Friday Firsts - Dinner Party & Dishes

Happy Friday everybody! If this is your first time here please click the icon above or on my sidebar for more information.

It's hard to believe just a week ago I was just finishing up cooking for my huge Challenge #3 dinner party. Sadly, I didn't make it to round 3, but the party was still a success.

Not only was the party itself a first, but each of the dishes I cooked for the party were firsts as well!

I'm still working my way through posting all of the individual recipes for you, but so far I've shared the appetizer, the soup, and the polenta. Check back in the upcoming week for the rest of the fare!

Now it's your turn to tell me about your first! To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!



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If you haven't already, click here to enter for a gift code to spend $75 at any of CSN's 200+ online stores! Giveaway ends this Sunday, so hurry!

Parmesan Parsley Polenta

Wow, trying saying that three times fast!

This was the very first time I've made polenta from scratch and I neglected to read about the whole "gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking" thing so it was lumpy. No worries, one of my dinner party guests, Goran, stood there lovingly whisking and smoothing the lumps out for a good 10 minutes. Thanks again Goran!!

~2 Tbsp olive oil
small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart (4 cups) vegetable stock
1 cup coarse cornmeal
3 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
~1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
~2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced

In a medium pot, heat the oil and add the onion and a little salt to sweat until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and saute for a few minutes.

Add the stock and bring to a boil. Gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking. (This is not just a suggestion, it's important!)

Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent lumps. When the mixture is cooked and creamy, add the butter, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese, stirring until everything is mixed and warmed through. Last, stir in the parsley.

Serve immediately, or spread onto a cake pan and let cool to serve in slices.

I opted to serve immediately, as a delicious bed under my roasted duck. It was the perfect compliment! Now that I know how to make this, polenta is going to make more appearances with our dinners. It's so easy to switch it up each time with different mix ins.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

If you think you've had butternut squash soup, you need to throw that recipe out the window and try this version. I slightly altered an Alton Brown recipe, with great success!

At the end of the dinner party, we all talked about which course was our favorite and this soup was mentioned a few times. It was so creamy and flavorful, I will definitely be making it again and again.

2 large or 3 medium butternut squash
~3 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt
white pepper
~5 cups vegetable stock
3 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp real maple syrup
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup real maple syrup
toasted pine nuts

Begin by mixing the cumin and maple syrup in a small jar and shaking vigorously. Continue shaking throughout the day to help the cumin dissolve and flavor the syrup. Toast pine nuts slowly in a dry pan over medium heat until aromatic and tanned.

Cut the butternut squash into 8ths, removing the seeds and guts. Toss in a large bowl with the olive oil, salt and white pepper. Spread out onto a baking sheet and roast in a 425° oven for 45-60 minutes, until the pieces are tender and starting to brown in parts. Remove and let cool until easy to handle, then remove the skin.

Add the squash pieces and vegetable stock to a large pot and puree with a stick blender. Add the honey, maple syrup, and ginger. Continue cooking until hot and adjust seasonings to taste preference. A few minutes before serving, stir in the cream until incorporated.

Ladle into a bowl and top with a drizzle of the cumin-scented maple syrup and a healthy pinch of toasted pine nuts.

Reheats well.

Beef Crostini Appetizer

I can't take credit for this dish, it was my brother's idea.

However, I do believe I pulled it off and it was arguably my favorite dish of the dinner party.

Either that, or it was the first bite of food I'd had all day so it tasted extra decadent.

I headed to my local butcher, Orland Meat Market & Deli because I wanted a great steak. The owners, Spyros and Helen are so sweet, I knew they'd help me make a great decision.

After talking about the contest, the dinner party, and what I was hoping to pull off, they suggested a beef filet. Spyros went in the back and grabbed a beautiful, whole tenderloin and cut me off about a 2-3" piece. He then trimmed it of all silver skin and fat and wrapped it like a little present in waxed white paper.

beef filet
good bread
bleu cheese
carmalized onions
Balsamic reduction
fresh parsley

Begin by taking the bleu cheese and the meat out of the fridge to take the chill off of them.

In a small skillet, place a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of sugar. Let reduce by half over low heat until the balsamic is syrupy.

Slice a medium onion and place in a small skillet with a little bit of olive oil and salt. Work over medium heat for several minutes until the onions are carmalized.

Slice the bread on a diagonal, brush with olive oil and place in a toaster oven set to 250°.

Meanwhile, coat the beef liberally in Kosher salt and black pepper. Add to a pre-heated skillet and cook on high for about 5 minutes per side. Then rotate along the edge of the filet, searing each edge. Remove to the cutting board and let rest, and slice thin.

To plate, place the bread, then a forkful of the carmalized onions. Add a slice of the rare beef, a large crumble of bleu cheese, and top with a fresh parsley leaf. Finish with a drizzle of the balsamic reduction.

$75 CSN Giveaway

By now, many of you have heard of CSN stores and everything they offer from bar stools, to kid's furniture, and my favorite- kitchen goodies.

Over the past few months I've had the chance to review some fun products from them including:

a Rachael Ray cast iron enameled casserole dish

and the beautiful cutting block.

Now it's your turn to spend some CSN bucks! The winner of this giveaway will receive a one-time use code good for $75. The $75 can be used to purchase anything from CSN's 200+ online stores.

To enter:

Leave a comment below telling me what you would use the $75 for.

For an extra entry, tweet about this giveaway and leave a 2nd comment with @yourhandle.

Giveaway will run through Sunday, October 10th. I will choose the winner randomly and announce on Monday, the 11th.

You were cordially invited...

to Dinner at Christina's. But you didn't vote enough so I could make it to Round 3!!!

I kid, I kid.

We had the dinner party Thursday, before I found out if I would make it to Challenge #3. I was slightly devastated to find I did not advance because I was having a fun time tackling the challenges, giving them my all.

But, I picked myself up and realized it wasn't worth it to be upset. Because I have to give myself credit for doing what I love. I put out one hell of a dinner not even knowing if I advanced yet because I wanted to, not because I had to. That's what being a food lover is about, and in the end, that's all that I am. A lover of food that likes to write about it on this blog for others to share in that love.

The chef.

The table setting.

The place settings.

The centerpiece.

The menu. Click to enlarge.

(Now I'm free to post it as I would have liked - instead of the advertisement-ridden-bad-typeface-salmon-colored-one-that-didn't-go-with-my-color-scheme template they required.)

The Amuse Bouche.

The soup.

The salad.

The entree.

The dessert.

(All of the individual dishes and their recipes will be featured in the coming week so stay tuned!)

The aftermath.

And these were my wonderful guests. People that took a last minute invitation to show up at our house and eat a mystery meal with no questions asked. I really lucked out with a crowd that came into this dinner with such open minds and let me serve them anything my heart desired.

Thank you to Dennis, Riki, Julie, Jeff, and Melissa for being such great guests. They brought me wine, flowers, and chocolates, and gave me a round of applause at the end of the evening.

Also, thank you to Johnny for giving me unrestricted access to his credit card to fund this dinner, as well as loving support throughout the two days it took to pull this off. Thank you to Di for lending me her tables, tablecloth, dishes, bowls, wine glasses, and Yang support. Thank you to Goran for brainstorming the menu with me, saving my lumpy polenta, and carving the duck. Thank you to my brother for emailing furiously back and forth with me about the menu and lending his expertise with the wine pairings. Last, thank you to my parents who campaigned proudly on my behalf. I'm sorry I couldn't have made it further, but all of your support meant the world to me.

Friday Firsts - Tamales

Hi everybody and happy Friday! If you're new to Friday Firsts click the link above or in my sidebar for more information.

I have been occupied the past few days by Project Food Blog! It has been a whirlwind so far. We had a 5 course dinner with 7 guests for Challenge 3 so I really hope I make it! I'm excited and hopeful. Thank you if you took the time to vote for me, it really means a lot.

As if you couldn't see it coming a mile away - my first for this week is Tamales!! For my Challenge #2 entry I tackled authentic Mexican cuisine. I made the masa, the pork filling, and the chili sauce all from scratch. Then Johnny and I hand rolled 71 tamales and steamed them. They turned out terrific and I'm so glad we have some in the freezer to enjoy later from all our hard work!

Now it's your turn to tell me about your first! To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!



If you would like to display the Friday Firsts button as a badge in your post or on your side bar, you can copy and paste the following code:

<a href="http://www.dinneratchristinas.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://glc.dinneratchristinas.com/i/fridayfirsts.png" alt="Friday Firsts / DinnerAtChristinas.com" style="width: 220px; height: 220px; border: none"/></a>