Casual cocktail party
My dinner plans for Saturday fell through and I am now going to have to play host to 10 hungry drinkers for a rainy night. Given that 3 giggling girls (and their shrieking sisters) outside my window kept me up all night, I am not altogether trusting my culinary mind right now and would love your feedback or suggestions for this proposed menu. Given also that I will need to catch up on sleep, easy suggestions that don't need a lot of prep or ingredients are best!
COCKTAIL HOUR:
Lumpiang shanghai
Lechon kawali with sarsa
Coconut shrimp with sweet chili sauce
Red curry mussels on the half-shell
Kale chips with maple-coconut glaze
Asparagus banderos with jamon serrano or nova in lemon-chive oil
Edam cheese with rambutan and lychees
Assorted chaat with homemade cilantro chutney (storebought tamarind)
MAIN: Fideuà made with whatever looks fresh at the fishmonger's, probably shrimp, mussels, cockles and lobster? monkfish?
DESSERT: Girl Scout Samoa-crusted Haupia? Sangria Agar-agar? Perhaps unnecessary?
DRINKS: Cucumber vodka lemonade? Watermelon-cucumber margaritas? Lychee martinis? I'm open to suggestions.
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JungMann
Jun 22, 2009 10:39 AM
Perhaps the casual cocktail party invitatoin was a little too casual since 4 of my guests arrived having already eaten and 3 were complete no-shows. But the remaining diners made quick work of most of the food such that I didn't have to worry about too many leftovers.
In preparing the meal, I encountered some difficulty with my lechon and lumpia. I'm not certain if the humidity was the mitigating factor, but nothing seemed to crisp right in the oil. The same thing happened the next day when I was making them for some other friends' dinner. Attending to that took up so much of my attention that I forgot to serve the red curry mussels and coconut pudding, which were instead eaten the following day to good reviews. The chaat were a bit of a novelty, but so attractive and easy that I will likely keep them in regular rotation (see http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6284...) along with the kale chips, though these did suffer in the humidity after a few hours. While still crisp they stood beautifully in deep glasses.
With so many people having already eaten prior to arrival, I opted to save the fideuà for the next day as a delicious reward to myself for having executed a pretty decent party on the fly.
›3 Replies
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re: NellyNel
JungMann
Jun 22, 2009 11:12 AM
This is the second time I have gotten a depressed turnout at a dinner party. Planning these has become something of a grand frustration because no one below the age of 30 responds to Evites even when I specify a respond-by date. In fact the reason my original dinner plans fell through was because so few people had responded to the invitation that I couldn't confirm the headcount. You can be a good cook, but that does not necessarily mean you will find the same quality in your guests, as evidenced by one person who required 6 emails/phone calls/texts/messages just to get his response.
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re: JungMann
ssgarman
Jun 22, 2009 11:55 AM
I feel your pain, brother. Nothing more irritating than working for 2-3 days for a dinner party for 8, and then either have someone inform you they'll be bringing their cousin twice removed (yes, this happened, I simply didn't eat to accomodate), or having a couple call and let you know they were just too tired from spending the day at the pool (yes, this happened, in fact just 10 days ago for a full 5 course Northern Italian dinner).
We've just gotten to the point that we're figuring out who will actually be fun, AND commit and stick to that commitment. I've found the average person in the world has ZERO clue about the effort that goes into something like this. Absolutely clueless. The few that do, are much appreciated, and typically appreciate the effort more than anyone else there.
SSG
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NellyNel
Jun 19, 2009 11:03 AM
Sounds great to me!!
but what are: Lumpiang shanghai & Lechon kawali with sarsa??
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re: NellyNel
JungMann
Jun 19, 2009 02:51 PM
Lumpiang shanghai are bite-size Filipino spring rolls made with ground pork and shrimp. They are garlicky nuggets of sheer Oriental joy. Lechon kawali is pork belly deep-fried such that the insides are moist and tender but the skin is golden and crunchy. You can eat it with chili vinegar or a sweet and spicy salsa which to Filipinos would be called "sarsa."
http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/...
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ssgarman
Jun 19, 2009 09:18 AM
A cocktail party after my own heart! My wife would (as usual) say that this is overkill, and I'd do it anyway, and add some things in the middle of making it all. Though as you know, overkill is a hard habit to break. Go simpler...give them 3 or 4 and blow out the presentation. Also, I find when I have complex mixes of starters, I prefer a simple and classic cocktail. (Lightly dirty GG martinis w/ BCSO is always popular). But, I cannot and will not blame you for going above and beyond. Let us know how it goes....
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