This is a beautiful looking dish to make for a light dinner with a crisp green salad.
- 1 pkg. frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1 cup diced ham
- 2 cups coarsely grated cheese (choose your favorite)
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
- pinch of sale and pepper
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out and unfold 1 pastry sheet on each of two baking sheets.
Top with ham, cheese and mushrooms, leaving a 1/2 inch plain border. Whisk together the eggs, rosemary, pepper, salt and nutmeg in a bowl. Whisk in the sour cream until smooth.
Spoon the egg mixture over the toppings on each pastry. Bake in the oven until the pastry is puffed , golden and the toppings are set. This should take about 23-25 minutes.
St. Patrick’s Dinner
Due to the fact I am of Irish descent, we always hold a dinner in the honour of my Pop and St. Patrick. Neighbours and friends have certainly consumed such meals. Tonight, it is not as elaborate but still will be super-duper delicious.
I wasn’t sure if I should just give you the menu today and the recipes and pictures tomorrow.
Okay, I have really thought it over and you get the menu today plus pictures of the table. How’s that for a compromise? You can see by the settings, no one gets away with NOT participating.
- Fresh Shrimp with homemade seafood sauce
- Hazelnut/Date crackers with Cheddar Cheese Cream Cheese
- Best Green Pea Soup you will ever eat with a
- Lacy Cheese Garnish
- Guinness Beef Stew
- Soda Buns
- Blood Orange Creme Brulee
- Assorted Wine/Cooler/Beer
That should give you some idea what is being served. Lucky friends, lucky us.
Christmas 2015
Easter Menu
Happy Easter, one and all. Before we go to Church this morning, let me share with you the dinner menu we have planned. We started getting prepared yesterday for serious. Mind you, the table was set a couple of days ago and the dessert was made already.
We are having:
Hors d’Oeuvres
- Homemade mini sausage rolls
- Salmon Cream Cheese on whole wheat toasts with dill garnish
Appetizer
- Trout Chowder With Asparagus and Spring Peas
Entree
- Scallop Potatoes
- Pan Braised Brussel Sprouts
- Baby Carrots
- Bake SHam With Apricot Glaze
- Red Lobster Cheese Buns (homemade)
Dessert
- Riccota (my homemade cheese) Cheesecake With Chocolate Ganache
- Wines
- Tea/Coffee
Enjoy!
Reveillon Dinner For Friends
I am sure by now everyone knows for whom and why we host a “Lead In To Christmas” dinner every first Saturday in December. This year we are doing it New Orleans style. We were there last Christmas and attended the Cooking School of New Orleans. Reveillon means “reawakening” to family, friends and always using the secret family receipes of 100 years ago or more. All the recipes being used are original and I think it will go over well.
Our menu is this:
- Festive Kir Cocktail With Hibiscus Flower Welcome
- Shrimp Dip With Crackers
- Homemade Antipasto
- Prawn and Artichoke Soup (Wow, so yummy)
Langostine and Scallop Etouffee (yummmmmm)
Boudin Blanc-stuffed Turkey Breasts With chestnuts
Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce
Wine/Coffee/Tea
On each place setting is a mini stocking with a baby orange, 2 homemade Pralines and a candy cane. Also, a copy of the evening menu is at each place as well. When our guests will be leaving, they will each be given miniature Panettone cakes.
The picture here is the table setting without the candles actually being lit. More to come
Thanksgiving Dinner With Friends
We are having a Thanksgiving celebration dinner with friends tonight and thought I would share our menu with you. Tomorrow, hopefully, we will have pictures for you from the table to the food. I have started already with the table and the dessert.
We are starting off with:
Hors d’Oeurves
- homemade tapenade and homemade rosemary flatbread
- Parmesan asparagus on puff pastry
- Pinot Gris Wine
Appetizer
Lobster Shrimp Cakes with red pepper aioli
Watermelon Triangles
Entree
- Garlic mashed potatoes
- Butternut Squash baked in butter and brown sugar
- Crown Roast of Pork with Apple Stuffing
- Tin Horn Creek Character 2013 Wine
Dessert
- Apple Cobbler With Cheddar Crust Topping and Vanilla Ice Cream
- Tea/Coffee
One of our friends is moving away at month’s end, so we will have a little surprise for her to take to her new home.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hopefully you, as well as us, are so very thanksful for all we have.
Entertaining On A Long Weekend
As mentioned before, we have a kind of unusual weekend, but for us, a fun one. We have three different meals to put together and this is what we are doing.
For the luncheon, we are making a corn/panchetta chowder and a Croque Monsieur Sandwich (these are to die for) like we had in France.
For dessert a wonderful summer fruit tart on puff pastry using our own peaches, fresh blueberries and nectarines. A touch of whipping cream and YUM!
A glass of wine and lots of laughs. That is easy!
For the first supper
A special Bouillabaisse with clams, mussels and shrimp
A salad with the most wonderful Burrata cheese on a crostini with cherry tomato, fig balsamic vinegar on arugula with a side of pickled peaches.
The main entree is grilled lamb chops (me – salmon), my most favourite risotto and garden peas.
For dessert – a wonderful fresh peach cobbler.
For second supper
My cousin makes the best fried chicken so we are taking the vegetables, buns, salad and yes, again…..fresh peach cobbler. When you get so many peaches on your tree, you have to start making up things….pickles, jams and more jams, and then desserts. What can I say?
Then we pack it all up and head off to their campsite to enjoy a fun evening. When the four of us get together the laughs and stories are never ending. Love it.
Be safe everyone, it is a long weekend…drive safe, eat well and laugh lots.
Menu For A Retirement Party For Friends
We have a friend, who just retired so, of course, we have to have a dinner party to celebrate such a wonderful challenge to a man who has worked most of his life (as we all do, I know)
It will start with a glass (or two) or wine and wonderful two kinds of bbq chicken wings to munch on and chat away. A small token gift of wine will be offered.
Now, moving into the air-conditioned dining room (+ 38-39 degrees is being called for), we will start with:
Pulled Pork Popovers *
Papaya/Shrimp Salad With a Ginger Curry dressing
Orzo dish With Smoked Trout
Fruit/Cheese/Nut Tray
Wine
Coffee
* Don invented this dish. He made popovers, then cut in half and placed generous amount of pulled pork on bottom and set top at the side and then drizzled some of the sauce over. OMG! These are the best of the best of the best. Damn he did it again!
The orzo dish he made before and it is served lightly chilled. It has a remarkable homemade pesto sauce in it (recipe for this dish is already posted on this site).
The dessert tray had:
3- 1/2 inch squares of a hazelnut “wafer” cookies,
4 kinds of cheese (small pieces)
candied pecans (made in the morning)
fresh fruit – peach slices, kiwi slices, green grapes
toasted baguettes slices
This, my friends, was a hit the other night and will be again. Seems to go over well on hot nights instead of a heavier dessert.
Try something like this and you will be praised over and over.
Yummy dinner menu (99% is made in advance) where you can spend all your time with your guests.
September Dinner Party
Here is a menu you may wish to try. It is not that difficult and the recipes are on site.
Appetizer:
- Crab Cakes with garlic aoli
- Wine: Pinot Grigio
First Course:
- Seafood Bisque
- Second Course: Chicken Salad
Main Course:
- Pork Tenderloin with sauce
- Baby garden beets, corn and julienned carrot sticks, green beens
Dessert:
- Chocolate Brioche with homemade vanilla ice cream
- Shot of Baileys to go with your coffee.
Royalty Coming Dinner
Did that surprise you? I hope not. Our concept here is family, friends and strangers alike are treated like royalty. No one gets better treatment than the other. This way, you take the care and attention needed to show that everyone is important, special and welcome.
Now, here is a little story, true, I swear. As much as I have always respected Martha Stewart and the Savoir Faire shows for their flair of collecting just the right dishes, we were not that into it. So…..the first dinner invitation we had with our former, long ago gone friends, Don and Rose, my husband was sitting at the dinner table and got the strangest look on his face. I asked him what was going on and he told me to turn around.
There, in her china cabinet, was a table setting for 22. All one pattern, all displayed as individual settings. OMG! We share this with them after the dinner and they just roared. Who else but us would count the dishes.
Now, on to the reason for this ditty.
Dinner Menu to try:
- Crab cakes with lemon sauce and fresh crab legs
- Millenium Festive Salad
- Mushroom Risotto (my absolute favourite)
- Steak Au Poivre with a Merlot cream
- Steamed Asparagus
- Angel Food Cake with Strawberries and cream
New Years Eve 2013 – Plan Ahead Menu
Years ago, when we still had our friends, we decided we could put on a great dinner with just us and have a wonderful time. The rule was we had to dress up. The fellas rented Tuxedos, and the two ladies wore long gowns. Sounds silly? Not a chance.
We wanted that “special celebration feeling” and by gum we achieved it. The dinner was hours long and so much fun. I might add, it was so much work as well, I won’t kid you.
Here you need to sit down with a cup of coffee and read it through. It can be so worth it, I promise.
Hors d’Oeuvres
- Mushroom Palmiers, Mini Chicken drumsticks
- Wine: White Zinfandel
First Course
- Steamed Clams in Wine
- Wine: Bris de Mer
Second Course
Festive Millenium Salad, crackers
Third Course
Caviar Parfait * Don made this and liked it. Did I mention that one of the rules we had was you had to at least try the dish. You don’t have to like it, but try it.
Fourth Course
- Beef Wellington with roasted potatoes, buttered carrots, partial stems still attached.
- Wine: Merlot
Fifth Course
- Swans swimming in chocolate sauce, topped with sparklers. (Don made these…it was fabulous!)
- Wine: Sparkling
Sixth Course (yes, we were gasping at this point)
- Coffee/tea
This dinner took 6 hours to go through. We had about 45 minutes before midnight and we played bridge, toasted in the New Year and took our exhausted bodies to bed. Tomorrow was another day.
This dinner is, obviously, for adults only. Get a sitter, feed the kids early and take them to Grandmas House or whatever. Do try it, even if not the same dishes but go the ‘take 5’ attitude and you will surprise yourself. Maybe this was where the “damn I can do this” concept was born.
Easter Leftover Dinner
This menu will work with Easter, Christmas or whatever the BIG celebration at your home is. It is a way to invite company over and be sure to inform them it is ‘leftovers’.
Appetizers
- Cracks and cognac pate
- Squash and red pepper turine
- Smoked Salmon
Dinner
- Tourtiere with Mushroom sauce
- Leftover turkey
- mashed potatoes
- vegetables
- gravy
- cranberry sauce (homemade)
- fresh dinner rolls
Dessert
Choice of pumpkin pie or sticky toffee puddings
Now, who wouldn’t love an invitation to leftovers?