good pictures of the dishes, since we were in such a hurry. ;P

These were our formal invitations to each guest. 

The homemade citrusade, made out of thick, orange and grapefruit goodness and a whole lot of juicing. 

We assigned ourselves 3 dishes between us; I had the broccoli salad, honey garlic chicken and chocolate strawberries. Since I'd done the chicken the night before, and the strawberries were done in 30 minutes, most of the time was used getting the rissoles (which turned into meatballs slightly burnt by my failure at deep frying) and chowder finished. It was worth it though, especially the chowder which came out really thick and wholesome. :)

Dipping strawberries ended up being quite difficult, since the berries I had were very ripe and a bit soft and the chocolate just kept running of the surface. I realised that I had to wait until the chocolate thickened a bit more before I could coat them, which was when I was halfway done anyway. Despite this, the crowd quite liked this desert, as with everything else.

And this is my favourite picture of the night; when the dinner was done. The group voted the salad and rissoles the best, but unanimously agreed that each one was great. I probably wouldn't make the chicken dish again, since it ended up a bit boring and average, but it did smell absolutely amazing while cooking :). I'll provide the recipes so you can try for yourself:

Homemade Citrusade

From Taste.com.au, Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (375mL) fresh orange juice

1 1/2 cups (375mL) fresh pink grapefruit juice

1/2 cup (125mL) fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup (150g) caster sugar

1L mineral water

mint leaves, orange and grapefruit slices and ice to serve

Method:

1. Stir fruit juices and sugar together in a large jug until sugar dissolves.
2. Add ice, mint, and orange and lemon slices, then top with mineral water.

Notes: I omitted the mint leaves because I don't think it really suited the taste of the drink.

 

Seafood Chowder

From Taste.com.au, Serves 6

Ingredients: 

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

1 stick celery, finely chopped

3 (750g) potatoes, peeled, roughly chopped

4 cups (1 litre) chicken stock

2 corn cobs

500g gourmet marinara mix

200ml thickened cream

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tbs chopped fresh chives

2 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Crusty French bread

Method:
1. Place carrot, celery, potatoes and stock in a large pan. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Process mixture until smooth. Return to pan.
2. Cut kernels from corn cobs and add to soup. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until corn is tender.
3. Reduce heat and add marinara mix and cream. Stir, without boiling for about 3 minutes or until seafood is cooked and chowder is hot. Season to taste.
4. Stir through chives and parsley. Serve immediately with bread.

Honey Garlic Chicken
From Allrecipes.com, Serves 10
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup lite soy sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained with juice reserved
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Method:
1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook chicken thighs just until evenly browned on all sides. Place thighs in a slow cooker.
2. In a bowl, mix honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, ginger, and reserved pineapple juice. Pour into the slow cooker.
3. Cover, and cook 4 hours on High. Stir in pineapple tidbits just before serving.
4. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Remove thighs from slow cooker. Blend the cornstarch mixture into remaining sauce in the slow cooker to thicken. Serve sauce over the chicken.

Pork and Water Chestnut Rissoles  
From Taste.com.au, Serves 4
Ingredients:
750g lean pork mince
227g can water chestnuts, drained, finely chopped
2 tablespoons salt-reduced soy sauce
1 tablespoon Maesri sweet chilli sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Asian salad leaves, steamed rice and sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Method:
1. Combine mince, water chestnuts, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, egg and garlic in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Using clean, damp hands, mix well to combine. Using 1/4 cup mixture at a time, shape into 12 rissoles. Using fingers, flatten slightly.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Cook rissoles, in batches, for 5 to 6 minutes each side or until cooked through, adding more oil if necessary.
3. Serve rissoles with salad leaves, steamed rice and sweet chilli sauce.

Notes: I deep fried them instead since we were running out of time.

Broccoli Salad
From Allrecipes.com, Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons mayonaise
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Method:
In a bowl, combine the broccoli, cheese, bacon and onion. In another bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes: I par-boiled the broccoli for a few minutes, so that it wasn't so hard in the salad. I added some cherry tomatoes too :).

Chocolate Strawberries
From Allrecipes.com, makes 15
Ingredients:
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 pint fresh strawberries with leaves

Method:
In a microwave-safe bowl, or in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, cook chocolate until melted. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth. Holding berries by the stem, dip each one in molten chocolate, about three-quarters of the way to the stem. Place, stem side down, on wire rack and chill in refrigerator until hardened.

Notes: I used the double-boiling method instead of microwaving, and used white chocolate instead of dark.

 And this was my modest birthday cake bought from The Cheesecake Shop. Turning 16 doesn't seem half as interesting as everyone made it out as, but we'll see. It's only the beginning isn't it? :)