Theme Dinner 1
The first theme dinner was held last night - Russian/Eastern European. I think it went really well, at least well enough that everyone decided to do it again in 6 weeks! That one will be Sub-Saharan Africa, which none of us knows anything about, so recipes will be challenging and fun.
Anyway, dinner last night:
As host, I had "main dish," but I also had an open house yesterday, which conflicted with cooking. So when I got up, I slit a roast, stuffed two tablespoons of horseradish in to it, and seared it quickly, then tossed it in the slow-cooker with half a chopped onion and a quarter-cup of paprika. I deglazed the pan and added that liquid - maybe a quarter-cup. I put it on high for two hours, and when I left for my open I knocked it down to low. Four hours later, I had fall-apart shredded beef with just a hint of horseradish. Just before serving, I took the juices out, added sour cream and a flour wash, and voila, a nice thickened sauce. Gravy. Whatever. :)
Sides were: Pelmeni (beef and chicken versions), Transylvanian Eggplant Casserole, deviled eggs, and an assortment of sodas including one tarragon flavored one and one which tasted like a combination of soy sauce and liquid smoke, slightly sweetened and carbonated, which we discovered later was kvass.
Dessert was an assortment of hard candies from the bins at the local Russian market, and much fun was had trying to figure out why, for instance, the one with a crawfish on the wrapper would taste like peanut butter wrapped in candy cane. We found good old-fashioned ZOTS in there, though! Additionally, some very yummy shortbread/caramel cookies and some strong Russian tea finished off the night.
Anyway, dinner last night:
As host, I had "main dish," but I also had an open house yesterday, which conflicted with cooking. So when I got up, I slit a roast, stuffed two tablespoons of horseradish in to it, and seared it quickly, then tossed it in the slow-cooker with half a chopped onion and a quarter-cup of paprika. I deglazed the pan and added that liquid - maybe a quarter-cup. I put it on high for two hours, and when I left for my open I knocked it down to low. Four hours later, I had fall-apart shredded beef with just a hint of horseradish. Just before serving, I took the juices out, added sour cream and a flour wash, and voila, a nice thickened sauce. Gravy. Whatever. :)
Sides were: Pelmeni (beef and chicken versions), Transylvanian Eggplant Casserole, deviled eggs, and an assortment of sodas including one tarragon flavored one and one which tasted like a combination of soy sauce and liquid smoke, slightly sweetened and carbonated, which we discovered later was kvass.
Dessert was an assortment of hard candies from the bins at the local Russian market, and much fun was had trying to figure out why, for instance, the one with a crawfish on the wrapper would taste like peanut butter wrapped in candy cane. We found good old-fashioned ZOTS in there, though! Additionally, some very yummy shortbread/caramel cookies and some strong Russian tea finished off the night.