This is really hard to do this time of the year since the only fruit that is still decent are raspberries…so there are lots of raspberry desserts LOL.   Also, everything needs to be finger food-ish because there wont be places for everyone to actually sit down. 

So here is the final menu that I came up with:

1) Russian tea cakes

2) Spritz cookies with red sanding sugar

3) Heart shaped cinnamon-cardamom sugar cookies, some dipped in milk chocolate, some in dark chocolate, some in white chocolate, and some plain

4) Miniature cinnamon chocolate cheese cakes with white chocolate drizzle

5) Chocolate mouse parfaits with raspberry-chambord sauce, homemade whipped cream and fresh raspberries

6) Frozen raspberry meringue pie with chocolate crust

7) Dark Chocolate cupcakes with Italian raspberry buttercream frosting and fresh raspberries (full size and minuature)

8 ) Strawberry bruscetta with nutella (or raspberry if I cant find any decent strawberries)

9) Puff pastry tartlets with raspberry preserves (these are so simple, but soooo good!)

10)  Orange chocolate truffles

11) fresh grapes and assorted cheeses

12) random drinks

For anywhere between 56-101 people…yup…a very precise guest list LOL.  Even better since when I agreed to do the desserts I was told it would be no more than 30-40 people lol.

Man…do I have my work cut out for me!

I will post tons of pictures once it is over.  Wish me luck!

Here is what I made:

Greek salad with radicchio and Greek olives

Corn on the cob tossed with mint-feta-butter

Garlic-oregano pita bread

Roasted red bell pepper and walnut spread

Cumin scented beef kebabs

Lemon-blueberry ice cream sandwiches

Greek Style Salad

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced crosswise

1 head radicchio, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise

1 head romaine, coarsely chopped

2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced

2/3 cup mixed Greek olives

- Whisk together lemon juice, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper until sugar and salt have dissolved

- Add oil and whisk until combined well

- Toss salad fixings with dressing

Corn on the cob with mint-feta butter

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

7 oz feta, finely crumbled

1/4 cup finely chopped mint

8 large ears of corn, shucked, each cut in half

- Stir together butter, feta, mint, and a rounded 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl

- Cook corn in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes

- Transfer corn with tons to butter mixture and toss until well coated

Garlic-oregano grilled pita bread

5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 Tbsp finely chopped oregano (I like half fresh, half dried personally…)

6 pocket less pita bread rounds (I use Naan instead, I like it better)

- Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat until it shimmers.

- Add garlic and cook until it just starts to color.  Be careful not to burn it!

- Grill pita on bbq, or just heat it in the oven until warm

- Brush pita with garlic-oregano oil

- Sprinkle with kosher salt, serve warm

Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Spread

2 jars roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained

1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs

1 cup walnuts, toasted

1 Tbsp red-wine vinegar

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (mine took a lot more than this to get the texture I liked, just add more until you like it)

- Puree roasted red peppers, bread crumbs, walnuts, vinegar, cumin, cayenne, and 1/4 tsp salt in a food processor until almost smooth

- With motor running, add oil in a slow stream, blending until incorporated.

- It should look similar to hummus…but bright red!

Cumin-scented beef kebabs

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp finely chopped oregano

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 lb top sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

Kebab skewers (soak in water for 30 minutes if using wooden skewers)

- Stir together oil, oregano, garlic, spices and 1 tsp salt in a bowl, then toss with beef. Marinate, chilled, at least 2 hours

- Thread about 4 – 6 pieces of beef onto each skewer, leaving small spaces between pieces

- Grill, turning until browned but still pink inside, 4-5 minutes

Lemon ice cream sandwiches with blueberry swirl

For lemon ice cream:

2 pt premium vanilla ice cream

1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (I wanted mine more lemon tasting, so I added more lemon juice until I liked how it tasted)

For Blueberry Compote:

2 cups blueberries

1/4 cup sugar (I added a little more because my blueberries were not very sweet)

2 strips lemon zest (3 by 2 1/2 inches…or just zest one lemon)

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp cornstarch

For sandwich layers:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 square, 8 inch, baking pans, 2 inches deep

- Transfer ice cream into a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 percent power in 10 second bursts, stirring until softened

- Stir in lemon zest and juice. Spread ice cream thinly in a 13×9 inch baking dish and freeze while making compote and sandwich layers

- Cook blueberries, sugar, and zest in a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat, thoroughly crushing blueberries with a potato masher, until juices are released and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes (I transferred mine to my food processor because I didn’t have a potato masher.  I blended it REALLY well which made it have SUCH a nice, dark purple color).

- Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch, then stir into blueberry mixture. Boil, stiring, 1 mintue. Mixture will thicken

- Transfer blueberry compote to a bowl and chill until cold, about 1 hour. Discard lemon zest if you left in it big strips (I put mine in the food processor so it got blended up)

- Preheat oven to 375F with rack in middle. Butter baking pans, line with foil, leaving at least 1 inch of overhang on all sides, then butter the foil (I would use Pam’s baking spray, and make sure to REALLY spray the foil well!)

- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

- Beat together butter and brown sugar in another bowl with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.

- On low speed, add flower mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just combined. Don’t over mix or cookie will get too tough!

- Divide batter between the two baking pans, spread into a thin, even layer with offset spatula. (Spray spatula with some Pam before doing this!)

- Bake until golden-brown but still soft, 10-12 minutes.  Cool completely in pans (important!!!).  Cookie will firm up when cooled.

- Dollop tablespoons of blueberry compote all over ice cream. Swirl into ice cream with a spoon.

- Spoon all of the ice cream onto one of the sandwich layers, while it is still in the baking pan.

- Invert a second sandwich layer over ice cream, pressing gently to form an even sandwich.

- Wrap baking pan in plastic wrap and freeze until firm. At least 2 hours.

- Transfer to cutting board using the over hanging foil. Trim edges if desired, then cut into 8 pieces

Until then, wish me luck on my “Physiology of Tate and Smell” practical tomorrow! Just for fun I will post my menu of 5 appetizers I created for tomorrow so you can get a sense of what I am working on in school right now. For our test we are given three out of five possible proteins and we have to make an appetizer out of it. We only have a strange assortment of ingredients we can use so it makes it really interesting to try to come up with something that might actually taste ok lol. We have to combine different types of flavors and “pushing” and “pulling” tastes. Weird, I know.

Sauteed Sea Scallops with Leeks and White Truffle Vinaigrette
Sea scallops marinated in white wine, lemon juice and thyme. Sauteed in a pan until golden brown. Served on top of a bed of leeks sauteed in butter. White truffle vinaigrette is drizzled over the scallop.

Grilled Striped Bass with Parsley Compound Butter and Bell Pepper-Pear Salsa
Grilled striped bass, topped with parsley compound butter and served with a chilled red bell pepper-bosc pear salsa.

Pan Fried Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Caramelized Granny Smith Apple
Pork tenderloin medallions marinated in soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Pan fried until golden brown. Served on top of a caramelized apple slice. Finished with a pan gravy and scallions. A play upon “pork chops and apple sauce.”

Grilled Curry Shrimp Satay with Spaghetti Squash Slaw
Grilled shrimp with coconut-curry sauce served on a bamboo skewer. Served over spaghetti squash slaw made with apples, celery and carrots in a tangy vinaigrette.

Salmon en Papillote Trio (en papillote = cooked in oven in a parchment paper pouch)
A trio of miniature papillotes is presented. Each papillote contains a small bite sized piece of salmon, each cooked with a different key ingredient: red bell pepper, dill, and lemon with thyme. This is done to show how the flavors can each enhance the flavor of the fish in different ways. Each papillote performs the same function of enhancing the salmon’s flavor in successively bolder, more intense ways.

Any of these sound any good to you guys? Which one, if any, would you order as an appetizer at a restaurant?

And they lived happily ever after…