The New Era of the Intimate Gathering | Menu 1 | Featuring the Anatomy of the Perfect Cheese Board
menu 1
cocktails & nibbles | Blanc citrus sangria | Gourmet cheese table
spatchcock cornish game hens with a lavender dry rub & meyer lemon beurre blanc
maple roasted baby butternut
asparagus in blood orange butter with toasted hazelnut
thine never dessert | pan roasted pears with cream chantilly
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Gourmet Cheese Table | Grazing Table | Pre-Dinner Nibbles with Cocktails
Gourmet Cheese Table
Adding some gourmet edibles to your cheese board such as honey in the comb is visually stunning & texturally pleasing. Comb layered on a cracker with a paper thin slice of blue cheese & a maple pecan (recipe below) is absolutely decadent! We used only two cheeses on our board, one pungent blue & an aged Gouda, the trick is to pair something creamy with something pungent or sharp. Green olives are warmed in olive oil with fresh garlic which then does double duty as a bread dip. Select some rustic crackers, bread sticks or a fresh rounder of bread for dipping in warmed olive oil. Fresh fruit rounds our this simple but elegant started; we used pomegranate arils & purple grape. Serving a wine based cocktail-Sangria, complements your cheese board offerings.
Anatomy of a Perfect Cheese Board
Something Creamy with Something Sharp: The cheese is the focal point of this appetizer board so use quality. Recommendations are gouda, aged cheddar, fontina, baked feta with olives, bleu, brie, havarti. The possibilities are endless but the trick is to pair a creamy cheese with one that is a bit more pungent or sharp for contrast & differing pallets.
Something for Dipping & Layering: Every cheese board needs bread. This can come in the form of French bread rounds, a rounder of olive bread, bread sticks or rustic crackers.
Something Fresh & Juicy: Fruit is an essential element of any board, the type will depend on the season & the feel that your going for. Fall choices could consist of citrus such as blood orange, pears, apples, pomegranate, grapes. In the summer stone fruit of any kind such as apricot or plumb, fresh berries are always lovely.
Something with Crunch: Nuts fit the bill here. Cashews, pecans, walnuts, brazil nuts, all desirous. Get creative with your seasoning, you can go spicy, sweet or a little of both. The recipe for Rosemary & Maple Pecans below will become your new cheese board staple.
Something Salty & Tart: Olives any kind or pickled vegetable medley will add a tart contrast of flavor. Gherkins (baby pickles) are also an excellent choice.
Something Sweet: I found some decadent honey in the comb that I used for this cheese table. You could use chocolate, truffles or any confectionary that pairs with you other offerings. Dried fruit is also a lovely choice such as fig or dried apricot.
The key to this menus success, any menu for that matter, is to do as much in advance as possible. Begin a day ahead.
Brine your Cornish game hens.
Purchase everything for your cheese board & organize on one shelf in the fridge.
Set up your cocktail & nibbles station. Make your book page table runner; picture & instructions below (if using). Think about the feel that you wish to create for this evening. Will you be using fresh flowers? Candles? Set out your decanter for the sangria & stemless wine glasses.
Set the kitchen table or out of doors area for the main course.
Prep everything that you can; trim asparagus, slice citrus for sangria. Cut & remove pulp from squash & refrigerate.
Set the mood.
When we bring people together it affords us the opportunity to create a little magic. A space for your guests to relax, mingle & escape from the world for a while. Ambience is all about enticing the senses subtly and simultaneously. Set the scene; a little Etta James plays softly in the background to the flickering glow of candles. Having a gourmet cheese table set up with self serve cocktails allows each guest to relax into the atmosphere effortlessly. All of these components come together in an inviting way. The difference between simply serving a meal verses creating a memorable occasion are all in the simple touches, your personal signature.
Book Pages Table Runner
Use Props to Set the Scene.
Finding unusual props to add character & personality to an evening requires just a bit of imagination. For this intimate soiree we set up our nibbles & drinks on an antique steamer trunk. Using pages from an old book, we fathomed a charming table runner; cut out pages are held together with double sided tape. The soft, inviting glow was created with copper wire twinkle lights & tapered candles using old bottles as holders. A copper candle vessel finds new purpose, holding rustic crackers, perched atop an olive wood cutting board (shown below). Simple & inexpensive with old world charm.
Copper Vessel & Olive Wood Cheese Board
Dim the lights & create a soft glow with twinkle lights & candles.
Rosemary & Maple Peppered Pecans
Honey in the Raw with Comb | Rosemary & Maple Pecans
“They may come to your little soiree for the witty repartee but they’ll stay for my Rosemary & Maple Pecans…”
Rosemary & Maple Peppered Pecans
Nuts are happy little mingle food. These in particular, as simple as they are, are perfectly addictive. They pair well with any cheese, fresh fruit, wine, beer or cocktails, or crown a winter salad. Pretty packaging makes them a lovely take away gift for your guests or as a hostess gift.
serves 4 (4oz. serving)
4 cups pecans, raw & whole (or cashews or brazil nuts)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp. virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, finely minced
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
Maldon sea salt to taste
Preheat over to 350f & line a sheet pan with parchment. In a large bowl mix nuts through cracked pepper, toss to coat & spread on prepared sheet pan. Toast until golden brown & fragrant stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven & season with Maldon salt. Cool & enjoy.
Blanc Citrus Sangria
Blanco Citrus Sangria
Blanc Citrus Sangria
Whip up a batch of this self-service cocktail in advance for easy entertaining. It’s light, refreshing & festive with pomegranate arils , tangerine slices & fresh cranberries.
serves 4-6(10-8 oz. servings/averaging two cocktails each)
1 bottle of white wine (I like Pinot Grigio)
1 750 ml. bottle Patron Citronge Liqueur (or other orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier)
2 cups fresh blood orange juice (or tangerine)
1 blood orange, sliced
3 tangerines, sliced
1 Meyer lemon, sliced
1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup of pomegranate arils
1 bottle of Pellegrino
Mix together wine through pomegranate in a large glass decanter, refrigerate a couple hours to infuse the sangria. When ready to serve, add Pellegrino & ice. Set out stemless wine glasses so each guest can serve themselves.
A Simple but Elegant Dinner on a sheet pan.
Spatchcock Cornish Game Hens with a Lavender Dry Rub, Maple Roasted Baby Butternut, Asparagus with Blood Orange, Butter & Pistachio
Spatchcock Cornish Game Hens with a Lavender Dry Rub & Meyer Lemon Buerre Blanc
A complete dinner on a sheet pan, elegant simplicity. You will need to begin a day in advance for brining.
We caught up Chen & Sam of Lavineyard Farms this weekend at the local farmers market & were gifted three gourmet lavender products from their culinary line. The first of which is a lovely & fragrant lavender spice rub that graces the hen above. My first experience with the taste of lavender was a lavender lemonade, I still remember the off, soapy taste. Chen explained to me that there are hundreds of species of lavender with differing purpose. Some are very fragrant, for soaps & tinctures & such. But then there are culinary grades that are used for cooking. So do not be quick to dismiss the possibility of lavender in cooking & cocktails just make certain that what your using is meant for culinary. I assure you, this recipe will make you a convert.
We begin by brining the hens to infuse flavor & moisture. Spatchcock is a method of preparing poultry or game hens by removing the back bone & pressing down on the breast, thus laying the bird essentially flat. This method is pure magic because meat wants to be cooked on the bone & with the skin intact but laying the chicken flat makes it cook quickly & evenly. A dry rub & a heavenly French sauce makes this recipe a keeper.
serves 4
2 plump Cornish game hens
Brine
1 qt. water
3 Tbsp. Salt (many chefs use Kosher here but any are fine, I use pink Himalayan)
2 Tbsp. Turbinado sugar
3 lemon slices
3 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. pepper corns
Rub
1 Tbsp. butter or ghee
1 Tbsp. Lavender Spice Rub (or dry rub of choice, or salt & pepper to taste)
Remove giblets from cavity of hens & place in a gallon size ziplock bag. Whisk together brine ingredients & pour over birds. Seal & brine overnight. An hour & a half before you intend to serve, remove hens from brining liquid (discard liquid) pat dry with a kitchen towel. Using kitchen shears, remove back bone from each hen, flip right side up & press down firmly on breast bone flattening out bird. Rub down top side off birds with butter or ghee & season with Lavender Rub. Prepare a sheet pan (or two) with parchment for easier clean up, brushed with olive oil. Now, preheat oven to 375f. This allows the birds to begin to come to room temperature which will help them cook more efficiently. Cook until golden & until an internal temperature of 165f is reached, about 30 minutes. Allow them to rest at least 10 minutes before serving to redistribute the juices. These are delicious on there own but the Meyer lemon Beurre Blanc sauce below takes the dish to a whole new level.
Meyer Lemon Beurre Blanc Sauce
Beurre Blanc with Saffron
Meyer Lemon Beurre Blanc Sauce
Beurre Blanc is an example of classic French cuisine. Beurre is French for butter & Blanc is of course white. So this is a white wine & butter sauce. It is a bit like a woman in that it is slightly tempremental. Though it consists of only a few simple ingredients, it takes some finesse to master this emulsification. Reducing the liquid to the proper degree is essential or your sauce will be thin. The rate at which you add the cold butter is also important as the sauce can only absorb so much butter at a time. It does not hold well (you can keep it warm, not hot for a bit, stirring occasionally) & it does not reheat well so make it very close to service time. Excellent with fish or chicken.
serves 4
1 shallot finely minced
2 bay leaf
1/2 cup white wine
2 Tbsp. Meyer lemon juice
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 cup butter, cubed & cold
salt to taste
Add shallots through white wine in a small sauce pan over medium heat, cook for a few minutes then add cream. Reduce mixture to au sec (almost dry) you should have about 1 oz. of liquid left in the pan. Begin whisking in butter a few cubes at a time allowing it to incorporate, then add more. When all of the butter has been added & is almost completely melted remove from heat, strain, season with salt & fresh herbs if you wish. Use immediately.
Maple Roasted Baby Butternut
Maple Roasted Baby Butternut
The hollows of these butternut squash are like pools of desire, glistening with caramelized amber maple.
serves 4
2 baby butternut squash, halved with pulp & seed removed
1 Tbsp. Butter
salt, pepper to taste
a few passes of freshly grated nutmeg using a microplane zester
1/4 cup of pure amber grade maple syrup
Rub squash down with butter & season with salt, pepper & nutmeg. Place on a parchment lined sheet pan & roast, cut side down in a 375f oven until tender & golden browned on the cut side, they will yield when touched, depending on the size, 25-30 minutes. Flip over, drizzle with maple syrup & return to oven for about minutes to set up the syrup. These roast quite nicely paired with Cornish game hens right beside each other on the same sheet pan.
Asparagus with Blood Orange & Toasted Hazelnuts
Asparagus with Blood Orange, Butter & Toasted Hazelnuts
Asparagus with Blood Orange & Toasted Hazelnuts
serves 4
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed
2 Tbsp. butter or ghee, melted
zest of 1 blood orange + 1/4 cup of juice (if you can not find blood orange, use tangerine)
salt, pepper to taste
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts (whole or chopped, it’s a matter of preference)
If you are intending to roast these asparagus, then blanch them in boiling water for about 5 minutes, then rinse under cold water. Toss with remaining ingredients & roast for 10-12 minutes at 375f. For the menu above, we simply added them to the same sheet pan as our chicken & squash for the last 10 minutes of roasting.
Another method is to saute them. Cut asparagus into 3 pieces using a diagnal cut. Heat a Tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saute pan. Add the asparagus & saute until tender crisp, 5-7 minuites then add butter, orange zest with juice & hazelnuts, cook for a couple more minutes to reduce the juice into a sauce. Serve immediately.
Pan Roasted Pears with Lavender Wildflower Honey & Cream Chantilly
Honey Roasted Pears
serves 4 (1/2 pear each)
2 Red Anjou Pears
2 Tbsp. butter or ghee
3 Tbsp. honey (I used local, Lavender Wildflower Honey)
freshly grated nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350f. Cut pears in half & remove center with seeds with a melon baller. Melt 1 Tbsp. of butter & brush the cut side of pears, grate a few passes of fresh nutmeg over pears then place cut side down in cast iron skillet. Roast pears until they are just tender & browned in spots. Remove from oven, divide remaining butter & honey between the hollows of the pears. Using a pastry brush, disperse the mixture over the cut side. Return to oven & roast until the pears begin to caramelize. Remove from oven, cool. You may serve these warm or room temperature, garnish with cream Chantilly if you wish.