The Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party (Club)

Table settings on the 'adults' table.

     Back in January/February I blogged about this dinner, where a few of us had a bit of a fun cook off, cooking one course each as part of a fancy dinner. Well, that dinner has started something that we have dubbed 'The Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party' where a group of us from 3 different families all come together for a fancy home cooked meal every two months or so.

     The Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party Club currently consists of 12 people, unfortunately we are not opening for membership anytime soon as it is already a lot of work to cook for (and clean up after) 12 people. If we did want to expand we will probably have to start charging membership to help fund this dinner club, or open our own restaurant. There was one dinner where 12 became 14 as some members had some overseas guests, but if the numbers do drop from 12 there will always be a happy outsider/bystander to take that person's place.

     The 'kids' (plus one 'adult') take turns to cook one course each on a rotating schedule of sorts, and the 'adults' take turns hosting the dinner at their house. For some reason the 'kids' won't let them cook at all. I think it's the fear of being fed Filipino home cooking which isn't quite Fancy Schmancy enough for this kind of party ;). And it's a chance to return the favour since the parents are always cooking for the kids. At the end of each dinner, we decide on the date and location of the next dinner and delegate a cook(s) for each course. You might think that it's still another two or so months away but it's serious business for us. Since that first dinner, we have successfully planned three more with the last one being a couple of months ago in August. Sadly the next Fancy Schmancy dinner will not be until early January 2013 due to the crazy busy months of November and December.

Entree: Stuffed chicken breast with stuffed mushroom, and little smoked salmon tartlette canapes. By Chef Joy.

     For the second dinner in April, Ryan and I were not on cooking duty, though we did lend a hand with plating up and cleaning up afterwards. Being the second Fancy Schmancy dinner for the year I think we were still in the 'teething' stage as we weren't all sure if it was still going ahead or not as there had been no communication at all since we last saw each other in February. The date was marked in my calendar but I had to actually prompt everyone a couple of weeks before just to confirm if it was still going ahead.

     I decided to leave my DSLR at home that night but looking back now it's a shame that I didn't take any proper photos of all the effort that went into the dinner (check out the first photo on this post, all those table settings were HAND MADE).

     There were some canapes of smoked salmon tartlettes served before dinner but as we were running a little behind schedule due to parents arriving late to dinner, they kind of got forgotten and were served with entree instead.

It's a little bit like My Kitchen Rules in the house.

Main: Roast Beef with Sauce Dianne, Roasted Root Vegetables and Asparagus. By Chef Celine.

Dessert: Apple and Caramel Cheesecake. By Chef Jessica. Recipe from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook.

     As it was St Patrick's day, I thought I would bake a few Irish inspired Baileys Chocolate macarons as a token for our hosts. They got served up alongside dessert because some people couldn't resist them, though those people already snuck in a few before dinner too ;). I think this was my favourite part of the dinner though I think I am a bit biased because of my massive sweet tooth. But I've gotta admit that it was a pretty awesome cheesecake ;).

The 'kids' table - totally retro table settings from Ryan's mum!

     The third dinner was in June and was hosted by Ryan's parents. It was our turn to cook again with me on the main and Ryan on dessert as he wanted to try his hand at something different since he hasn't made many desserts yet. I can't always be the dessert queen in the relationship now can I? Though he does have the upper hand when it comes to creme brulees and crepes. One of the other girls was in charge of entree.

The 'adults' table.

Silver tea and coffee set.

     Even the fancy silver ware gets taken out from under safe guard! Ryan informs me this set is older than he is - some antique stuff there. I think the parents secretly try and outdo each other each time with all the dinnerware. Though I think we secretly do the same when it comes to our cooking ;). The fancy dinner ware wasn't an expectation in the beginning but it's good to see our hosts go the full mile to make the dinner a little bit more special.

Menu for Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party #3.

Parmesan Paprika Twists.

     

     These Parmesan Paprika Twists were made from leftover and offcuts of puff pastry from making my main dish. Strips of puff pastry brushed with beaten egg and then sprinkled with grated parmesan and paprika and then baked until golden.

Crusty Wholemeal Bread to go with...

14 bowls of soup!

Entree: Pumpkin Soup served with Crusty Bread. By Chef Celine.

'L' is for Lamb.

Sweet Potato and Parsnip Gratin.

Main: Individual Pie (Chicken, Pea & Leek, or Lamb, Mushroom & Rosemary), served with Sweet Potato & Parsnip Gratin, and Sauteed Brussel Sprouts with Bacon & Almond Crumble. By Chef Angie!

     For the main, I chose to use lamb as it was requested by some of the others at the last dinner party. As we already had 2 roasts in a row, and as tempting as a nice warm roast leg of lamb would have been perfect for a cold winter night, I wanted to do something a bit different. I knew that not everyone would eat lamb so had to think of an alternative for them but I didn't want to change my protein altogether for a one fits all dish.

     A few weeks before the dinner, all my thoughts and ideas, and a hankering for a flaky pie with a hot rich filling, resulted in this dish. With options for the lamb eaters and the non lamb eaters. I also thought I would use brussel sprouts for one of my sides as I had only recently tried them and quite liked them. No one apart from Ryan had tried Brussel sprouts before and they surely received a mixed reaction all around. Everyone did appreciate the opportunity to try something different though. The only thing I wasn't happy with was that my bacon and almond crumble wasn't much of a crumble as I over crowded the saucepan in a rush to get the brussel sprouts cooked so it went soggy. And my gratin could have been a bit thicker, I forgot to allow for shrinkage.

Ryan's Chocolate and Lime Gateau. One of two.

Now that's a blow torch!

     It's tricky serving up 14 desserts with multple components, especially when there is one that is temperature sensitive.

Dessert: Chocolate and Lime Gateau with Saffron Pashmak and Espresso Granita. By Chef Ryan.

     Ryan was actually inspired by Heston Blumenthal's Exploding Chocolate Gateau for his dessert choice. Though he added lime to the chocolate ganache to cut the richness and add another flavour element to the gateau. I suggested he serve it with some Saffron Pashmak which we bought from Essential Ingredient when I went to spend my birthday voucher there and he also made an espresso granita to go with it with hints of lime zest in it. Unfortunately the granita didn't set in time and was more of an espresso slushy.

     The most fun part about this dessert was that apart from Ryan and I, absolutely no one knew about the popping candy embedded in the biscuit base of the gateau. The first sound from the first spoonfuls around the table was the popping candy reacting in everyone's mouth. Then came the sound of giggles and squeels as everyone tried to figure out what was going on. And then we heard the loud cackle of laughter coming from the other room where all the parents were dining. At that point Ryan thought he should reveal to everyone what the secret ingredient was. It was great fun watching and listening to the reactions of everyone around us, everyone absolutely loved it. It was a great dessert, and I was so proud of Ryan that night :) Though, I am still the dessert queen :p

     After dessert, Ryan's mum passed around some dried figs which she picked up in Dubai on her trip to Israel. I love the figs from that part of the world, they are so delicious!

Espresso Granita (with Lime).

     The next day Ryan and I had some of the leftover granita which had finally frozen. It was amazingly refreshing and the coffee wasn't too strong at all and I loved the bursts of lime coming through. It tasted almost like Cola, did we just discover the secret recipe to Coke? ;)

The 'kids' table settings.

     Our fourth and last dinner for 2012 was back at the house that started it all. Ryan and I were supposed to be relieved of cooking duties but a couple of weeks before the dinner, our dessert chef had to pull out so that role was open for grabs. I thought 'why not?', and it was a chance for Ryan and I to collaborate and make a dessert that had multiple elements which meant it would be a little bit more special than something we would make if it was just one of us cooking. So I put my hand up for the job.

Individual place setting on the 'kids' table, and the dinner menu.

Entree: Pumpkin and Rocket Arancini with Roast Garlic Aoli. By Chef Jessica.

     It's quite a task to serve up each course, clear the tables, and then repeat all over again. It's usually all hands on deck to get it all out.

Main: Stuffed Chicken Breast, Served with Pumpkin Puree and Truffled Peas. By Chef Jeanne. A recipe from MasterChef/Matt Moran.

Dessert: Pandan Pannacotta with Vanilla Coconut Tapioca Pudding served with a Banana and Coconut Turon (Sweet Filipino Spring Roll). By Chef Ryan and Chef Angie.

     The inspiration for this dessert came from a recipe out of one of my dessert books 'The Dessert Architect'. Some changes were made to it though, I used a different pannacotta recipe which used gelatine powder instead of leaf (which I tweaked anyway), and it was meant to be garnished with some caramelised bananas and coconut tuilles which we decided last minute to change to banana fritters but that ended up being changed again to banana and coconut turons instead thanks to Ryan's creative thinking.

     We wanted to keep the contrast of the smooth and crisp textures but we also wanted to introduce a hot element to go with the cold of the pannacotta so thought freshly fried turons would be perfect. They also tied the whole Asian/Filipino theme together even more which really impressed the parents, and possibly ignited some nostalgia for them.

     It was a great finale to the year for The Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party Club. It still amazes me how without much effort we have managed to keep this event continuing for the entire year. It's been a great opportunity for the parents to catch up regularly rather than once or twice yearly and have a gossip session together and a great chance for us kids to also catch up and hangout together more regularly too. And what more could the parents ask for? They just have to rock up and be fed by their kids where it's usually the other way around for most of the families ;)

     At the end of the last dinner, the parents gave all the chefs a small donation so that we could invest in some sets of dinnerware for the dinner parties. It's a bit of a struggle to find 12 matching sets of anything when it comes time to hosting but I think the mismatching dinnerware and table settings adds a bit of character to each dinner table. We should probably ask for donations towards ingredients too as it can get expensive feeding twelve people, three courses each. I think all of the cooks do it out of a love and passion for cooking though, I know I definitely do. And all the tiredness and stress from cooking disappears when you put those plates on the table and everyone is enjoying themselves. It makes it all worthwhile. And it's not like we have to cook at every dinner so we get a break every so often and can come to dinner simply as a guest which is nice too.

     Looking forward to another year of eating fellow Fancy Schmancy Party Club members! Perhaps this will inspire you, my dear readers, to start something similar?

Belgian Waffles - It's a Waffle Party!

        Do you LOVE waffles? Crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. Heck I think that's how I like a lot of my food, it's about the contrasting textures!

        I was actually never a huge fan of waffles to start with and only ever liked the Vietnamese pandan waffles but I will make an exceptian for the Belgian ones.

        At work, we have a rewards program where we are rewarded with points for our good work and also for service recognition/anniversary with the company. You can trade in your points at any time in exchange for something from the catalogue which ranges from things like movie vouchers, homewares, electronics, even overseas trips. 

        I had accumulated enough points to claim a compact digital camera with super zoom however it wasn't quite what I was after so I donated my camera to Grandpa who had lost his during the Queensland floods. I had enough points left over to claim a Sunbeam Belgian waffle maker, which I had been eyeing off for a while now.

        One cold rainy Friday evening Ryan was called into work, so earlier that day I sent out a message to some friends for an impromptu waffle party at my place, what better way to christen my waffle machine? With some eager reponses I went about researching online for a recipe for Belgian waffles and found this recipe. I remember I had to make a few changes to it but never wrote down exactly what those changes were. 

        The batter that I ended up with resulted in some pretty tasty waffles. It's a yeast based waffle batter which meant that I had to sit my mixing bowl next to a heater to help it rise on this particular cold night. It was well worth it though.

        My fellow wafflers came and we fired up the waffle machine to start making some hot waffles. I had plenty of chocolate at home to make a sauce and also had some strawberries in the fridge. I requested my guests to bring some additional toppings of choice, and a tub of vanilla ice cream too.

        The chocolate sauce is simply some milk chocolate melts and milk, melted over a double boiler and stired until combined.

        So our toppings of choice are 'maple' syrup (shame it wasn't the real deal), strawberries and a mix of crushed walnuts and cashew nuts. Chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream not shown in this pic.

        Golden goodness. I actually doubled the batch and we were eating waffles a few days in a row, such indulgence.

        DIY waffle assembling. All on with the toppings for most of us. It's more fun that way, and everyone gets to pick and choose what they want to go with their waffles. Great for those picky eaters. I've got to say I was actually a little skeptical about the crushed walnuts and cashews but they went so well with the chocolate and strawberries and vanilla ice cream. We didn't have any bananas that evening but the next day I was able to have a waffle with some ripe sugar bananas from the garden - it was delicious.

        What could possibly be better than this? Definately beats heading out to Max Brenner to queue up on a cold and wet Friday night! And we had much more fun at home making our own waffles.

Brazo De Mercedes (Take 2)

        I am a perfectionist. I am a control freak. I just set my expectations too high for myself and get upset when I fall short of them, even when other people think I've done a good job (maybe they are just too kind) I still think I can do better. I guess I just have to learn to lower those expecations or keep working on reaching perfection. And keep remembering that practice makes perfect.

        This is my second attempt at the well loved Filipino dessert Brazo De Mercedes (Meringue Swiss Roll with Egg Yolk Custard filling). And it wasn't a perfect job. It fell short of perfect, though it was definately better than my first go on so many levels. I guess all I can do now is learn and try again to reach perfection. You can have a look at my appalling first go here. I decided to have another go at it and make it to take to a catch up lunch with Ryan's cousin. This recipe is my adaption of a few that are around on the internet.

Brazo De Mercedes

Ingredients:

• 10 large eggs, seperated

• Pinch of Cream of Tartar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (Nestle 395g)
• 1 tsp vanilla bean extract
• Icing sugar, to dust

        I decided I wanted to make two rolls, so had 20 eggs to seperate. I did it on my bedroom floor in front of the TV. You might also want to make the custard a day before you make the meringue. It allows the custard to set and thicken which makes it easier to handle.

        To make the custard, combine the egg yolks, condensed milk and vanilla bean extract in a saucepan. Cook on a medium low heat, stirring constantly until thickened, this will take approximately 20 minutes or so. You need to be patient with this. I cooked my custard over direct heat, you could also do it over a pot of simmering water if you're worried about the mixture curdling.

        My custard is not curdled as such but it is quite lumpy as I keep turning the heat up and down because I got impatient. This is why it is important to constantly stir over a consistently low heat to avoid the custard scrambling or seperating.

        I don't recomment that you do this, but it did work for me. I placed my lumpy custard into my blender and whizzed it to get rid of the lumps and it came out nice and smooth. I guess it would only work if your custard hadn't turned to scrambled eggs. Place into the fridge until the custard is thick and cold (preferably overnight).

        To make the meringue, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Pour the meringue onto a lined and greased tray and spread out with a spatula. To even out the surface, run the blade of a knife across the surface scraping away any excess meringue. Optionally, you can use a comb to smooth out the meringue and create ridges/patterns on the surface.

        Bake in a pre-heated oven at 140 degrees celcius for about 45 minutes, the meringue is ready when it is a nice golden brown. Leave to cool before dusting with icing sugar and then inverting the meringue sheets onto another lined tray.

Thick, sticky custard.

        Recipes tell you to spread the custard along one (long) side of the meringue sheet and then rolling the meringue around the custard. I decide to experiment with two ways and also spread the entire meringue sheet with custard hoping to get nice even spiral layers of custard and meringue. It's probably easier to handle spreading the custard down the one side and then rolling the meringue around it.

        I find that I have to use the baking paper to help roll the meringue as it is very fragile to handle. It also holds the rolls together nicely. Place them into the fridge to set a little before attempting to remove the paper.

        Unveiling one Brazo De Mercedes. You can see that this one cracks a little in some parts along the side. Perhaps my meringue was a little too thin, or slightly over cooked.

        The ends don't look too nice so I cut them off, this isn't such a good idea as the custard seeps out. It was a warm day too so that didn't help either. I also divided the rolls to give out, this meant that there were more exposed ends which resulted in custard slowly seeping out everywhere. It's probably a better idea to cut the meringue to size first and then filling them and then rolling. The two different ways of spreading the custard also doesn't really make that much of a different visually so I'd just go for the easier method next time.

        Sprinkle with extra icing sugar before serving. It may not be perfect, but it's definately a much better attempt compared to my first go. During our critiquing conversation, Ryan suggested perhaps I add some gelatine to the custard to make it more stable. Some recipes include mixing ground cashew nuts to the custard which perhaps gives it a thicker sturdier consistency I suppose? Or else I just shouldn't cut the end off until just before serving to keep the custard from seeping out.

        This dessert is not for the faint hearted. It is super sweet, but is super addictive too. Soft fluffy meringue that just melts in your mouth, paired with a sweet sticky custard that just compliments it perfectly. Serve with a cup of your favourite tea and it's not too bad. It is definately a treat to be had for special occasions only ;) I did attempt to make a blueberry coulis to serve with the dessert to help cut through the richness but ended up stuffing it up (too sweet) so left it out. This is not the last time I will be making this, perhaps third time lucky.