Food is always a key ingredient when planning a spring party, or any party for that matter. Whether it`s miniature hamburgers cooked on the grill, a do-it-yourself taco and/or sundae bar or a sit-down luncheon, eating is the great socializer.
For an elegant yet hearty menu, chef Julie Williamson of Green Baize Catering, Lake Forest, offers the following suggestions:
— Sliced Italian pepper sausages with mustard and a basket of assorted breads, as a grazing type of appetizer.
— Chilled gazpacho with crouton sticks, served in jam jars.
— Grilled marinated herb breast of capon with shallot-basil sauce.
(Chicken breasts can be used, although Williamson recommends ordering capon breasts from your butcher for a plumper, heartier dish).
— Cucumber, tomato and potato salad.
— Spinach and endive salad in a light vinaigrette.
— Summer berry pudding.
SHALLOT AND BASIL SAUCE
(FOR GRILLED CAPON OR CHICKEN BREASTS)
Four servings
Preparation time: 15 minutes
2 large bunches of fresh basil
Salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup minced shallots
1/4 cup mayonnaise (homemade would be best)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup creme fraiche, see note
White pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
1. Wash the basil leaves and pat dry. Puree them in the blender with a little salt and the olive oil.
2. Put basil puree into a bowl. Add shallots, mayonnaise, sour cream and creme fraiche. Season to taste with white pepper and cayenne. Either serve over the grilled capon or chicken breasts or in a separate dish for guests to serve themselves.
Note: You may substitute sour cream for the creme fraiche if you wish, which would increase the total amount of sour cream to 1/2 cup.
CUCUMBER, POTATO AND TOMATO SALAD
Six servings
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Standing time: 4 hours
3 cucumbers
1 tablespoon kosher (coarse) salt
Olive oil
White wine tarragon vinegar
Pinch white pepper
5 Idaho potatoes
5 ripe tomatoes
Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise, preferably homemade
1/2 cup mustard-seasoned vinaigrette salad dressing
1/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
Bunch of fresh chives
1. Peel the cucumbers. Cut them in half, lengthwise, and scoop the seeds out with a spoon. Cut in thin slices and put in shallow bowl. Sprinkle with kosher salt and let them drain 4 hours.
2. Pat water out of cucumbers with paper towel and place cucumbers in a dry bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and tarragon vinegar and sprinkle with white pepper.
3. Boil the potatoes in salted water. When they are barely tender, but not mushy, remove from water and let cool. When cooled, remove skins from potatoes. Slice potatoes and leave until ready to assemble.
4. Wash and slice tomatoes. For dressing, mix all ingredients, except chives, in small bowl.
5. To assemble salad, alternate layers of tomatoes and potatoes. Drizzle dressing over each layer. Place sliced cucumbers on top, drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle salad with fresh chives. Either serve immediately or chill. SUMMER BERRY PUDDING
Eight servings
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 5 to 10 minutes
Chilling time: 24 hours
6 pounds of an assortment of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, red and black currants (use what is fresh and available)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons water
15 slices stale white bread
1. Butter a 10-cup charlotte mold or souffle pan with soft butter.
2. Cook the berries in sugar and water in large nonaluminum saucepan until soft and bright in color, about 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Slice crusts from bread and cut in half, at diagonal. Line the entire mold, sides and bottom, with the bread, reserving about 6 pieces of bread for the top of the pudding.
4. Using a slotted spoon, fill the mold with warm berries. Reserve the juice.
5. Dip remaining bread slices into warm berry juice and place them over berries.
6. Place wax paper over pudding and put a 1-pound weight or a can on top. Put the dish in a large pan to catch any spilled juice. Refrigerate overnight. 7. Remove weight and wax paper. Invert onto serving dish. Spoon the juices that leak out over top of pudding. Garnish with fresh berries.
The following recipe is similar to one that most of us probably grew up with. It`s the Jell-O recipe that Diane (main story) found so comforting during her engagement party.
DIANE`S CREAM CHEESE LEMON JELL-O
Six servings
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Chilling time: Overnight
1 package (3 ounces) lemon Jell-O
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup hot water
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple in syrup
1 can (16 ounces) fruit cocktail
1 cup evaporated milk
1. Put Jell-O and cream cheese in mixing bowl; beat while adding hot water.
2. Drain juices from pineapple and fruit cocktail to make 3/4 cup juice. Add juice to Jell-O mixture. Beat milk in slowly. Fold in drained fruit.
3. Transfer to a 6-cup mold. Refrigerate overnight or until firm. Unmold onto serving platter.
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL PARTIES
The parties of spring–engagements, bridal showers and graduations–can be at opposite ends of a bell-shaped curve.
Guests at graduation parties, whether high school or college, are going to be interested in a lot of food and music, probably loud. Showers and engagement parties veer toward the elegant and formal.
Regardless, there are certain tips that apply to most parties:
— Decide on a theme, if you`re going to have one, and plan your invitations and decorations around it. Invitations to an engagement party could be a facsimile of a prenuptial agreement; to a graduation party, they could be patterned after a diploma.
— Always include an RSVP on the invitation. Party-givers frequently live to regret putting ”regrets only” on an invitation because there`s a tendency for people who don`t plan to attend to not reply.
— Let people know generally what kind of clothes will be appropriate.
— Make lists. Lists of food, decorations, things you need to buy and things you need to wash. Have a timetable of when you`re going to do what. You also should have a list for cleaning the house (decide what doors to keep shut).
— Ice-breaker games can be fun, even when tacky. For example, you can tell your guests in advance to wear something slightly wrong, and have a prize for the one who guesses all of the mismatches first. (One party-stumper was the person who wore contact lenses of different colors.)
— Spring flowers go hand in hand with spring parties. Containers can range from crystal pitchers and silver bowls to oversize beer mugs.
— Use nameplates if it`s a sit-down meal.
— Don`t run yourself ragged. Many wonderful foods, including desserts, can be bought at specialty food shops. One step further is to have a caterer and still another step is to have someone like Lennie Rose (see main story)
come help you plan the theme, decorations and games.
— Relax and enjoy.
