Party Food

Canada Day also happens to be one of my good friend's birthday, so this year, my sister and I decided to host a backyard barbecue party to celebrate both occasions. As per usual, I quickly signed up for some tasks in the kitchen, agreeing to produce two salads, my ever-popular guacamole and the pièce de résistance: an irresistible chocolate dessert. I am not the best of cooks–I am the kind who improvises and makes a mess–but the food was well appreciated, and upon request, I decided to share my recipes with you, so you can cook up catastrophes in your own homesteads.

My first choice for a salad to make was my orzo salad, from a recipe I found a few years ago on epicurious. It is the perfect summer salad, with juicy olives and tomatoes and just the right amount of tang from the marjoram and the Dijon. Besides, who doesn't like spooning huge quantities of orzo into their mouths? This salad is best made in advance, to give the flavours a chance to develop. This is one of the few recipes that I follow to the letter (OK–maybe not to the letter–I like to throw in extra tomatoes. a tad more Dijon and marjoram doesn't hurt either. To hell with it – let's put in some more olives in as well).

For my second salad, I wanted as much as possible to use the ingredients that I already had in my fridge and pantry, which that day included spinach, apples and pecans. I foodgawkered it (hey–people are always tweetin' and googlin'; why can't I be foodgawkerin'? And yes, the verb is to foodgawker, not to foodgawk, as might seem logical. To hell with logic). So anyways, I foodgawkered my three ingredients and came up with a recipe for a salad using blue cheese and a maple vinaigrette (perfect for Canada Day!).

Guacamole I've been making it the same way since I was about seven years old. The recipe is top-secret so I will not be revealing it here. You'll just have to come to my next dinner party and taste it for yourself.

Other than that, the party was BYOSTB (Bring Your Own Something-To-Barbecue), and we had some chips and my sister's homemade salsa. Guests also brought their own drinks, although my sister had also prepared a platter of Canada-themed vodka jello shots (red jello, with cute little flags sticking out).

For the cake, I wanted something fun yet sophisticated, so I opted for a childhood favourite (and hey–adulthood as well) as the key ingredient: Nutella.

I followed the same architecture and assembling strategy as we used in the bakery where I worked for about a year: sponge cake moistened with boozy syrup and layered with buttercreams and ganaches. I started by baking a chocolate spongecake, which I divided into four and layered with a rich Nutella ganache. I topped the whole mess (hey–I said I worked in a bakery. I never said I was a baker) with Nutella buttercream. For the record, I used up an entire jumbo-sized jar of Nutella (750g) as well as an unfathomable number of eggs, but the cake turned out quite well.

All in all, getting this event organized reminded me of the pleasures of hosting a dinner party, of cooking for a crowd, so perhaps this won't be the summer's last dinner party. I just the right excuses to motivate their organization.

Happy Birthday Suzanne! I'm glad you enjoyed your party.

Orzo, Feta and Tomato Salad with Marjoram Vinaigrette
(recipe from Epicurious)

1 pound orzo
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 teaspoons finely chopped fresh marjoram
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives, quartered
24 ounces cherry tomatoes, stemmed, halved

Cook orzo in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well. Transfer to large bowl.

Whisk lemon juice, 5 teaspoons marjoram, mustard, and lemon peel in small bowl. Whisk in olive oil. Set aside 2 tablespoons vinaigrette. Add remaining vinaigrette, cheese, onions, and olives to orzo; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and let stand 2 hours to allow flavors to develop. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate salad and remaining vinaigrette separately.)

Toss tomatoes with reserved vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix tomatoes into orzo. Sprinkle orzo with remaining 1 teaspoon marjoram and serve.

Spinach Salad with Curried Pecans, Blue Cheese and Apples
(Recipe from bakedbree)

For the curried pecans:
6 ounces pecan halves
2 Tablespoons melted butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
a pinch of cayenne pepper

For the vinaigrette:
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

For the salad:
1 (10 ounce) package baby spinach
1 Fuji apple thinly sliced
1 small red onion thinly sliced
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Toss the pecan in all the melted butter with the remaining ingredients. Toss to coat the pecans completely. Spread the nuts on a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 13 minutes. Cool and set aside.
Put all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake until combined.
Put everything into the bowl and season with salt and fresh black pepper.

Nutella Ganache
(recipe from Somewhere Splendid)

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup Nutella

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the heavy cream. Slowly add in the Nutella, small measured spoonfuls at a time, and stir in between additions until it is combined. When all of the Nutella has been added, set the saucepan aside to cool and thicken slightly.

Nutella Buttercream
(also from Somewhere Splendid)

1 jar (13 ounces) Nutella
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 pound (half a bag) of icing sugar
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
8 tablespoons heavy cream

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter and Nutella until combined. Add in the confectioner’s sugar in one cup increments, allowing each addition to combine before the next is put in. Continue creaming the mixture until it is all well blended. Adjust your mixer to a low speed and add the salt and vanilla extract to the mixture. Add the heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, until your buttercream consistency is right.