Your mission, should you accept it....

I've always wanted to try this.... (more)

and will definitely save this recipe to make soon, however, knowing myself, I know I would be too worried about the outcome to serve it on Monday for guests

I rather play safe... smileys/wink.gif

I am a bit more confident about pulling this thing, although I woke up at 3:30am and could not sleep anymore, thinking about the schedule, what to do when etc etc.... and of course, very important questions such as outfit, shoes, earrings... HA! (some people never change)

 
sweetie! DOn't worry about it, here is the plan:

I will use a recipe from American Test Kitchen (a new obsession of mine those shows), that simply coats then in a mixture of cocoa powder with sugar, which offsets the harshness of the cocoa powder and simplifies the preparation - I don't want to go through that job of rolling the truffles in sauce because knowing myself it would be a royal, royal mess.... smileys/wink.gif

but of course your dyslexic sauce knocked our socks off - Phil still talks about it and he insists that he will compose a blog post for it - we have pictures and all. But, things do take a while with us.....

 
Sally this is so exciting and what an honor. I am thrilled for you and know you will be a terrific

success. When all is said and done, please post the final menu and any pics you might get! Can't wait to hear all about it. Best of luck and have a terrific time smileys/smile.gif

 
Thanks, Barbara! (more)

I think I will ask one of our graduate students to act as a photographer - I intend to take pictures of the food before everyone arrives, but of course once the party gets going I won't be able to do it -

the last time I pulled something like this was when Phil turned 50 years old, and it turned out great - of course this is a more formal situation, lots of people don't know each other personally and you know how it goes, some big egos will be present. Gotta keep all that in perspective and have a great time no matter what.

I am feeling like a student before a big test, feeling well prepared but scared. Yin and yang.

 
asparagus is in season, here's a make ahead finger-food idea

I have served this repeatedly with good results.

Asparagus just barely cooked in the microwave and chilled, served with the following dip:

Lemon Tarragon Dipping Sauce for Asparagus
Adapted from a recipe published in Cocktail Food, by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford, published by Chronicle Books

3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayo
3 T. chopped red onion
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. plus 1 t. capers, drained and chopped
2t. lemon zest
2-3t. minced fresh tarragon
1/2 t. sugar
1/4 t. pepper

To make the sauce, mix the sour cream, mayo, onion, lemon juice, capers, lemon zest, tarragon, onion powder, sugar and pepper together using a wisk. Mix well and refrigerate until chilled. Sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance.

This sauce is also good with warm asparagus and grilled salmon.

 
Would you freeze or just keep in the fridge????

I intend to make them tomorrow instead of Sunday... forgot the added complexity of his arrival Sunday afternoon, so we pick him up and there will be a dinner with faculty in a restaurant in town.

 
SallyBR, what a golden opportunity to show off yr superb cooking talents. I cook & freeze my

mom's REC for buttermilk pancakes (posted fairly recently up above) all the time so as to avoid having any leftover batter go bad on me. I would surely think your little appetizer pancakes could be cooked & frozen ahead.

Another great REC I've used quite successfully is charlie's Hot Brie Kisses. I assemble and freeze them in mini-muffin pans and just pull the pans from the freezer to bake. Have always gotten rave reviews on those. I use green, red & yellow hot pepper jellies which make a colorful mixture on my serving trays. For garnish I have used combinations of colored bell pepper tops (red, orange, yellow, green) which also serve to make that appetizer item really pop and catch guests' eyes. Follow the hints listed on charlie's REC in T&T--the one about pulsing the brie in a FP B4 using--rind & all--is worth its weight in gold.

A suggestion for beverages--when I work out of a private home, I ice down the washing machine and stash soft drinks & beer in it. That way I don't have to lug so many ice chests when catering, and the ice in the washer melts so at the end of the party, I can spin the tub to drain out the water.

With 50 to 60 guests expected, I trust you have a friend or two to help as servers. If not, I would definitely hire at least one waiter/waitress to perform that duty, or you won't get to visit with your guests very much. I have a timer that I clip to my apron so I can keep tabs on items baking in the oven while I am out amongst the crowds passing food & refilling wine glasses.

You can pull all the platters & bowls ahead that you want to use to serve from. I typically put post-it notes on which plate will have which appetizer on or in it, and I also put notes on the table where each item is to sit so I get the best blend of colors. Anything I can think through & do ahead is done ahead--my garnish is all thought out ahead of time, too. I spend a ton of time on written planning so there will only be minimal thinking to do at the zero hour, and I can deal better with any last-minute snafus.

We are all out here rooting for you! I'm positive things will go swimmingly. Best of luck!

http://www.eat.at/swap/forum2/104_Hot_Brie_Kisses

 
I would also suggest asking a good friend who is not involved with this group

to come dressed in black and white, and do all the refills of platters, keep the area clean and picked up, and assist you. Hire or ask another outside friend to take care of the liquor area. You will have a much better time. It worked so well for me when I did this.
I hate to say this, but I have noticed that most of the better parties I have been to lately, have someone standing in the area of the house you do not want anyone in.....like master bedroom, or any of the bedrooms. If you using one for purses, coats, etc. that person enters the room with the guest and helps them find their purse, coat etc. That person is always very friendly, engaging into conversation with guests but does not leave that vantage point. Tis the world we live in today.

 
I've always had a problem picturing The Perfect French WoMan getting melted chocolates all over

her/his hands shaping truffles. It just seemed so....messy and unFrench-like.

But then, these ARE the same cooks that came up with pate de foie gras.

 
Good question...I might be inclined to

freeze them so they'll seem fresher than if they sat in the refrigerator for 2 days but you'll want to take care defrosting them so they don't get soggy (leave them wrapped til they're defrosted, don't unwrap them to allow them to thaw).

If time gets away from you though you might want to consider using the cocktail rye as your base. OR, have you considered smoked salmon on endive leaves? Those are not as fussy or time-consuming to make and fill and are easy for guests to pick up off the platter.

 
Grad students to the rescue...

smileys/wink.gif

only faculty is invited, but we opened the exception to our own students, and they were thrilled

anyway, they will be helping us serving the food, making sure everyone has drinks and taking photos

I had to smile at the "a friend not part of this group" - essentially all the people we know here are part of this group. Phil has maybe two or three guys he plays golf with,but that's about it. Our good friends stayed behind in Oklahoma or California, I have a good friend in New York, one in England, several in Brazil. A bit far to help...

but actually, CIndy was SUPER KIND to offer to drive all the way here and help - so a public huge thank you is in order. We will be fine, I am getting all pumped up for the work and THE PARTY!!!!!

 
I agree with Pat--freeze-very doable. What we did often when making..

canapes:

We would slice a pullman type loaf across the bottom to get slices as wide and long as possible. We'd do this ahead and stack and wrap.

Next day toast all under the broiler; lightly spread sour cream or creme fruit on the untoasted side; lay thin slices of smoked salmon to cover; put additional sour cream in a paper tube and drizzle atop the salmon (like on a petit four); scatter capers atop; trim the edges and slice into rectangles and diamonds.

Makes a bunch in a short time and looks like it came from a fancy shop. We'd put them on a silver platter and charge a fortune.

 
focaccia dough made....

.... cheddar coins dough made. Both in the fridge.

tomorrow morning I will bake them both and later freeze

Mini-pancakes will be made tomorrow, I think all the rest can be pulled easily on Sunday morning.....

life is good.

Now I am worried that not enough people will come.... can you imagine? Oh, well - we can always take leftovers to the department next day.

life will still be good.....

thanks for all the help, everyone!!!!!! Means a ton to me!

 
What a fun challenge Sally. And you will wow them all. I can tell.

Your anticipation and excitement show in your posts- you are organized and have a good and interesting assortment of foods for the group. I have no doubt you will pull this off very successfully. I'm envious- this is the kind of challenge I love. Get it all under control then work all day and entertain a big crowd in the evening.

Good luck to you! Tell us about it when it is over and post some photos if you can.

 
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