Retro Dinner Party

This month was my turn to host our Food & Wine club, which meant I was in charge of the menu. Let's just say I had been planning it since December. My choice for this month was "Retro" or a trip back to the 50's and 60's. The majority of the inspiration came from this meatloaf recipe listed below and my grandma's Jell-o cookbook. Everything turned out great, and I'm happy to say that I finally was able to try baked Alaska!

Here's the pics and recipes:

Dill Pickle Roll-ups

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,171,146180-253201,00.html

Corned Beef & Horseradish Roll-ups

3-4 packages Budig corned beef

1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature

2-4 Tbsp. fresh horseradish

Minced chives

Toothpicks

Mix the cream cheese in a medium bowl to soften, then add the horseradish to your liking. Stir until smooth.

To put together the roll-ups, spread a small teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture onto a slice of corned beef. Sprinkle with some of the chives, then roll-up like a burrito, stick with toothpicks, and slice into bit-sized pieces.

Makes roughly 50 appetizers, depending on how they are cut.

Bacon Wrapped Olives

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Appetizer/Olives/recipe.html?dishid=10514

Mixed Green Salad with Classic French Dressing (inspired by Cooks Illustrated)

1 garlic clove, peeled

4 tsp. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

5 Tbsp. olive oil

2 quarts mild salad greens such as iceberg, bibb, or romaine

English cucumber, sliced

Radishes, thinly sliced

Rub a large serving bowl with the garlic. Mix in the vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Whisk until well combined. Toss with the lettuce, cucumber, and radishes. Eat right away so it doesn't get soggy! (Or keep the dressing on the side and wait to serve).

Meatloaf

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2010/02/the_best_meatlo.html

So this recipe and video were a little confusing. When you make the soffritto, I combined two large red onions, 4-5 stalks finely chopped celery, and 4-5 finely chopped carrots. As for the amount of oil, somewhere between 1/3 - 1/2 cup does well. Saute over medium low heat for at least 45 minutes. Also for the sauteed mushrooms, make sure you get 3 containers so that it makes 1-1/2 cups!

Green Beans with Sauteed Shallots and Vermouth (inspired by Cooks Illustrated)

Our version was "jazzed up" up with 1/3 cup crumbled bacon and 1/3 cup flash-sauteed chopped tomatoes.

1 tsp. salt

1 lb. green beans, ends snipped, blanched in boiling water then cooled in ice water

4 Tbsp. butter

4 large shallots, finely minced

2 Tbsp. Dry Vermouth

1/3 C. crumbled bacon (cooked)

1/3 C. chopped tomatos

In a large skillet or wok over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and saute with the shallots until barely browned. Add the beans, heat through, season with the salt.

Remove the beans and shallots from the pan into a serving platter. Return the pan to the heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, add the vermouth, bacon, and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and then pour over the bean mixture.

Twice Baked Potatoes

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/twice-baked-potatoes-recipe/index.html

Jell-O Salad

1 small pkg. fruit flavored gelatin

1 small pkg. tapioca pudding

1 small pkg. vanilla pudding

3 C. water

1 8-oz. container Cool Whip

1 box frozen fruit

Cook the jello, puddings, and water until thick. Cool. Mix in frozen fruit (don't drain). Cool more then mix in the Cool Whip. Refrigerate until set and chilled through. You can make this with strawberries, raspberries, mandarin oranges, or even mango as pictured below. This was two batches - one with orange jello and mango, and the other was raspberry jello with raspberries.

Baked Alaska

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Strawberry-and-Chocolate-Baked-Alaska-235561