Yes, you can do a weeknight dinner party
Give a dinner party on a weeknight?
Yes, we know what you’re thinking: “Like that’s going to happen.” Actually, it can happen. You just need a little help from some prepared foods.
Now, you wouldn’t want to invite friends over and just thaw a bunch of frozen food. That’s not all that special. But if you pick a few things that are already made and combine them, you can come up with a menu that’s elegant enough to feel special and streamlined enough to be doable even after you’ve been at work all day.
Maybe it’s not something you want to do on a Tuesday night, but how about a Friday night? That will kick off your weekend with a little style.
We’ve got the menu and a timeline plotted out for you. And you can do a few other things to make it feel nice:
▪ Have a warm appetizer ready to keep people occupied while you finish a main course, then transition toward the table by passing around small servings of a warm, creamy soup. You don’t have to make a six-course dinner if you fill time as creatively as you fill stomachs.
▪ Make like a restaurant and plate things. Instead of serving family style, where people fix their own plates, bring plates to the table already filled. It gives a little more of that “wow” feeling.
▪ The night before or even a few days before, dress up the table a little. That doesn’t have to mean elaborate flower arrangements. Just get out the things you never get around to using, like napkin rings and candlesticks.
Kathleen Purvis: 704-358-5236, @kathleenpurvis
Dinner with style (and speed)
Menu:
Bacon and Cheddar Torte With Pepper Jelly (appetizer)
Creamy Butternut Squash Shooters
Mushroom Ravioli and Winter Vegetables in Butternut Broth
Pear Sorbet With Ginger Caramel Cookies
The night before:
▪ Place cans of pears in the freezer.
▪ Assemble the Bacon and Cheddar Torte, but don’t top with bacon and jelly. Wrap and refrigerate.
▪ Make caramel cookie filling and refrigerate.
2 hours before:
▪ Heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet. Add about 12 sage leaves and fry briefly, just until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Wipe out skillet and fry the bacon for the Bacon and Cheddar Torte. Drain and set aside.
▪ Make the butternut squash soup and keep warm, or refrigerate to rewarm before serving.
▪ Start the butternut squash base for the Mushroom Ravioli. Keep warm until about 10 minutes before you’re ready to serve it.
▪ Open both ends of the cans of pears and slide the contents into a food processor. Process until smooth. Place in a plastic container and return to freezer.
30 minutes before:
▪ Remove the caramel cookie filling from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.
▪ Bake Bacon and Cheddar Torte. Top with crumbled bacon and jelly and serve with crackers.
15 minutes before
▪ Finish the Mushroom Ravioli in Butternut Broth.
10 minutes before:
▪ Fill shot glasses or small cups with warmed Butternut Squash Soup. (A turkey baster will do it quickly and neatly.) Garnish if desired and serve as people head to the table.
▪ Serve bowls of Mushroom Ravioli.
After dinner:
▪ Spread caramel filling between crispy ginger cookies.
▪ Scoop pear sorbet into chilled cocktail glasses and serve with a Caramel Ginger Cookie.
Shopping list
Buy:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
Green onions
Butter-style crackers
Bacon
Pepper jelly
1 (32-ounce) box butternut squash soup
1 (32-ounce) box vegetable broth
1 tube Italian herb paste, such as Gourmet Garden
Diced butternut squash
Sliced mushrooms
Frozen wild mushroom ravioli
Baby kale
Fresh sage leaves
2 cans pears in heavy syrup
Thin ginger cookies
Caramel sauce
Staples:
Salt and pepper
Mayonnaise
Olive oil
Half and half
Dried sage
Dry white wine
Confectioners’ sugar
Bacon and Cheddar Torte With Pepper Jelly (appetizer)
From “Anne Byrn Saves the Day Cookbook,” by Anne Byrn (Workman, $18.95).
1 1/2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese (save 4 ounces for cookie filling)
1 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 green onions, white and green parts, trimmed and sliced
6 buttery crackers, such as Townhouse or Ritz, crumbled
6 slices bacon
2 tablespoons pepper jelly, divided
Crackers for serving
Place an oven rack in the center position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Beat the cream cheese, cheddar and mayonnaise with an electric mixer until combined, about 1 minute. Fold in the green onions. Spread in a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie plate. Top with the crumbled crackers. Refrigerate if making in advance, or bake 12 to 15 minutes, until bubbly. (If it’s refrigerated, add about 5 minutes to the baking time.)
Cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels, then crumble and set aside.
Remove the pie plate from the oven. Scatter crumbled bacon over the top, then dot with small spoonfuls of pepper jelly. Serve surrounded with crackers and small knives for spreading.
Yield: About 8 servings.
Butternut Squash Soup Shooters
3 cups prepared butternut squash soup, such as Pacific or Imagine
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 cup half-and-half
Garnish (optional): Heavy cream, fried sage leaves or chopped almonds
Place soup in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly to maintain a brisk simmer and cook about 10 minutes, until reduced by half. (To check, stick the handle of a wooden spoon in the soup and set aside, then use it to check the level a couple of times while it’s simmering.)
Stir in the half-and-half. Keep warm over very low heat, or refrigerate and rewarm when ready to serve. Serve in small espresso cups or tall shot glasses. Garnish with a few drops of heavy cream, a fried sage leaf or chopped almonds.
Yield: 6 servings.
Mushroom Ravioli and Winter Vegetables in Butternut Broth
Adapted from “Dinner A.S.A.P.,” by the editors of Cooking Light (Oxmoor House, $21.95).
3 cups vegetable broth, such as Pacific or Imagine
1 cup creamy butternut squash soup, such as Pacific
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons Italian herb paste, such as Gourmet Garden
1 cup diced butternut squash
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms, such as cremini or baby bellas
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 (8- to 14-ounce) package frozen wild mushroom ravioli (we used Drake’s)
3 cups loosely package baby kale, or kale/choi blend
Garnish (optional): 1 ounce shaved Parmesan and 6 fried sage leaves
Combine vegetable broth, butternut squash soup, wine and herb paste in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add the squash, reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and saute 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until mushrooms start to soften. Add to saucepan with the squash. (Can be made to this point and kept warm, on low, until ready to finish.)
Bring butternut soup to a boil and add the frozen ravioli. Cover and cook about 8 minutes, until cooked through. Uncover and stir in the kale, cooking until wilted, about 2 minutes. Ladle into 4 to 6 wide soup bowls. Top with shaved Parmesan and fried sage leaves if desired and serve.
Yield: 6 servings.
Pear Sorbet With Caramel Ginger Cookies
2 cans pears in heavy syrup
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup caramel sauce
1 package thin ginger cookies, such as Anna’s or Old Salem
Place cans of pears in the freezer at least 4 hours or overnight.
Beat together the cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar and caramel sauce. Refrigerate until just before serving.
Use a can opener to open both ends of the cans of pears. Push the contents into the work bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Scrape into a plastic container with a lid and return to the freezer until ready to serve.
Just before serving, spread about 1 tablespoon caramel filling on half the ginger cookies and top with a second cookie. Scoop Pear Sorbet into chilled dessert glasses (cocktail glasses work well) and serve with Caramel Ginger Cookies.
Yield: About 6 servings.
This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 9:49 AM.