Last night I gave a dinner party for 8, all tenents of my building who wanted to wish a fond farewell to our beloved concierge who is moving on to another Bozzuto property at the end of the month. One of my guests is a vegetarian so I had to select a main course that he could eat and decided on my MUSHROOM LASAGNA (posted on April 3). It was a lot more work than I had remembered but the results were spectacular. I cooked it all ahead and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes at 350 to warm it up. As it turned out, I almost dropped it trying to get the pan holding it back into the oven. Fortunately, one of my guests was near me at the time and helped me save it. My oven may be hotter than it says (although I tested it when I moved in two years ago) but the lasagna was done before the 45 minutes my recipe says to cook it. It also ran all over the edges of the baking dish. So do put it on a foil lined cookie sheet when it first goes into the oven. Next time, I'll use a larger dish.
Along with the lasagna, I served a WATERMELON SALAD (posted May 24) and a great foil to the heaviness of the lasagna. The recipe calls for sweet onions (Maui or Vidalia) and I was a little afraid the raw onions would be too outstanding for the other ingredients. It didn't matter. The onions gave a crispness to the combination and were just another welcome flavor.
For dessert, I served an old fashioned EASTERN SHORE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (posted on May 12), which my guests absolutely loved. I made it with individual Pillsbury biscuits, baked in the oven, split, buttered and then slathered with lots of crushed, fresh strawberries, bought at the market last Sunday. I washed them as soon as I got them home, dried them and then put them back in their baskets and into the hydrator in my refrigerator and they kept nicely until yesterday. For the eight biscuits, I used four quarts of berries, with only a few left over. I'll put those on vanilla ice cream tomorrow for my dinner. Do use lots of soft butter in preparing this dish. It makes a huge difference, adding richness (as though strawberries infused with sugar weren't enough) and texture.
For appetizers, I made my SINFUL PATE (posted on May 23), which was a distinct hit and a TAPENADE (posted on May 22), which I made literally in seven minutes out of jars and cans and with my food processor. Because I wanted to use a special dish that has five container slots, I filled the other slots with a ham salad, bought at Eddie's, my favorite grocery store, and some hard dried salami, sliced into manageable pieces. I also crumbled some fine, white Cheddar into bite sized pieces and chopped up some dried figs that added a lovely taste to the other offerings.
I served the whole bit with cocktails set up at a bar where my guests could help themselves, so much better than having to run around making drinks for everybody. And with dinner, I served a pinot grigio, a soft, white wine that didn't compete with any of the stronger flavors of the dinner itself.
I must admit that the dinner was a lot of work, taking me most of two days to prepare and I wouldn't do it like this again unless it was for aother very special occasion. I've spent today washing dishes and napkins. But I do wholeheartedly support each of the individual recipes as being really good and the party as a whole as a great success.
Along with the lasagna, I served a WATERMELON SALAD (posted May 24) and a great foil to the heaviness of the lasagna. The recipe calls for sweet onions (Maui or Vidalia) and I was a little afraid the raw onions would be too outstanding for the other ingredients. It didn't matter. The onions gave a crispness to the combination and were just another welcome flavor.
For dessert, I served an old fashioned EASTERN SHORE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (posted on May 12), which my guests absolutely loved. I made it with individual Pillsbury biscuits, baked in the oven, split, buttered and then slathered with lots of crushed, fresh strawberries, bought at the market last Sunday. I washed them as soon as I got them home, dried them and then put them back in their baskets and into the hydrator in my refrigerator and they kept nicely until yesterday. For the eight biscuits, I used four quarts of berries, with only a few left over. I'll put those on vanilla ice cream tomorrow for my dinner. Do use lots of soft butter in preparing this dish. It makes a huge difference, adding richness (as though strawberries infused with sugar weren't enough) and texture.
For appetizers, I made my SINFUL PATE (posted on May 23), which was a distinct hit and a TAPENADE (posted on May 22), which I made literally in seven minutes out of jars and cans and with my food processor. Because I wanted to use a special dish that has five container slots, I filled the other slots with a ham salad, bought at Eddie's, my favorite grocery store, and some hard dried salami, sliced into manageable pieces. I also crumbled some fine, white Cheddar into bite sized pieces and chopped up some dried figs that added a lovely taste to the other offerings.
I served the whole bit with cocktails set up at a bar where my guests could help themselves, so much better than having to run around making drinks for everybody. And with dinner, I served a pinot grigio, a soft, white wine that didn't compete with any of the stronger flavors of the dinner itself.
I must admit that the dinner was a lot of work, taking me most of two days to prepare and I wouldn't do it like this again unless it was for aother very special occasion. I've spent today washing dishes and napkins. But I do wholeheartedly support each of the individual recipes as being really good and the party as a whole as a great success.
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