Recipes from Party Night

I'm only offering recipes on the items that I made that were my own creations. You know I tend to follow recipes from time to time. There are some great recipes out there that I love and love to make...they just don't happen to be mine. That's ok. You should enjoy them, too.

Toasted Baguette with Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onion and Sundried Tomato


1 baguette, sliced in 1/4" thick slices
1 vadalia onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup white wine
2 Tbsp. good olive oil
2 Tbsp. sugar
Olive Oil
8 oz. goat cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, julienned in oil
1/4 cup basil, chopped
salt, pepper
dried parsley
dried basil
dried oregano

Preheat oven to 400. Slice bread and brush each side with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, parsley, basil, and oregano. Bake 7 minutes, turn, and bake 6 more minutes. Cool on cooling rack.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat and saute onions until very translucent - about 10 minutes. Add sugar an saute another 5 minutes - stirring often. Add wine and allow it to boil. Stir well. Cover for about 10 minutes - stirring once or twice. Should be very brown and Carmel color. Place in a bowl.

Smear each bread slice with about 1 teaspoon of cheese. Cover with about 1 teaspoon of onion. Then put a piece of sundried tomato over each piece and sprinkle with basil.

Can be left at room temperature at this point for about 3 hours. Do not cover.


The White Bean dip comes from Giada's book, "Everyday Italian." I have listed this book on my blog before as I think it's a great book. I love the way she makes good food with simplicity.


My peach Salsa recipe has been profiled before. Here it is: http://meredithsfoodforlife.blogspot.com/2008/05/dont-let-fruit-go-bad-peach-salsa.html


The Eggplant crisps are pictured here. They were delicious - especially since I grew the eggplant myself; an added bonus. They came from Martha Stewart's book on Hors D'Ouevres - a great source of inspiration.



Ahh...the Spinach Dip - you know the one...the Knorr Vegetable Dip mix recipe made with mayo, sour cream, water chestnuts, scallions, chopped spinach served in a giant bread bowl. Hmmmm... It's on the back of the dip mix package.

The frozen margarita - it's from the can like pink lemonade. It's made by Bacardi and it's really good!!!!

the Sangria...I sliced up a ton of fruit (peaches, apples, oranges, and grapes) and I put them into a pitcher with a whole bottle of white wine and about 3 cups of seltzer. Nice and dry and really potent.

The Tuscan Skirt Steak
This should be made several days ahead of time. I made a dry rub mix with the following and I rubbed it all over the steak and let it sit in the fridge for about 42 hours before BBQing it.

4 lbs. skirt steak
1/4 cup dried oregano
1/4 cup dried basil
1/4 cup dried parsley
1/4 cup kosher salt
3 Tbsp. Smoked Paprika
1 Tbsp. red pepper
1 Tbsp. ground savory
1 Tbsp. Adobe seasoning
ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. dried rosemary

In a small bowl, combine all herbs and seasonings. Mix well. Lightly score the steaks on both sides. With your hands, rub hand fulls into the steak on both sides - using a small fist-full for each side of the steak. Fold up each steak and place in a plastic bag. Refrigerate at least overnight.

Grill each steak about 6-8 minutes per side.


Fried Artichokes. See the link - but here is the photo

http://meredithsfoodforlife.blogspot.com/2008/06/artichokes-recipe.html


Orzo with Feta, Cherry Tomatoes and Herb Butter

1 box orzo
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 cup assorted herbs (basil, mint, sage, rosemary, chives)
1 stick of butter, very soft
salt
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

In a large pot, boil and cook orzo according to directions. Meanwhile, in a food processor, shop herbs finely. Add the butter and pulse a few times until herbs are well incorporated. Sprinkle butter with salt and pulse two more times. Gather butter into a ball and place in plastic wrap. Roll into a lot and refrigerate about 20 minutes or until cold.

Slice tomatoes in half lengthwise and place into a small bowl. Drain orzo and return to cooking pot. Add herb butter to hot orzo and mix until melted. Add tomatoes and crumbled cheese. Mix very well. Serve room temperature.

This gratin was soooo good that I truly wish I could take credit. But I can't. It comes from Ina Garten's "Barefoot in Paris". It was so wonderful.

And then there was dessert.
Neither one was my recipe. But both came from epicurious.com