My Dangerous Dinner Party Habit / Dinner Party Main Course Recipes

- Short Ribs Braised in Beer and Buckwheat Honey
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Bacon
- Kasha Varnishkes

I always cut out recipes from the Wednesday New York Times Dining section. I save recipes into my Epicurious and Food Network recipe boxes. But my eyes are always bigger than my planner.

I simply don’t have enough time to cook big meals. Which means I don’t make all those recipes I save. Every few weeks I have friends and family over and try my saved recipes for the first time.

Many cooks are mortified at the idea of serving never-tested food at a dinner party. But I think one of the talents of a good cook is an innate sense of which flavors go together. That’s why I love innovators like Bobby Flay—his recipes always combine unexpected tastes in new, interesting, sumptuous ways. A meal at one of his restaurants is a constant surprise to the palate.

Back to my dinner party menu.

I admit that not every dish I make is a hit. Many of the recipes I save and eventually try are deleted from my electronic recipe files. This is the only opportunity I have to try them. And I love the adventure.

For my upcoming dinner party, I’m making a combination of new, old, and never-tried recipes for the main course. Here’s the menu:

- Short Ribs Braised in Beer and Buckwheat Honey. I got this recipe from The New York Times a few years ago and made it for two consecutive Christmases.
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Bacon. This is the recipe I never tried before from Epicurious.
- Kasha Varnishkes. This Jewish comfort food is from Grandma Sylvia’s recipe play book.

The recipes are below, along with a link to the original source.

Short Ribs Braised in Beer and Buckwheat Honey
http://bit.ly/7xNBI3
Adapted from Zeke Freeman at Bee Raw

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5 pounds short ribs, trimmed
- Salt and pepper
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
- 1/3 cup buckwheat honey
- 12 ounces good ale
- 1 bay leaf

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the oil in a roasting pan set over medium-high heat. Season the ribs generously with salt and pepper and brown them on all sides, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the pan and decrease the heat to medium-low. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard, honey, ale and bay leaf. Return the meat to the pan and coat with the sauce.
2. Bring the sauce to a simmer; cover the pan tightly with a lid or foil. Place in the oven and cook until the meat is very tender, 2 to 2 ½ hours. Remove the ribs, and skim as much fat as possible from the sauce. Serve the meat warm with some sauce.

Time to prep and cook: 3 hours
Serves 6

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Bacon
http://bit.ly/5FxEMW

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds small Brussels sprouts (each about 1 inch in diameter), trimmed, halved through root end
- 1 1/4 cups diced bacon (about 6 ounces)
- 1 lemon, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook Brussels sprouts in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about five minutes. Drain.
2. Spread Brussels sprouts on rimmed baking sheet in single layer. Sprinkle with bacon, lemon slices, salt, and pepper; stir.
3. Roast Brussels sprouts until tender and beginning to brown, stirring every 10 minutes, about 30 minutes.
4. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Time to prep and cook: 45 minutes
Serves 6

Kasha Varnishkes
This recipe I found at About.com is almost the same as my Grandma Sylvia’s recipe.
http://bit.ly/7vDTFK

Ingredients
- 1 cup kasha buckwheat groats, medium granulation
- 1 egg, well beaten
- 2 tbls vegetable oil
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock or use canned
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup pasta bow ties

Directions
1. Mix the kasha with the beaten egg. Be sure all the grains are covered with egg. Place a medium non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the kasha to the pan and, using a wooden fork, flatten it out a bit, stirring and moving it about the pan until the egg dries and the grains have mostly separated. Set aside.
2. Place a pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta bow ties. (Do not cook them yet.)
3. In a 4-quart heavy stovetop covered casserole, heat the oil on a medium flame. Sauté the onions until clear. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the salt and pepper and the reserved kasha. Stir a bit and cover. Cook over low heat, stirring now and then, until the kasha is tender, about 10 minutes. If it is not done to your taste, cook for a few more minutes.
4. In the meantime, boil the pasta just until tender. Drain well and stir into the kasha.

Time to prep and cook: 45 minutes
Serves 4

We're Throwing a Dinner Party. Whee! (Recipe #1: Holiday Salad)

Since my sister Fran, the home economics teacher, always hosts Thanksgiving—and what a great T-giving she throws—my mind is free to plan my next fancy dinner. Usually it’s Christmas dinner with my in-laws. (I’m in a mixed marriage, so the Jew always cooks for Christmas.)

But this year Terri and I decided to invite some friends over for an early holiday celebration. On December 5th, Elizabeth and Doug (shameless plug for my music producer friend: www.dougepstein.com), Meg and Mark, and Donna and Vassily will be knocking on our front door expecting a delicious meal. Hopefully, we won’t disappoint.

Half the fun of throwing a dinner party is planning the menu.

In the next few postings I’m going to write about my menu thoughts—and hopefully get some input from you.

First the libation. This is a big wine group, and most of them know more about wines than I do. So I will consult with one of them once I determine what will be served.

However, I have decided to make a signature cocktail. My toastmaster work colleague Bob suggested a pomegranate martini, which is my favorite. He’s going to get me his friend’s tried-and-true recipe. I’ll post it once I determine if the recipe is as good as he says.

For the sit-down portion, I’ll start with Emeril’s holiday salad, which I’ve made several times before. It has goat cheese wrapped in prosciutto on a bed of lettuce, orange slices, red onion and pomegranates—all in a light vinagrette. It’s sweet and salty, with a touch of bitter lettuce and citrus… flavors that mix together wonderfully. Here’s a link to Emeril’s recipe (http://bit.ly/28jZhr). I’ve also copied the recipe at the end of this posting.

I usually serve this salad on round, wide platter instead of in a bowl. This allows me to show off the reds and greens. It’s the perfect start of a holiday feast.

In my next posting, I’ll reveal my main course and my dangerous dinner party habit.

Emeril Lagasse’s Holiday Salad

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons pomegranate juice
* 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
* 2 shallots, minced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 3 oranges, peeled and segmented
* 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
* 8 ounces goat cheese, cut crosswise into 6 slices
* 6 thin slices prosciutto
* 1 large head radicchio, rinsed, patted dry and torn into bite sized pieces
* 1 bunch arugula or watercress, rinsed, patted dry and cut int bite sized pieces
* 6 large leaves Bibb lettuce, rinsed and patted dry
* 1 head Belgian endive, stem removed and cut crosswise into thin shreds
* Pomegranate seeds, as garnish

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the pomegranate juice and orange zest, vinegar, shallots, salt, pepper and mustard and whisks thoroughly to combine. Add the oil in a steady stream and whisk until emulsified. Fold the segmented oranges and sliced onions into 1/4 cup of the dressing and toss to combine and set aside.

Wrap each slice of goat cheese in a slice of prosciutto. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the wrapped cheeses and sear on both sides. Remove from the heat.

In a large salad bowl, combine the greens. Add the marinated orange sections and onion slices, and toss gently with enough extra dressing to coat evenly. Divide among salad plates and top each with a seared goat cheese package and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. Spoon a little extra dressing over each salad and serve immediately.