Monthly Dinner Parties

While reading Bittersweet this summer, Steve and I got on the topic of dinner parties.  If you have read anything by Shauna Niequist, you know that she loves getting people and food together as much as possible.  We began talking about all of the people we say we want to have over for dinner and never do anything about it.  We decided no more "someday".  We wrote a list of all of the people that we want to have over for dinner in the next year.  As we began to talk about it, I recognized that I have 8 seats around my dining room table, china for 8, 8 wine glasses and so on......so let's invite six people over for a meal once a month.  As I casually ran the idea past Steve, to say that he loved it would be an understatement. He is a strong extravert and would love to have friends over each weekend, all weekend. So from there, we put a list together of all of the people we would love to have over in the next 5-6 months and arranged them into groups - our criteria being that we wanted to stimulate great dialogue.  Typically we don't allow our worlds to collide much - so to combine family and friends and different groups of friends is a bit outside the box for us. But we're learning to take risks.  Our theory is that when you combine great food (hopefully!), wine and fantastic people around a table, what can go wrong?

The great thing about this is that you only have to make one large meal and you only have to get your house all tidy once.  I'm loving the simplicity aspect!

I still host life group and coffee dates and family dinners - but only one big hosting event a month and I never thought I would - but here's the thing...I love it.  I love the menu planning and using my china and going all out and experimenting with new recipes.  It's been really life giving for me.

We started in October and this past Saturday we had our "November Dinner Party".

So, here's the recap for this past Saturday...
Everyone came over for dinner at 7 p.m.  Beth was just falling asleep and I bribed my older girls with the Ramona and Beezus movie and a bowl full of popcorn and they were happy for the night :-)

I put on some Christmas Music and lit my candles and off we went.  This month we had Leah, Craig, Kelly, Chris, Becky and Jeff over.

For appetizers I made:
-cherry tomatoes wrapped in fresh basil plus ripe mozzerella balls placed on skewers and then I drizzled fig balsamic vinegar on them.  Simple and really yummy.
-Brie covered with pecans, brown sugar and brandy - all wrapped up in pastry and baked at 350 degrees - yummy and I served it with a fresh bagette sliced up.


I took these photos right before everyone arrived and left my camera out to take more more photos as the night went on, but got so caught up in the moment and was having so much fun that I totally forgot to take photos.  Whoops!

The dinner turned out great.  I'm a bit strange in the sense that I love to try new recipes when having friends over.  I love the menu planning aspect and here's what I came up with for November.  Fortunately for me, everything turned out awesome. This was the first time I ever roasted beets and they were delish.

PEPPERCORN ROAST BEEF WITH BALSAMIC BEETS
HOLIDAY FOOD AND WINE 2009
By: Julia Aitken
As with all roasts, remove the beef from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking. Crack the peppercorns either by grinding them in a pepper grinder set to the coarsest setting, or by crushing them with the base of a cast-iron skillet.

8 medium beets, trimmed and peeled,
about 1½ lb (750 g)
3 tbsp (45 mL) olive oil
2 tbsp (25 mL) finely chopped fresh
rosemary leaves
2¼ tsp (11 mL) salt
2 red onions, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm)
wedges
8 whole cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 tbsp (45 mL) cracked black peppercorns
1 beef tenderloin, about 3 lbs (1.5 kg)
2 tbsp (25 mL) good-quality balsamic
vinegar
Rosemary sprigs for garnish


1. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).

2. Cut beets into 1-inch (2.5-cm) wedges. In a large shallow roasting pan, toss together beets, 2 tbsp (25 mL) oil, rosemary and ¼ tsp (1 mL) salt; spread beets out in roasting pan. Roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring once.


3. Add onions and garlic to roasting pan; stir to combine with beets, breaking up onion wedges as you stir. Roast for 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, stir together peppercorns and remaining salt in a small bowl. On work surface, lay a piece of plastic wrap large enough to enclose beef; sprinkle with half of peppercorn mixture. Rub beef all over with remaining oil. Lay beef on peppercorn mixture on plastic wrap; sprinkle evenly with remaining peppercorn mixture. Wrap beef in plastic wrap, pressing so that peppercorns and salt adhere evenly to meat. Unwrap beef; transfer carefully to a wire rack.

5. Stir vegetables. Set rack holding beef in roasting pan containing vegetables; roast for 25 to 30 minutes for rare (125°F/52°C on a meat thermometer), 30 to 35 minutes for medium-rare (135°F/57°C on a meat thermometer).

6. Remove beef to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil and let stand for 15 minutes. Stir balsamic vinegar into vegetables; season with more salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Spoon vegetables onto a warm serving platter. Cut beef into slices; arrange on top of vegetables. Garnish with rosemary ( I forgot to do this part!)




Roasted Potatoes with Bacon, Onions, and Sage
Bon Appétit  | November 2009
by Josie Le Balch
1 pound thick-cut bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick strips
5 pounds assorted baby potatoes (such as red-skinned, white-skinned, and Dutch yellow), rinsed, dried, halved
2 large red onions, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
3/4 cup 1/3-inch pieces torn fresh sage leaves (from about 2 bunches), divided
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
Coarse kosher salt



Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp and golden. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Reserve 4 tablespoons drippings from skillet.

Combine potatoes, onions, 1/2 cup torn sage leaves, melted butter, and reserved 4 tablespoons bacon drippings in very large bowl. Sprinkle generously with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss to coat. Spread potato mixture evenly on 18x12x1-inch baking sheet. Roast 1 hour, stirring occasionally. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand on baking sheet at room temperature.

Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Stir bacon into potato mixture and continue to roast until potatoes are tender and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes longer. Transfer mixture to large serving bowl. Season to taste with more coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle with remaining torn sage leaves and serve.

I also put out some fresh bread and lots of butter.

For dessert, Becky made a white and dark chocolate mousse/pie and it was divine.  Maybe I'll see if she'll share her recipe.  She makes the best chocolate desserts :-)

Not that we needed help with great conversation because we clearly did not..it was a lively and fun crowd..but we did play this game that my friend Christa introduced me to last month and it was super fun.  Easy to learn and easy to play.

Want to hear the spectacular thing? My husband, who is the king of the budget - is so excited about these monthly dinner parties -that he lets me blow the budget.  If you know him, you know that this is no small thing!   And on top of it all, he does all of the dishes after everyone leaves.  Seriously, this is win - win.  We'll see where things land in the next 6 - 12 months, but for now I'm sold on the idea.