Dinner party inspo
It’s all in the small details, they say.. and this is so true when it comes to throwing a succesful dinner party. It all starts with the ambiance when you step into the house, the relaxed feeling should flow through out. The mood is set by the colour palette, the flowers arrangements, candles and background music and the way you present each dish. As most of you know, I prefer using harmonic soft colours, linen, washout-out pales to keep the look fresh and bright. I think of the menu well in advance, seeking inspo via pinterest to help my creative mind flow. It is key to garnish each dish, it should look as good as it tastes. Herbs, black pepper and tiny sprouts/baby leaves are something I use fairly often as they always add a little freshness and visual appeal to the dish. Never skip flowers or candles, they are everything. I couldn’t be happier with this bouquet, love the unique shapes and mixture of greens and pale blushes. I love to add different styles of vases (shorter and taller) for the blooms on the table, serve water from a crystal vase and sprinkle candles here and there. I love to use glass, crystal, brass and terracotta as I think the mixture makes it interesting. The end result is still modern and not too full despite all the elements involved because they all flow together nicely. Aim for perfection and don’t cut corners, that’s the way to do it! But if mistakes happen along the way, so be it.. who cares, it’s part of the charm!
Here we have cream of zucchini basil soup with toasted almonds and sprouts & of course Bella watching us ladies in the kitchen!I didn’t film the main course of the duck, as the lighting was too dark at that point.
Zucchini basil Soup
- 1 1/2 green zucchini’s (roughly chopped)
- 4-5 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 1 large shallot (chopped)
- 1 cup cream
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 100g soft cheese (we have this strong cream/processed cheese Koskenlaskijuusto in Finland that I used)
- salt/pepper
- 1 cup basil leaves
garnish: toasted almonds, baby sprouts
Sauté the zucchini, garlic and onion in a pot with butter in it. Stir gently letting it cook for about 10 minutes. Then add enough the chicken stock, salt pepper, basil leaves and let it simmer for another 7ish minutes. Then remove from heat and with a handheld blender, blitz the soup into a velvety texture. Place back onto low heat, add the cream, cheese chuck and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Check for flavour incase it needs for salt.
Meanwhile, toast the almonds and when the soup is ready to serve, add sprouts, almonds and black pepper on top.
It’s always great to start the evening off with an amuse bouche, a little small mouthful to start the palette accompanied with a welcome drink. As chanterelle mushrooms are in season now, I picked these mushrooms a few days before the dinner party.
Amuse-bouche
- chanterelle mushrooms (roughly chopped)
- 1 shallot finely shopped
- 2 gloves garlic grated
- salt/black pepper/parsley
- 1 tablespoon creme fraiche
- 1 teaspoon honey dijon
Saute the garlic, onion and mushrooms in a dollop of butter for about 5-7 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, pepper, honey dijon and the creme fraiche and stir for another 5 minutes. Each portion is served on a spoon that is garnished with parsley and more black pepper.
Blush cocktail
grapefruit Ginger Blend
- Chunk of fresh ginger (about 2cm x 2cm)
- 1 lemon (skin removed)
- 1 grapefruit (skin removed)
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
Cocktail ingredients
- vodka
- sparkling soda
- mint leaves
- salt fo rim
Blend into a smooth liquid and sieve all the fruit meat away. Salt the edges of each glass. To make the cocktail, add a bit of vodka on the bottom, then some grapefruit ginger blend and top it off with sparkly soda water. Garnish with mint leaves.
Find recipes for the salmon tartar & lemon curd pavlova
