Speaking of cooking...

...we're celebrating Mrs mdvipond's 33rd birthday (never metion a ladies age? Pah!) over the weekend and we'll be hosting a dinner party for 7 friends (so 9 of us in total).

We have a civil partnership to attend in the afternoon, so we need a simple, yet impressive 3 or 4 course menu that can be pre-prepared so that it need only be slammed in the oven in the evening. Any suggestions (that don't involve 'hamburger helper')?

A trip to M&S food hall springs to mind !!

Enjoy Regards,Ian

Ian,

(a) that's cheating and, (b) I'm one of the few people in this forsaken country of ours who isn't enraptured by M&S food. I find it all tastes the same. And the adverts: "This isn't just beef...". Yes actually, it is. The only difference is you're going to charge me three times more for it than down my local butchers...

Well have you seen the Pam Ann take of the M&S advert ala Virgin Atlantic ? Search on you tube and enjoy(?)
Seriously if you live in London there are many companies that will do the food for you and deliver if not I would use M&S or waitrose and tart it up a little - after all your friends are coming round for your company first not just the food (or one would hope so !)
Ian

33 is a good age... [y][:w]

Depends how much preparation time you have earlier in the day (before the civil ceremony) and the day before, how much time you have that evening etc.

I would probably look at serving a selection of freshly baked breads (probably part baked and finished in the oven just beforehand) and fresh antipasta (olives, roasted vegetables, cured meat, dips etc) for people to help themselves to. That all requires mimimum preparation.

Then maybe a large roast ham (probably roasted in stout and then covered in honey mustard, cloves and brown sugar for the last hour of cooking) and a big homemade dish of dauphinoise potatoes with a salad for a main course. Virtually all the preparation can be done for that earlier that morning, they just need quite a long cooking time (about 3 hours for the ham - depending on size) - so you need to be back in time to get them in the oven. Serve with salad of your choice (preferably something simple to throw together) and whatever you like with the ham (like a cumberland sauce - http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cumb ... 62,RC.html ).

I am not a big dessert making person - I would probably cheat... buy a nice tarte au citron and service with fresh EXTRA THICK cream and some fresh fruit (raspberries and blueberries) on the side of the plate.

If you want another course, then a few fresh cheeses, crackers and some fresh fruit (seedless grapes, maybe figs) and some port. But, in all honesty, I find that people RARELY have room for a cheese course by that stage... [:w]

Boo

Originally posted by hackneyguy
Seriously if you live in London there are many companies that will do the food for you and deliver if not I would use M&S or waitrose and tart it up a little - after all your friends are coming round for your company first not just the food (or one would hope so !)
Ian

We live in the wilds of West Yorkshire. We have fields and cows and everything, and there is some amount of fun to be had in cooking the afore mentioned bovines then eating them. And get this - I've never even seen a Waitrose, let alone been inside one. God, we're so provincial!

Seriously though, we do enjoy our cooking and the whole idea of putting something together from fresh, seasonal, local ingredients. We just need some inspiration for something that can be made the previous day but will still come out of the oven to a peel of 'oohs' and 'aahs' from our guests.

Of course "waitrose entertaining" (or whatever they are called) might be able to provide you with a dressed ham ready for cooking and a big tray of dauphinoise potatoes ready to slam in the oven too.... and you could buy a couple of large tubs of ready prepared sald from M&S.

Boo

A good risotto that you can cook beforehand till just before done. When the dinner part is in full swing add the last bit of stock and finish. Easy peasy and will have given the flavours time to develop all day too.

Cheers!
Dean

Boo - you are my kinda gal !! As long as they deliver plenty of vino too ! hic
Ian

Originally posted by Boo Boo
33 is a good age... [y][:w]

Depends how much preparation time you have earlier in the day (before the civil ceremony) and the day before, how much time you have that evening etc.

I would probably look at serving a selection of freshly baked breads (probably part baked and finished in the oven just beforehand) and fresh antipasta (olives, roasted vegetables, cured meat, dips etc) for people to help themselves to. That all requires mimimum preparation.

Then maybe a large roast ham (probably roasted in stout and then covered in honey mustard, cloves and brown sugar for the last hour of cooking) and a big homemade dish of dauphinoise potatoes with a salad for a main course. Virtually all the preparation can be done for that earlier that morning, they just need quite a long cooking time (about 3 hours for the ham - depending on size) - so you need to be back in time to get them in the oven. Serve with salad of your choice (preferably something simple to throw together) and whatever you like with the ham (like a cumberland sauce - http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cumb ... 62,RC.html ).

I am not a big dessert making person - I would probably cheat... buy a nice tarte au citron and service with fresh EXTRA THICK cream and some fresh fruit (raspberries and blueberries) on the side of the plate.

If you want another course, then a few fresh cheeses, crackers and some fresh fruit (seedless grapes, maybe figs) and some port. But, in all honesty, I find that people RARELY have room for a cheese course by that stage... [:w]

Boo

33 is a great age (as far as I can remember...)

Cracking idea on the ham. Roasted in stout, you say? Don't suppose you've got a basic recipe for that have you?

I'm with you on the desserts - there's no fun in making them and a tarte au citron (or chocolate equivilant!) is often our default sweet at dinner parties.

And we must have a cheese board - it's the only way to justify a bottle or two of vintage port...

Originally posted by Wolves27
A good risotto that you can cook beforehand till just before done. When the dinner part is in full swing add the last bit of stock and finish. Easy peasy and will have given the flavours time to develop all day too.

Cheers!
Dean

I love a good risotto and have often consider the 'cook ahead' method for dinner parties but have never really been brave enough to do it. I take it that three-quarter cooking it then adding more stock works OK? Doesn't make it go 'mushy'?

Originally posted by mdvipond
Cracking idea on the ham. Roasted in stout, you say? Don't suppose you've got a basic recipe for that have you?

Fortunately I have the day off today, so can grab my ham recipe from downstairs:

You need:
- a large unsmoked gammon joint (or a couple of smaller ones)
- 250ml of stout
- 250 ml of hot vegetable stock
- 1 red onion finally chopped.
- some whole cloves
- Honeycup Prepared "Honey" mustard if you can get it (I use this - very sweet and sticky and fab with ham), if not Dijon or similar.
- Demerara sugar

Pre-heat oven to 180'C. Calculate the cooking time for the gammon based on 55 minutes per kilo + 30 minutes (so a long time if you have one big ham!).

Place the ham in a deep roasting tin (with string still on) and add the stock, stout and chopped red onion. Cover loosely with foil and place in the oven.

About an hour from the end of cooking, remove joint from oven. Discard the foil and trasnfer the meat to a board. Using a sharp knife, remove the string from the gammon and cute away the skin (leaving the fatty layer beneath intact). Score the fat diagnoally to make diamond shapes. Place the gammon into a roasting tin lined with parchment paper (stops the sugar burning to it). Smear the honey mustard all over the fat - coating it completely. Then take a clove and stud it into the centre of each diamond. Then pat on the demerara sugar. Return to the oven for the last hour of cooking. This whole stage can be a bit messy - so full protective gear suggested [ii]

When gammon is fully cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving.

One of the things I love about doing baked ham is the SMELL... the whole house smells great and quests tend to go "HHhhmmmm" when they walk through the door. I also like to shoe the gammon to guests before I carve it (since it generally looks golden and rather lovely).

There re plenty of roast/baked ham receipes out there - just finding one that suits you. The most important things are making sure you have the time to do it (doesn't require much prep, does require quite a lot of cooking time) and make sure the ham is cooked through properly (hams come in a variety of sizes and shapes and they are all a little different to cook)

You can cook the ham the day before, but it is so much better and more tender if you do it right before they arrive. I try to time it that I do the "messy" bit just a bit before they arrive. Douphinoise (or similar) potatoes, a fairly simple salad (something rocket or spinach based) and a nice fruity cumberland sauce go with it very well. Simple, but great flavour.

Another dessert you could look at is "Eton Mess" (which can be "cheated" - http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/chea ... 59,RC.html etc). Personally I like tarte au citron after roast ham and dauphinoise potatoes because it provided a tartness to balance the richness and creaminess of the previous course. And if you intend to have a cheese course afterwards... that would be more rich/creaminess.

Boo

Boo, you are a star and I am indebted to you for many years to come. [oo] Thank you.

As if I haven't asked enough of you, I have one more question (rather like Columbo) - should you boil/rinse the ham first? I know a lot of recipes suggest this to get rid of some of the salt.

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by hackneyguy
Well have you seen the Pam Ann take of the M&S advert ala Virgin Atlantic ? Search on you tube and enjoy(?)
Seriously if you live in London there are many companies that will do the food for you and deliver if not I would use M&S or waitrose and tart it up a little - after all your friends are coming round for your company first not just the food (or one would hope so !)
Ian

This one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1iiq0Sl5NU

Thanks,
Richard

Originally posted by mdvipond
Boo, you are a star and I am indebted to you for many years to come. [oo] Thank you.

Just let me know how it turns out...

Originally posted by mdvipond
As if I haven't asked enough of you, I have one more question (rather like Columbo) - should you boil/rinse the ham first? I know a lot of recipes suggest this to get rid of some of the salt.

Personally I just remove the packaging, rinse with cold water and pat dry. Some other recipes boil the ham for the first bit of cooking (up to the stage where you take the string and fat off and cover with mustard etc), then they bake it with all the bits on for the last hour. That is definitely an alternative way of doing it, but I have only ever used a "completely bake/roast" recipe (in my recipe it is partly boiled/steamed in the veg stock and stout anyway whilst in the oven). There are even recipes for boiling the ham in cola (think Nigella does one for that) - cola is supposed to be a great tenderiser

There are lots of great roast/baked ham receipes out there - have a look around and see what you fancy

All this talk about food is really making me hungry! [:I]

Boo

I love the sound of the stout, cloves, sugar etc. so I think we'll stick to your recipe and see how it goes. And the Cumberland sauce looks good. If we go with Dean's risotto idea as a first course I can bill the whole do as a V-flyer inspired dinner party!

And yes, you're quite right about talking about food - I'm bloody starving.

Originally posted by mdvipond
I love the sound of the stout, cloves, sugar etc. so I think we'll stick to your recipe and see how it goes. And the Cumberland sauce looks good. If we go with Dean's risotto idea as a first course I can bill the whole do as a V-flyer inspired dinner party!

And yes, you're quite right about talking about food - I'm bloody starving.

Hhhmmm, am remembering the last ham I cooked (just before Christmas - good for festive occassions/dinners/lunches)... oh it was good .

If you didn't want to do cumberland sauce with the ham (although I think it is a perfect accompaniament), then you could look at serving some local, good fruit chutneys with it (or make your own)

Alternatively you could get preiffer to go around your house and cater for your guests... [}:)]. "Hamburger Helper" anyway? [:p]

Boo

Oh two other points about roast ham...

Leftovers are GREAT - great for sandwiches, with fresh eggs, on salads etc...

and WARN your guests about the cloves - personally I don't eat them (just push them to the side of your plate). But - my husband assures me - that if you eat too many of them, they make your tongue go numb... [ii]

Boo

Originally posted by Boo Boo
Oh two other points about roast ham...

Leftovers are GREAT - great for sandwiches, with fresh eggs, on salads etc...

and WARN your guests about the cloves - personally I don't eat them (just push them to the side of your plate). But - my husband assures me - that if you eat too many of them, they make your tongue go numb... [ii]

Boo

Mrs mdvipond is already on her way to our (outstanding) butcher to buy - and I quote - "a HUGE ham", mainly because she's hoping for excessive leftovers. And numbing one's tongue before the port seems like madness to me...

[fozzyo]

That ham idea sounds divine ... i'm thinking we need to do that too!

Good local butcher's are fantastic, you may pay a little more then Tesco but you get exactly what you want, they can tell you all about the meat, advise on its preparation and the quality if by far superior!

Originally posted by fozzyo
That ham idea sounds divine ... i'm thinking we need to do that too!

Good local butcher's are fantastic, you may pay a little more then Tesco but you get exactly what you want, they can tell you all about the meat, advise on its preparation and the quality if by far superior!

Please - for the love of god - do yourself a favour and don't start me on Tescopoly. One of my favourite hobby-horses of late. Meat bought at a good butchers rather than Tescopoly will (a) be locally reared, (b) have travelled fewer food-miles (this is a company that imports peas from Peru for crying out loud) (c) be sold at a price and profit margin that means the farmer will actually get something worthwhile out of it and, (d) probably have been a much happier cow/sheep/pig prior to ending up in your oven.

Sorry to go on, but I wholeheartedly believe that people should be more thoughtful of where they buy their grub and try and be more local, seasonal and free-range aware in their purchases.

And it generally tastes better too. Though I doubt any of the above applies to hamburger helper.

Here endeth the lesson...

[HighFlyer]

Completely agree. We have a farm next door and buy the small amount of meat we consume from our local farmer, and usually pick up some veg and eggs while we are there. Why so many people buy these items from Tesco as opposed to a local farm or butcher is beyond me. Obviously price is more important that putting quality items of food into your body.

Thanks,
Sarah

Originally posted by mdvipond
Mrs mdvipond is already on her way to our (outstanding) butcher to buy - and I quote - "a HUGE ham", mainly because she's hoping for excessive leftovers. And numbing one's tongue before the port seems like madness to me...

If it is HUGE then errr on the side of caution with cooking it - really big ham/gammon joints tend to take a bit longer to cook taller/thinner ones of the same weight... it can work out a bit of an art.

Your butcher looks great - must find a good one local to us: we live in a city and don't often get to the "farmer's market".

Boo

What agreat menu, wholeheartedly agree with the Risotto (with Ham to follow something like a leek risotto might be simple to start with, done in a very nice chicken stock and I add in umpteen glasses of white wine, sauvignon blanc works well for me or if stronger then Noilly Prat) and the ham sounds damn fine. Now I see where you are, I know Sherburn in Elmet, my father's farm was north of Tadcaster and that's where I grew up (although born in Ripon, that's a long story ...). And I see your butcher delivers too ... handy. Seems there are a few who think alike, I'd be happy going from ham to cheese and port without bothering with pudding, though some like it.

Now, what can I munch on

[preiffer]

Originally posted by HighFlyer
Obviously price is more important that putting quality items of food into your body.

Nope. The new deal out here is a Mega-Mac being the same price as a Double Quarter-Pounder with Cheese. With both prices equal, all I have left to compare against is the quality of each sandwich...