Holidays are over, no more dinners or parties, but wait, don't put away the good china yet. We still have some more festivities to go through. Yes, we had many friends in town who decided to stay for a couple more days, and after being together in fancy dinners and restaurants, I decided to gather everybody at my place for one last party. I thought of a new formula for this gathering, something that would keep us all together drinking, eating and enjoying the company. Instead of the usual dinner, seated or otherwise, I thought of having everybody for tea at 5 in the afternoon. This way, people can wake up at their leisure, do whatever they have to do, have a light lunch, or nothing at all, if they woke up late as I did, then come for drinks and food, and go home at a decent time to get ready for the week. For me it was a snap: I had the cleaning lady the day before, so the house was clean and ready for guests. I prepared most of the things that evening, and left only some touch ups for Sunday. This formula allowed us to stay all together in one room, no going back and forth to the kitchen, and cleaning after they left was easy. The success of this new formula encouraged me to organize another one next Sunday in honor of a group of friends who are in town for the week. Hope the weather cooperates!
EASY MEAT BALLS
If I decided to have friends over for tea or drinks, please don't take that as just serving some store bought chips and dips. No, I actually served something ready (baked hors d'oeuvre), but with it I had a full menu all home made. Also, home made doesn't necessarily mean you have to slave over what you are serving and spend long hours in the kitchen. It's easy to find the right balance between easy and elegant. So these meatballs are the perfect idea for this menu. You'll need:
3 lbs ground beef
1 bunch each: parsley and dill
1 medium onion
3 to 4 garlic cloves
1 to 2 eggs
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
In a food processor mince the onion and garlic. Chop the parsley and dill and add them to the food processor and pulse until you get a smooth mixture where you can't see the leaves of the herbs anymore. In a large bowl mix the ground beef with all the ingredients and the herbs until well combined. Don't work it too much or the patties will become tough. You will have to work them when you start forming the meat balls. Let stand for 30 minutes, then start forming the patties. Take about 1/3 cup in one hand, gently press your fingers over it, transfer it to the other hand to form a rather thick finger, then pat it down and shape it in an oval form. Keep the meat patties in a plastic container in the refrigerator. The next day, preheat the oven to 375, arrange the patties on a baking sheet, and put it in the oven undisturbed for about 15 to 20 minutes until the top is browned, and some juices are rendered in the pan. Turn the patties and give them another 7 to 10 minutes and remove them from the oven and let them cool before you transfer them to the serving dish.
CHICKEN KEBAB
That's another easy dish that people will think you've spent a whole day preparing, while it only took 30 minutes or so. The special marinade with an Indian twist gives it an extra flavor, a kick, that makes it different from any other chicken dish you can serve. It can be made with breast or thighs. I made both, knowing that some people prefer breast or dark meat. I have to confess that I made a boo boo while preparing it, but, was lucky enough to correct it before it was too late. What was that? Well I mixed all the chicken pieces together before putting them in the skewers, so it took me longer to separate them. To avoid this, marinate the chicken pieces separately. Also I made a lot, it was helpful because the children came the next day and found something nice to eat, and I took some of it to work for lunch. You can halve or double the recipe easily. You'll need:
4 half chicken breasts, skinless and boneless, fat trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
3 tbsp frozen onion/garlic mixture
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tsp garam masala (Indian spices), or more to taste
1 tsp curry powder
About 2 cups plain yogurt
Salt to taste
In a glass bowl mix all the ingredients together. Let stand for 30 minutes, then start putting 3 to 4 pieces in bamboo skewers that were previously soaked in hot water. Arrange the skewers in a rectangular dish, deep enough to hold the whole quantity you're making. Cover with plastic or aluminum foil and refrigerate until the next day. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, arrange the skewers on a baking sheet and cook until one side is browned, then turn once, and let cook until done. Let cool, then arrange on the serving dish. The chicken kebab can be served at room temperature.
COUSCOUS AND SHRIMP SALAD
Another easy dish you can make ahead and get a lot of praise for it. Actually this dish was the star of the party, everybody liked it and asked for the recipe. It can be prepared a day ahead, or the same day. You can use cooked shrimp or cook the shrimp yourself. This time I made it in the morning and used cooked shrimp. It actually doesn't need a recipe. All you have to do is cook the couscous according to the package directions, chop some lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion and cherry or grape tomatoes, toss everything with the shrimp and your favorite dressing. Go for a simple vinaigrette, or add a tsp or two of mustard. Just let it marinate in the refrigerator for an hour or two so that the flavors can combine together. How easy is that? As usual, I made the couscous just with the boiled water, no butter added.
I also served some ready hors d'oeuvre that you can buy frozen and bake while you have the oven on, and on the side a cilantro pesto made of cilantro, red onion, garlic, lemon juice and oil, all finely chopped and to taste, and my special sauce (7/15/12) with mustard, capers and dill.
