Hello guys, how have you been? It's been crazy here in toronto, with all the crazy up and down weather. Today was my first cocktail party and honestly, I was quite nervous and stressed about it because I have never cooked / baked for 10 people before. Especially during lunch time. I had to stay up till 3 am last night prepping food that can be store in the fridge and I made a terrible messed.
On top of that, my guests were late as usual but it doesn't matter, first come first serve and they still paid the same price so no harm done on my part just less food for them. =P
Anyways here is the menu list:
Prosciutto and mozzarealla wraps
Pan Bagna on a baguette
Mushroom and pancetta on french bread
tomato and basil on a vilgante bread
Party punch cocktail
Guacamole
Mini lemon meringue cheesecake
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| this was so nicely stacked at Michael Angelos |
Pan Bagna
1 baguette
olive oil
garlic clove
roast red peppers
tuna
black olives
small red onion
basil leaves
parsley
anchovies
artichoke hearts
This sandwich was pretty interesting to make, you first have to slice the bread lengthways in half and then take out all the bread filling to make space for the ingredients. I thought they would tell you to re-use it afterwards but nope, they didnt say anything so I ended up eating it because I was so hungry late at night.
Anyways roast the peppers and add them to the bowl along with the other ingredients. mix them together and season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Personally I would add dice garlic but I didn't want the taste of garlic to take over since I brushed the bread with olive oil and rubbed it with a clove of garlic already.
When you have anything mixed and seasoned, spoon in the ingredients at the bottom of the bread and wrap it. Place it in the fridge and put something heavy on top so that it will stay in tact.
When I took it out the next morning, it was stunning. The colours was very vibrant and the taste was very well balance. The feedback I got from it was "I want seconds."
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| prepping Pan bagna |
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| prosciutto and mozzarella wraps |
Prosciutto and Mozzarella Wrap
Roma egg tomatoes
prosciutto slices
mozzarella cheese thinly sliced
This was an instant favourite of mine, it was easy to make and it had a nice visual aspect to it. Slice the tomatoes, lay a speck down, place a tomato, season with black pepper, add a slice of cheese, place a tomato on top and season again. Roll it up and make sure its nice and tight. Serve immediately.
This dish was a very nice touch to the whole party, cheese was very filling and fresh. One thing I would do differently next time is, make sure that the tomato seeds and water is fully drained because it got a little waterly afterwards.
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| Guacamole |
Guacamole
red chilli
lime juice
onions
olive oil
tomato
avocados
I finally found out how to cube an avocado without scooping it out first and that is to cube it first while it is still in the shell and then scoop it out with spoon. I know, I know it might be old news for you guys but it just didn't come across my mind.
What makes this guacamole special from the others was that this had a nice spicey taste to it and at the same time a bit of lime. It really went well with the chips and it was a nice conversation starter. Whenever you just wanted to nibble on something, the guacamole was there.
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| Tomato and basil |
No need to explain this one, it was just simple. Dice 6-8 tomatoes, season with sea salt and black pepper. Top it off with basil leaves on french stone baked bread. Easy, fun and visually appealing to all.
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| My set up |
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| Mushroom and pancetta |
Mushroom and pancetta
button mushrooms
oyster mshrooms
butter
olive oil
any choice of cheese
Heat a sauce pan with butter and then toss in the pancetta. Cook for 1 minute and then toss in the mushrooms. Close the lid and let it cook for 5 minutes. Spoon mushrooms on top of the bread slices and shave some mozzarella cheese on top. Easy eh?
I should have added some lemon juice to it but its okay.
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| party punch |
Grated ginger
white peaches
grapefruit
whiskey
ginger beer
peach nectar
sugar
lime and mint leaves
This was my first party punch ever and I have to say, it wasn't easy making it. You first had to make the ginger syrup but mixing water, sugar and grated ginger.
On a separate bowl, add sliced grape fruit, white peaches, ginger syrup, whiskey and then chill until ready to serve. Just before serving add ginger beer and the chilled peach nectar.
This would have been awesome if I had a big punch bowl with a transparent scoop but I didn't. =( The taste was unique and it tasted like ginger beer with a bit of alcohol in it. I forgot to slice in lime and mint leaves to it so I gotta try this again to taste. Again this is a good eye candy for cocktail parties.
And some more shots of the party
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