no party like a DINNERparty

So last night my brother hosted a dinner party. He master minded the whole shabang and it went rather well I must say.

There is something about the idea of a dinner party that makes everyone so excited, it's the kind of thing you all sit around and feverishly talk about over some drinks one night in winter - speculating who will host it, what one might make and so on. Dinner parties are excellent because they are versatile.

Formal

Casual

Themed

or NOT

Outdoor

Indoor

Hedonistic

Understated

Spectacular

Otherwise.

Chris decide he would make some dips for pre main nibbles, followed by a paella and then dessert (which I would make).

For dips, Chris made Tarama which is a greek fish roe dip. It can be pink or orange in colour and usually has potato in it as a thickener and also to but a cap on the sometimes extreme flavour of fish roe. There was also a Baba Ganoush which is an eggplant, tahini, garlic and other assorted friends kind of dip. Followed by the classic Tsatsiki - which is an all time greek favourite. It is so easy to get right and so easy to get wrong.

You have Greek Style Yoghurt, Garlic and Cucumber, lemon juice and possibly salt.

A good tsatsiki has gone through the following processes:

The yoghurt has been put in a tea down and had the liquid slowly drain through overnight or for a few ours. It should only be a centremetre or so of this cloudy stuff.

Cucumber has been peeled and GRATED. then had as much of the moisture squeezed out of it as possible.

The amount of garlic you use is completely up to you - but minimum one clove.

None of this no garlic bullshit - it makes me sick. And plus garlic is good for you.

The three main ingredients should be mixed together before adding in lemon juice or salt. because you may actually not need either depending on the batch/brand of yoghurt you have purchased.

These three dips were served with pita bread that had been cut into pieces and grilled on the BBQ with a spiced oil. It was a good starter because it was easy - not messy and not heavy.

The key with entrees is that they need to be light.

Tip, don't use hearty breads for entrees.

We also served persian feta and some marinated olives. Store bought ones, but they are very very good. I highly recommend buying persian feta if you can find it because it is very light and creamy and sits very well with the things we served.

Anyway so for the main the paella came and it was really excellent. If you're not a fan of seafood then I don't recommend eating or serving this at a dinner party. BUT it can be worked around.

We had a member of our dinner party who doesn't like seafood so we ommited muscles and squid and put in chicken and more prawn and of course the chorizo. Muscle and Squid would be the first to go because of the following reasons:

Squid: While universally liked - it is universally acknowledged that it is hard to cook properly. because it can be overcooked very easily.

Muscles: They aren't the most popular thing on the plate. I don't mind them personally, but I don't love them so I'm not flailing my arms around when muscles don't join the party.

Anyway it was lovely - very rich flavour - not too overpowering of course. BUT in particular I really liked the wild rice mixed through. It added a range in texture to the overall dish.

Anyway onto the rest of the night. We moved inside because it was getting chilly and then just sat around for a while. It's important to let the main meal settle and politely leave everyone's mouth before mentioning dessert. This can be assisted with a jug of water with lemon or cucumber in it to cleanse the pallet.

For dessert we had Steph's absolutely EXCELLENT red velvet cupcakes, and my fridge cheesecake with blueberries and port wine jelly on top.

We served coffee and tea - with most people opting for Turkish style coffee. It's always fun because you can read people's cups when they finish their coffee.

Remember, when you turn your cup over - you MUST NOT flip it over after, someone else who is doing your reading must do it for you. You'll probably be cursed.

I can confidently say that Steph has mastered the cupcake - which is so easy to get right but so easy to get wrong. The cupcakes themselves were beautiful and moist, light yet not too airy. The icing was absolutely perfect. It was smooth - not too sweet and just a pleasure to eat.

I'm waiting on the recipe because I want to try to make them myself.

Without tooting my own horn too much - I was really happy with my cheesecake. The recipe which I got off my mum is quite vague and I probably didn't do everything I should have BUT it still turned out pretty good in my opinion. Once I made a cheesecake and the biscuit base was too buttery - never ever make this mistake because it leaves you with a sickly feeling. Thankfully that did not happen this time.

Anyway so I can say that this was a good rumble.

Thank you for coming everyone and thank you for your lovely company and food/drink!