Cooking for a Crowd: Menus, Recipes And Strategies for Entertaining 10 to 50 - Softcover

Wyler, Susan

 
9781594860119: Cooking for a Crowd: Menus, Recipes And Strategies for Entertaining 10 to 50
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1594860114 ISBN 13: 9781594860119
Verlag: Rodale Pr, 2005

Inhaltsangabe

A revised and expanded edition of the classic entertainment cooking guide provides a wealth of menus, do-ahead recommendations, and recipes for larger groups, providing in the latest volume a variety of customizable options for special and holiday occasions. Original.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

SUSAN WYLER was food editor of Food & Wine magazine for 10 years. She is a widely published food writer and an IACP- and James Beard Award-nominated cookbook author whose other popular titles include Simply Stews, Tailgate Parties, and Cooking from a Country Farmhouse. Wyler lives in rural Pennsylvania.

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Flavorful Dinner For Good Friends

FOR 10 TO 12

THREE-MUSHROOM LASAGNE WITH GORGONZOLA SAUCE

MEDITERRANEAN SEAFOOD CASSEROLE GARLIC CROUTONS (PAGE 60)

COMPOSED SALAD OF CARROTS, BEETS, AND CUCUMBER

HAZELNUT DACQUOISE WITH CHOCOLATE CREAM

This is, quite simply, delicious food to share with your favorite people. I love the flavors that make up these recipes: wild mushrooms, blue cheese, tomatoes, garlic, fennel, seafood, and, last but not least, chocolate and hazelnuts. Maybe it's the vibrant Mediterranean flavors of these dishes and maybe it's the close friends I've shared them with, but I'm convinced this menu guarantees an extraordinarily pleasant evening, especially for the cook, since much of the dinner can be accomplished in advance. To me, this blending of modern trends with traditional tastes reflects the best of informal entertaining.

While the lasagne can certainly be made with dried noodles, the variety of mushrooms produces a subtle and complex flavor that deserves the delicacy of fresh pasta. If you don't feel like making your own, many stores sell fresh sheets of pasta for lasagne. Though the entire dish can be assembled up to a day in advance, bake it shortly before serving to preserve its subtle flavor and light texture.

I love the taste of bouillabaisse, but I'm not comfortable with soup as a main course at a company dinner, and I don't like the fishy smell that permeates the house. That's why I developed this casserole, which has all the vibrant, Mediterranean flavors of the original--olive oil, garlic, saffron, leeks--and much of the same delectable seafood but requires no fish stock; only the cooking liquid from the mussels and clams is used. Garlic toast helps to sop up the delicious juices.

Though the dishes are savory and rich, this is a relatively light meal, so I offer a more substantial salad than usual before dessert. Colorful and different, it makes a striking presentation on the plate. I prefer the salad at this point in the meal, but if it works better for you, it could be served as the first course.

Dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts are an unbeatable combination, which are here combined in an elegant presentation that is guaranteed to draw applause from even the most sophisticated of guests. The dacquoise can be completely assembled up to 24 hours before serving. Although the nut meringue layers soften slightly, the hazelnuts remain crunchy, and as with most chocolate desserts, the flavor improves overnight.

DO-AHEAD PLANNING

UP TO 2 DAYS IN ADVANCE: Make the tomato sauce base (Step 1) for the seafood casserole.

UP TO 1 DAY IN ADVANCE: Make the pasta and assemble the lasagne. Cover and refrigerate. Cook the mussels and clams and complete the sauce for the seafood casserole (Step 2). Refrigerate separately; remove about 30 minutes before you plan to cook the seafood casserole. Cook the beets for the salad and shred them; shred the carrots. Toss both with dressing. Wash and trim the watercress. Prepare the Hazelnut Dacquoise with Chocolate Cream.

UP TO 6 HOURS BEFORE SERVING: Make the Garlic Croutons to accompany the seafood casserole. Follow the instructions in Step 2 of Roquefort Caesar Salad on page 60 but use 2 loaves of French bread and 1/2 cup olive oil and do not cut the slices into cubes.

ABOUT 1 1/2 HOURS IN ADVANCE: Shred the cucumbers, toss them with dressing, and assemble the composed salads. Refrigerate.

ABOUT 30 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING: Bake the Three-Mushroom Lasagne. Assemble the Mediterranean Seafood Casserole. Finish the casserole either before you sit down to eat the lasagne or after you clear the table from the first course.

THREE-MUSHROOM LASAGNE WITH GORGONZOLA SAUCE

12 TO 16 SERVINGS

At the original book party for Cooking for a Crowd, which was held at New York's favorite restaurant, Union Square Cafe, this is the menu that was served. Imagine my thrill when then-chef Ali Barker, Michael Romano's predecessor, kept the lasagne on the restaurant's menu for a year. For this more formal service at the party, the chef constructed individual portions of lasagne between thin rounds of homemade pasta.

2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms

2 sticks (1/2 £d) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

4 large shallots, minced

2 £ds fresh white button or cremini mushrooms, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cayenne pepper

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 small garlic cloves, minced

3/4 £d fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 £d Gorgonzola dolcelatte cheese

3/4 cup freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)

Homemade Lasagne Noodles (opposite page) or 1 package (16 ounces) lasagne noodles

1. In a medium bowl, cover the porcini with 3 cups boiling water. Let stand until softened, 20 to 30 minutes. Lift out the mushrooms; reserve the liquid. Coarsely chop the porcini. Strain the liquid through a double layer of cheesecloth and reserve 2 cups.

2. Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over moderately high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the minced shallots and half the minced fresh mushrooms. Saute, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms give up their liquid, it evaporates, and the mushrooms become lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Season these mushroom duxelles with half the tarragon and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper, a dash or two of cayenne, and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Scrape into a bowl. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Repeat with 2 more tablespoons of the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil, adding 2 more tablespoons of the shallots and the remaining minced fresh mushrooms. Season as above. Add to the bowl. Wipe out the skillet.

3. In the same large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat. Add the remaining minced shallots and the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the shiitake and porcini mushrooms and saute, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderately low and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of the reserved porcini liquid and simmer, partially covered, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender but still slightly chewy. Uncover and cook, stirring frequently, until the remaining liquid evaporates. Season with the remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Add to the mushroom duxelles and set aside.

4. In a large heavy saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter over moderate heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes without letting the flour color. Whisk in the remaining 1 cup mushroom liquid, the milk, and the cream. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, until thickened and smooth. Reduce the heat and simmer, whisking frequently, for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Whisk in the Gorgonzola and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese until melted. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and several dashes of cayenne.

5. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the lasagne noodles until just tender, about 1 minute after the water returns to a boil for fresh noodles, about 12 minutes for the dried variety. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Place in a bowl of cold water and, one by one, lay the noodles out in a single layer on kitchen towels to dry.

6. To assemble the lasagne, generously butter 2 large baking pans, 9 x 13 x 2 inches. If the sauce has cooled, reheat it slightly over low heat. Arrange a layer of noodles in the bottom of each dish, trimming to fit, if...

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Verlag
Rodale Pr
Erscheinungsdatum
2005
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
1594860114
ISBN 13 
9781594860119
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
276
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Verantwortliche Person
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