Recent Posts

Monday, August 22, 2011

Hearty Winter Tablenosh Dinner


My first tablenosh at the new house...I think it took me a little longer than I expected to get the place ready and I had to move a bit of furniture around, but somehow I managed to get 12 people in the kitchen for dinner, it was nice and cozy.  It was a good lively bunch different to other nights in that one booking was a group of six and another a group of four, so quite a few people who already knew each other.


I had fun testing a few of my recipes during the week and was feeling pretty good about most of the menu.  Of course there are always a few minor things that always remind me that I am still learning and just an experimental cook.  This time it was the roasted garlic and cauliflower soup.  I made the soup the night before and got it out on Saturday but could barely taste any garlic.  So, I roasted up some more garlic and added it to the pot, but still not much flavor so I added some garlic granules as well.  Then I had the bright idea that maybe I should heat it up and that would help boost the garlic flavor.  Well friends sure enough once the soup was warm all the flavor came and WHOA you could definitely taste the garlic.  Needless to say I had to then tone it down with some more stock and cream.  The final product was delicious it just took me a while to get there!

This menu had a bit of a citrus theme, I kicked off the night with a Mulled Citrus Wine.


And some starters:
 Prosciutto, Brie & Fig Bites and the the Roasted Garlic & Cauliflower Soup.

Then the Entree Salad 
A baby spinach, roasted beetroot and goats cheese salad with a honey-balsamic vinaigrette. 

The Main 
Creamy Chicken, Mushroom and Leek Pies with Roasted Sweet Potato Mash and Sauteed Asparagus.

 I was very excited about the pastry I used for the pies, although I think I could have been a bit more generous with it!  I used all Carême all butter pastry which is supposed to be amazing (http://www.caremepastry.com/).

Next came the Citrus Dessert Trio (this was my personal favorite)

Petite Orange & Almond Cake
Orange Blossom Panna Cotta
Homemade Orange & Cardamom Icecream

After dinner and dessert the guests retired back to the lounge room to enjoy a few more glasses of wine and then I served tea and coffee.  This is where I offered to try making espresso drinks on the coffee maker my brother-in-law just gave us.  Let's just say next time I will only offer the usual (drip coffee & tea)...unless I have completed a barista course by then!

The night was made complete with Spiced Orange Truffles and Brown Brother Orange & Flora Muscat as the digestif.  Yum.  It was a great night for me indeed and I certainly hope the guests enjoyed meeting a few strangers and enjoying some in-home-cooking together.

The next tablenosh dinner is on the calendar for September 24th, if you are interested in a seat please email leilanel@hotmail.com .

3 comments:

Thora and Dean said...

ohhh, yum! those truffles look wonderful! sorry i missed out on the citrus theme....

chocolatesuze said...

omgs the soup sounds to die for!

Anonymous said...

It was great food & a great night Leila...Especially dessert!
Jenn

Post a Comment