Bridal showers, brunches and more

This past weekend was one of my close friends surprise bridal showers.  The bridesmaids threw the shower, and I came up with the idea of personally catering a bridal shower for almost 50 people.  I've written before about how lots of the recipes that I use are easy and can be made in advance - this bridal shower put this to the test! I needed to figure out what dishes could be either completely made the day before and reheated, or things that could be completely prepped the day before and then assembled and baked the day of.

Here is the menu that I came up with and was a HUGE hit at the shower. If you've checked out my blog before, you're sure to see a few oldies but goodies.  Click on the recipes that I've made before for a direct link to those recipes: 

Broccoli Rabe Egg Bake

Baked Blintzes with Blueberry Sauce
Creme Brûlée French Toast

Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary and Sage
Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche
Kalamata Olive, Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Quiche
Mixed Vegetable Quiche

All of these with the exception of the baked blintzes are really very easy to make.  The baked blintzes require a little more prep and are a few more steps,  but still not too hard to make.

QUICHES


I've made quiches before (see here), so that was a obvious choice for something quick and easy to make.  I fully cooked each of the quiches the day before and then just brought back to room temperature before serving them on the morning of the shower.  To make things easier, I bought frozen crusts instead of making my own crust, but you do whatever it is that's easiest for you.

The base recipe is the same for each quiche - in fact I made one giant bowl of the egg custard that forms the base of the quiche, and then added the filling ingredients to each quiche and just poured the egg custard over the fillings to each quiche shell.

Egg Custard Filling for Quiches (makes one quiche)
8 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp milk or cream
1 tsp salt/ 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Combine all the above ingredients, whisking well.

Broccoli Cheddar Quiche
1 pie shell
Egg custard filling
2 cups steamed, chopped broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Kalamata Olive, Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Quiche
1 pie shell
Egg custard filling
1 1/2 cups chopped, pitted kalamata olives
1 cups crumbed feta, preferably greek or bulgarian feta
2 cups roasted red peppers, sliced (either homemade or from a jar)

Mixed Vegetable Quiche
1 pie shell
Egg custard filling
1 cup steamed, chopped asparagus
1 pint button mushrooms, sliced and sautéed
1 bunch fresh spinach, washed and finely chopped

Directions
As I said above, when I made the quiches for the bridal shower I made one large batch of the egg custard filling and added the ingredients of each quiche filing to the pie shell.  Then all I needed to do was pour the egg filling into each pie shell.  If you are making more than one type of quiche, this is the easiest way to do it.  If you are just making one quiche, then add the ingredients in with the egg before pouring into the pie shell.

Using the technique of adding the egg custard separately lets you make multiple types of quiche, which is fun.  For the mixed vegetable quiche use whatever veggies you like - just make sure that each ingredient is steamed or cooked before hand so its nice and tender.


Roasted Potatoes

 My mother makes the best roasted rosemary potatoes, ever.  They are always crispy and completely cooked through.  I've had problems trying to achieve the balance between a crust on the potato and having it be cooked through and not raw in the middle.  What I've started to do which works out great (especially for a make-ahead brunch like this) is to par-boil the potatoes until they are 3/4th the way cooked through.  Allow them to cool, and then fry them up in some olive oil to finish cooking them and get them crisp all over.  Keep them in the oven at a low temperature to keep warm until ready to serve.

Roasted Rosemary and Sage Potatoes
A few pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half if small, or into quarters if larger (note: if you are chopping the potatoes before you are going to cook them, leave place the cut potatoes in a large bowl with water - this will stop them from browning).
A few tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup of chopped fresh rosemary and sage

Place the cut potatoes in a large sauce pan and cover with water.  When the water comes up to a boil add a handful of salt.  Cook the potatoes until they are cooked 3/4th the way through.  Drain and set potatoes aside.  The potatoes can be stored in the fridge until you're ready to use them or be used immediately.

Put the boiled potatoes in a large bowl  Pour the olive oil, salt/pepper, and fresh herbs into the bowl and toss well to coat. Each potato should be coated in oil and fresh herbs.


Heat up a large sauté pan over medium high heat.  Fry the potatoes in batches, making sure that you fry them in a single layer in the pan.  Let the potatoes sit for a few minutes so that a crust can form - do not keep moving them around the entire time! Once the potatoes are browned all over transfer them to baking sheet and keep warm in a  250 degree oven until all the potatoes are cooked and ready to serve.

Blintzes


I usually look at recipes and then adjust them to water my tastes are.  For this baked blintz recipe however I pretty much followed it completely since it is a more involved recipe. It's an Ina Garten recipe (thanks again Ina!) and while it takes a few steps it was delicious!

For the Batter:
1 1/4 cups milk

• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 extra-large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder

For the Filling:
3 cups (24 ounces) ricotta cheese

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh Blueberry Sauce (recipe follows)  (instead of fresh blueberries I used a bag of frozen blueberries and it worked just fine)
• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 13-inch cake pan or baking dish.

Directions

For the batter, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and blend until smooth. (You can also use a blender.) Pour half the batter (about 1 3/4 cups) into the prepared dish and bake for 10 minutes, until set.

Meanwhile, for the filling, whisk together the ricotta, mascarpone, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread the cheese filling over the baked pancake. Carefully spoon the remaining pancake batter to cover the cheese.

Return the pan to the oven and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and the filling is almost set. Remove from the oven and allow to stand 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the blintzes in squares and serve warm with the fresh blueberry sauce.

• Blueberry Sauce:
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3 oranges)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 half-pints fresh blueberries
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Combine the orange juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When the mixture is translucent and thickened, stir in the blueberries and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, just until a few berries have burst but most are still whole. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice and cool. Yield: Makes 2 cups.

Back to Basics - Tomato Soup

Tomato soup is one of the best comfort food, and luckily its incredibly easy and quick to make.  My version is a little lighter than your average tomato soup - it doesn't use any cream and uses fresh tomatoes instead of canned.  If you want a richer soup, you can add extra tomato paste and add cream at the end of the cooking time.  

Lightened-up Tomato Soup

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

2 stalks/fronds of fennel, chopped (these are the tops of the fennel bulb -- its a great way to use the top of the fennel which has tons of flavor instead of just using the fennel bulb)

2 pounds of roma tomatoes, chopped (get the ripest tomatoes you can since they are the base of this soup)
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
6 cloves of garlic, roasted (to roast the garlic, wrap the cloves in aluminum foil and top with a little olive oil and salt/pepper. tightly wrap the garlic in the foil and roast at 350 degrees until the garlic is completely tender and browned, approx. 30 minutes)
2 quarts of vegetable or chicken stock

use this part of the fennel for soup

Directions


To make the soup, first sauté the onions, fennel, carrots and celery in about 2 tbsp of olive oil. Sauté until the vegetables become translucent, about 10 minutes.  

the vegetables should go from looking like this....

to looking like this

Add the tomato paste and coat all the veggies in it.  Allow the tomato paste to cook, constantly stirring it for about 2 minutes.  Add the fresh thyme and about 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper to the pot, stirring. Add the the roasted garlic.

the garlic should be browned, like this

Add the tomatoes and the stock. 

Bring the soup up to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer.  Allow the soup to simmer for at least 1/2 an hour, but if you have the time let it simmer for anywhere between 1-2 hours.  Use an immersion blender and puree the soup until its completely smooth.  Taste for seasoning - you might need to add extra salt and pepper to it.  If you have fresh basil add it before you puree the soup for a fresh tomato/ basil soup 

Sometimes using fresh tomatoes can be tricky - if they aren't perfectly ripe your soup can end up a little bitter. You can always substitute two 24 oz cans of good quality whole tomatoes for the fresh tomatoes.  If your soup is a little bitter, you can add a little bit of sugar to it to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.