Baked Individual Camembert With Onion Marmalade – Roast Fillet of Beef,  Dauphinoise Potato Gratin, Carrots & Asparagus with Parmesan & Red Wine Jus – Pavlova

Dinner Party 3 Course Recipe Ideas

My style of cooking for our dinner parties is fairly basic, but tasty (I hope) and easy to. The hardest part is to think up different menus, so I don’t repeat anything, and also when you are hosting, it is nice to prepare and cook as much as you can in advance, or dishes that do not need to be cooked when your guests are ensconced, so you spend most of the time with your guests rather than being in the kitchen. You can read about my style of cooking here

Dinner Party Menu Idea for 4 People

STARTER:  Individual Baked Camemberts, with Onion Marmalade and Crusty Bread Slices

Ingredients

4 Small Boxed Camemberts (Boxes stapled not glued)
2 – 3 Sprigs of Thyme Leaves only
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Ciabatta or Baguette to serve
Onion Marmalade to serve, ready bought or of course you can make your own

Method

Note:  Make sure the cheeses are at room temperature before putting in to the oven or else they will take much longer to cook

1. Preheat the oven to 220/200 fan
2. Unwrap the cheeses and carefully slice the rind off the top of the cheese
3. Return the cheeses to their box, cut side up and place the boxes on a baking sheet
4. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and sprinkle over the thyme leaves and finally drizzle over the olive oil
5. Bake for approximately 10 – 15 minutes or until the cheese is browned on top and melted inside.  Allow to cool slightly and then serve with the onion marmalade and crusty bread.  Just slice a ciabatta or baguette at an angle and cut each slice in half, and then cut slices so they are a nice size for dipping into the cheese.
6. Drizzle with olive oil on both sides and pop the slices in the oven or grill to crisp up

MAIN COURSE: Roast Fillet of Beef, Dauphinoise Gratin Potatoes, Carrots & Asparagus With Parmesan (or serve with vegs of your choice)

Ingredients

A joint of Fillet of Beef( large enough for how many guests you are cooking for, but I would allow 6-8oz of meat per person as a rough guide)

Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Season the beef on both sides, and then seal all over in a hot pan
2. Roast in the oven 200 (fan) for about 20 – 25 mins for medium rare for a 1kg joint (20 mins if long and thin). I do like all my meat very well done, so I will always carve my bits from the ends, as they will cook more quickly than the middle. Take out of the oven and cover with foil to allow it to rest.

When ready to serve just slice

Dauphinoise Gratin Potatoes (A Delia Smith Recipe)

Ingredients

2lbs good quality potatoes (King Edwards or Desiree)
3 oz butter
½ pint double cream
½ pint milk
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Whole nutmeg grated
Salt and freshly milled black pepper

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and slice very thinly (a mandolin is ideal if you have one), then plunge them in to a bowl of cold water and swill them thoroughly to get rid of the starch. Dry them in a very clean tea towel.
2. Then in a gratin dish (or deep sided dish) arrange a layer of the potatoes, a sprinkling of the crushed garlic, salt and pepper, then repeat this for a second layer. Now mix the cream and milk together and pour it over the potatoes. Sprinkle with a little of the freshly grated and then add flecks of the butter over the surface. Bake for about 1 ½ hours until soft

Red Wine Sauce Jus

Ingredients

2 Chopped Shallots
1 Clove of Garlic crushed
175ml Port
175ml Red Wine
1 Sprig of Rosemary
1 Bay Leaf
750ml Good Beef Stock
2 tbsp. butter
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Method

1. Panfry the shallots and garlic in some olive oil until caramalised
2. Add the port and wine and boil until it is reduced by half
3. Add the stock again boiling until the liquid is reduced by half
4. Strain through a sieve and put back in the pan and bring back to the boil, then add the butter and season to taste

Asparagus with Parmesan

Enough asparagus to serve 4
Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200
2. Break off the woody ends of the asparagus spears, you can also use a vegetable peeler to peel the skins off the base of the spears
3. Arrange the spears on a foil lined baking tray and coat with the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and then grate the parmesan over the top
4. Bake for about 10 mins until the cheese begins to brown

DESSERT:  Pavlova

Ingredients

5 egg whites
10 oz plus 1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon malt vinegar
1 teaspoon ornage flavoured liqueur
10 fl oz double cream stiffly whipped
Fresh fruit of your choice, but I do like sliced kiwi fruit and halved strawberries

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees centigrade
2. With a pencil draw around a 9 inch plate on a piece of non stick baking paper then place this on a baking sheet and set aside
3. Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Beat in the 4 oz of the sugar and continue beating for 1 minute until the mixture is very stiff and glossy. Using a metal spoon then fold in all but 1 tablespoon of the remaining sugar, the cornflour, the vanilla essence and the vinegar.
4. Spoon one third of the mixture on the circle on the paper to make a base about ¼ inch thick. Fill a piping bag with a one inch nozzle and fill with the remaining mixture. Pipe it around the edge of the circle forming a case to hold the filling. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and leave the meringue in the oven for a further 30 minutes or until crisp on the outside and soft in the centre. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely and then remove the baking paper from the bottom.
5. Fold the remaining tablespoon of sugar and the orange flavoured liqueur into the cream. Place the meringue on a serving plate and fill with the cream. Place the fruit on the top and serve

Dinner Party Ideas and suggestions of what I think goes together best

See my other dinner party menus suggestions here