Thursday, December 30, 2010

New Year's Eve Murder Mystery Menu

Murder Mystery Party - A Taste for Wine and Murder
This year my wife and I are hosting a murder mystery dinner at our house to ring in the new year.  The plot takes place in California's Wine Country (@ Ravenswood or Barefoot perhaps?!) so we're going with an Italian theme.
"It's a tour of California Wine Country with its peaceful vineyards and picturesque wineries. The annual wine-tasting festival is in full swing when the body of local vineyard owner, Barry Underwood, is found hidden beneath his wine-cellar. Barry has been missing for six long years but with the discovery of his body comes a wealth of new clues to solve the mystery. It's a vintage murder and you may be a suspect."

Here is what we'll be serving up with the help of our guests (potluck style of course):

Appetizers



Dinner



Desserts

  • Yellow Cake Chess Squares (SDG)
  • Marshmellow Cookie Bars
  • Fresh Fruit


And of course plenty of good wine to drink :)  Cheers to Happy New Year from the Someday Gourmet!

(SDG) = recipes I am preparing


Note:  This game does include a sample menu but it simply wasn't what we were looking for...

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Easy Rotisserie Pulled Chicken Salad with Tarragon, Green Apples & Cashews

Copyright © 2010 SomedayGourmet.com


Yield:  5-6 cups of salad
Prep Time:  20 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes (it’s ok to cheat on this one!)
Difficulty: Level I

Ingredients:
  • 1 Pre-Cooked Rotisserie Chicken – any flavor (found in most grocery premade sections)
  • 1 Green Apple (I prefer Granny Smith)
  • ½ - ¾ Cups Cashew Halves or Pieces
  • 2 ½ Cups Duke’s Light Mayonnaise
  • 3 Tbsp (heaping) Grey Poupon Mustard
  • 2 Tbsp Dried Tarragon
  • 2 Tbsp Dried Sage
  • 2 Tsp Paprika
Instructions:
Let the chicken cool in the refrigerator.  In the meantime, core and cut the apple into 4ths. Dice 3 of the 4 sections and thinly slice the final section (for a garnish).  Place the diced apples in a large mixing bowl, add the cashews and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, dried herbs and spices.  Set aside.

Place chicken on a large cutting board and remove the legs and wings (should pull apart easily because it’s so tender).  Next cut the both pieces of breast meat off by running your knife down either side of the bone in the middle of the breasts.  As you guide your knife along the bone, pull it outward gently to separate the breast meat from the bone. Visit Gourmet.com for a video demonstration

Roughly shred the white meat by using 2 forks and pulling the meat apart.  This takes a little bit of patience but is totally worth it!  I use small dinner forks and hold them close to the ‘business end’ so they don’t bend.  Place all of the pulled meat into the large mixing bowl with the apples and cashews.

Optional but recommended:  Using your fingers, remove the quality pieces of dark meat from the legs and wings and pull.  This adds a great additional flavor to the dish and is hard to even discern in the finish product.

Finally, add the mayo mixture to the chicken bowl and mix thoroughly with a large spoon.  Place the sliced apple on top and serve.

Chefs Notes:
  • This salad tastes best after having a chance to chill for at least an hour.
  • This dish will stay good for about 4-5 days in a resealable container in the fridge.
  • Don’t be afraid to give the chicken a pretty good workout to break it down and increase the creaminess.
  • Add more mayo if the mixture is too dry but be sure to mix well.
  • Serve this with croissants for an extra special treat

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Creamy BLT Spread

Servings:  ~4 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time:  10 minutes
Difficulty:  Level I

Ingredients

  • 1 package of quality bacon
  • 2 scallions
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes
  • 1.5 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup Duke's mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp chopped thyme
  • 1 tbsp chopped basil
  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 1-2 tbsp Frank's Red Hot Sauce
  • Baguette slices or crackers
  • Parsley for topping

Directions

Preheat the broiler on low with a rack 8" from burner.  Arrange bacon on broiler tray and broil for ~10 minutes, flipping at 5 minutes.  Be sure to remove pieces just as they turn crispy but before they burn.

In the meantime, dice the white portion of the scallions and chop the green section in to rings.  Add to a medium mixing bowl. Next, slice the tomatoes into pieces and gently remove some of the juice and seeds by pressing the side of wide-bladed knife into the slices with your palm.  Add the rest of the ingredients.

Once the bacon is cooked and cooled, chop into small chunks and add to the rest of the ingredients.  Mix thoroughly and chill for an hour before serving.  Top with parsley for a nice presentation.

Chef's Notes

  • This recipe works great with low or fat free sour cream and mayonnaise.  The bacon is essential though!
  • You can adjust the amount of mayo and sour cream to change the consistency of the dip but don't over do it, their flavor can overpower.
  • Consider doubling this recipe.  Trust me you'll need it!
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