Here are some easy entertaining tips to help you host this successful dinner party:
1. Pace yourself. Take 2 days to prepare for your dinner. The day before, re-read the recipes and make a shopping list. Nothing is more frustrating than having to make last minute trips to the store for forgotten items. This is an important tip because those last-minute trips can throw your schedule way off. Shop and mark off items needed on your list. Clean the house.
2. The day of your party follow the checklist I will provide in future posts. This will help you stay on track and be more relaxed and ready to have a great time when your in-laws arrive.
RECIPES
Baby Greens with Orange-Ginger Vinaigrette
Salad
4 cups mixed baby greens
2 seedless oranges, preferably, mandarin
Orange-Ginger Vinaigrette
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup peanut oil
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger (produce section)
1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeno chile
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
To make the salad, make sure the salad greens are washed and dried, and put them in a salad bowl. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to toss with the vinaigrette. Peel the oranges and divide them into sections. Arrange on top of the salad.
To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the olive and peanut oils, orange zest and juice, grated ginger, jalapeno, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, toss about halof of the vinaigrette with the greens. Serve on individual salad plates.
Tip: For orange zest, wash and dry an orange. Using the smallest holes on a grater, grate the orange part of the skin. Keep turning the orange on the grater to get all the zest. Avoid grating the white part of the skin (the pith) because it tastes bitter. You can zest lemons and limes in this way also.
Cosmopolitans
Makes 4 drinks
1 1/2 cups cranberry juice
3/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup Triple Sec or Cointreau
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (4 or 5 limes)
Lime wedges and fresh cranberries or cherries, for garnish
Pour the cranberry juice, vodka, Triple Sec, and lime juice into a pitcher, mix well and refrigerate.
To serve, pour the chilled mixture into martini glasses and garnish with a decorative toothpick with a wedge of lime and a fresh cranberry or cherry.
In my next post, I will give the recipes for the Beef Tenderloin Medallions with Savory Sauce and the Baked Potatoes with Blue Cheese Dressing.
