ROYAL CHEF Potluck

 We've traveled the world with our potlucks in a manner of speaking and were beginning to run out of ideas. But then inspiration hit me... the ROYAL WEDDING! Duh, so our theme for the Sunday after the Wedding was British or Fabulous. You could bring a traditional British dish or something fancy and fabulous you thought might be served at the wedding. Unfortunately we all forgot our hats for the occasion.



Bangers and Mash by Romin
Boiled about 1.5 lbs of sweet potatoes until soft, removed the skin and mashed.  Seasoned with salt, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon and brown sugar.  Pan seared 4 links of chicken sausage (1 lb.) for about 1 minute on each side for a quick browning, then added chicken stock to the pan to slowly cook the inside for another approx. 25 minutes.  Added a little bit of the chicken stock from the pan to the sweet potatoes, then transfer the sausages to the mash.


 Beet Salad by Holly
Combine pickled beets, garbanzo beans, lima beans, cooked bacon, and balsamic vinegar.


Somewhat of a meat pie experiment by Richard
The pie crust was made with flour, shortening, a pinch of salt, and cold water. The filling was made with ground pork seasoned with salt, pepper, and allspice and cooked with garlic and shallots. The cooked meat was then transferred to a baking dish. A combination of diced potatoes and turnips were added to the same pan to soften. These were then mashed and placed atop the cooked pork. After resting in the refrigerator for about an hour, the dough was rolled out. The pie crust was then placed on top of the filling and baked in the oven at around 400F for about 20 minutes until the crust was baked. More time permitted, I would have probably made a better crust and placed it on the bottom and top of the baking dish surrounding the filling.
Unfortunately I was a little slack in my photo taking skills. There was just so much food on our buffet line that I failed to get a close-up of Richard's, my apologies. However in the above Beet Salad photo Richard's dish is in the top left corner!

Salmon Cakes by Patrick
This dish is full of fresh vegetables and an Ina Garten original. You can find the recipe here.  


Eggy Bread by David A Kate Middleton favorite!
My recipe was (for one piece)
one piece of bread (I had used rye, but I think white or sourdough would be better)
one egg
pinch of salt
pinch of ground pepper
pinch of cinnamon
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup of cream (I didnt use cream)
Mix all ingredients but the bread in a bowl. Then dip the bread into the mix. With a buttered frying pan, put the eggy bread to fry. 1 to 1.30 minute per side.

All of the measurements were estimates. May serve with a side of syrup.


Crescent Rolls by Tilden
Compliments of Pillsbury


Tomato Jewels by me
This recipe is from the official Puff Pastry website. The recipe calls for you to deseed the tomatoes and stuff them with a cheese mixture then putting them on the puff pastry with the cheese at the top. This was difficult for me so I inverted the tomato and squished everything down. Since I did this, it wasn't totally necessary to deseed the tomatoes.


Cottage Pie by Tim
1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
1 onion chopped
1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice
1. Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
2. While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.
3. Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.
4. Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.
5. Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.
6. Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
7. Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.
Serves four; recipe from Simply Recipes http://simplyrecipes.com



Savory Elevenses by Natalie
For the Devils on Horseback
  12 dates, 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese, 12 toasted almonds, 4 slices bacon
Preheat oven to 400°. Stuff each date with one almond and a few bits of blue cheese, then wrap each date with 1/3 a slice of bacon. Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until bacon is crisp, about 8 minutes.
For the Cucumber Sandwiches
  8 slices white bread, 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1/2 English cucumber-thinly sliced, Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Cut the crusts off each piece of bread, using a rolling pin to flatten each slice. Spread cream cheese evenly on one side of each slice of bread, top 4 pieces of bread with cucumber slices, and season with salt and pepper followed by remaining slice of bread. Cut into triangles and serve along with devils on horseback and a strong cup of black tea.


Digestives by Patrick
These biscuits are a true British treat. So authentic! I bet Will and Kate have some of these in their pantry.




A Royal Wedding Kiss would not be complete without some punch for a toast!

Champagne Punch by me
1 can frozen cranberry juice concentrate
1 can frozen pink lemonade concentrate
1 can frozen limeade concentrate
1 bottle white wine, chilled
1 liter carbonated water, chilled
1 bottle champagne, chilled
1 lemon - sliced, for garnish
1/2 cup fresh mint, garnish
  In large punch bowl, combine the cranberry juice concentrate, pink lemonade concentrate, limeade concentrate, white wine, club soda and champagne. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh mint leaves.
 

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