Want to host a stress-free dinner party but you don't want to spend hours on complicated recipes to wow your guests? We've got you covered! Here are a few much loved dishes which will make your guests remember your hosting skills for all of the right reasons. We have written two different recipes for each course.
Starter - Cornish Mussels In Honey & Almonds
A premium dish without the hassle, mussels are always
a great crowd pleaser as they are naturally delicious
especially if you can get your hands on good quality,
fresh mussels such as the ones in our video
which were provided by South Coast Fisheries.
Recipe (Serves 4)
Time to prep and make dish - 16 minutes
1500g Fresh Clean Mussels (beards removed)
40g Fresh Coriander
50g Honey
4 Shallots
280ml Double Cream
Place a dry pan on a medium heat, throw in the flaked almonds, stir and shake the pan occasionally. Whilst the almonds are browning, peel and finely slice your shallots. In this video Dan is using a great all-rounder kitchen knife which is the exquisite Pareusi Nakiri. Once your almonds are toasted nicely, add a drizzle of olive oil and your chopped shallots. Sprinkle sea salt into the pan and sauté for a few minutes. Once the shallots have softened, place the mussels into the pan and carefully stir the ingredients together. Add the double cream, give another quick stir then pop the lid on the pan. Whilst the mussels steam for roughly 5 minutes, move 30g of the coriander over to the chopping board and roughly chop it. Whilst we wait for the mussels to cook it is essential to pour yourself a nice glass of wine and take a sip or two. Once they have had 5 minutes of steaming, add the coriander and continue steaming until most of the mussel shells have opened up, this should only be another minute or two. Take the mussels off of the heat and they are ready to serve. After plating up, decorate this dish with a sprinkle of the leftover coriander. A decent chunk of sourdough on the side is highly recommended.
Starter - Halloumi, Carrot & Orange Salad
Recipe (serves 4)
Time to prep and serve - 18 minutes
2 Large Carrots (peeled)
225g Halloumi (sliced)
2 Large Oranges
100g Watercress
50ml Lemon Juice
40ml Orange Juice
40 ml Vegetable Oil
2 Teaspoons Of Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Celery Seed
Remove the skin from the oranges and cut them into segments, we suggest using the Pareusi Elegance knife. Take your carrots and use a vegetable peeler to peel carrot ribbons into a large bowl. Make the citrus dressing by mixing the lemon juice, orange juice, vegetable oil, sugar, garlic salt and celery seed in a small dish. Pour the dressing into the large bowl along with the carrots and mix gently. Heat a drizzle of vegetable oil in a frying pan, add the sliced halloumi and cook until both sides are golden brown, this should only take a few minutes. Add the watercress to the carrots and mix, serve up this dressed salad and arrange the orange segments and halloumi on top.
Main - Honey Mustard Ribeye With Hasselback Potatoes
Recipe (Serves 4)
Time to prep and make dish - 40 minutes
4 Quality Ribeye Steaks
2 Red Bell Peppers
1 Courgette
1 Sprig Of Rosemary
3 Tablespoons Of Mustard
3 Tablespoons Of Honey
4 Russet Potatoes
2 Cloves Of Finely Chopped Garlic
2 Teaspoons Of Butter
2 Teaspoons Of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius. Take the russet potatoes and a sharp knife, cut down almost all the way through at one end of the potato and continue this along the top of the potato at roughly 3mm intervals. Place the potatoes on a baking tray and evenly insert garlic into the cuts. Spread butter over the potatoes, drizzle olive oil over, add sea sale and black pepper. Bake the potatoes until they are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Whilst they bake, dice the red peppers and courgette, Dan is using the Pareusi Elegance in the above video. Add a touch of olive oil to a frying pan, once it heats up add your diced vegetables and sauté them for a few minutes. Whilst they cook, strip a sprig of rosemary and add to the pan. Once ready, remove the pan off of the heat and leave to the side. Place two large frying pans with a drizzle of olive oil on a high heat and season each steak with salt and pepper on both sides. Add two steaks to each frying pan and flip the steaks over after a couple of minutes (cook to your and your guests liking). Mix the honey and mustard in a small bowl and add half to one pan and the rest to the other pan, coat each steak in the mixture. Plate up your vegetables and place a steak on top .Take your hasselback potatoes out of the oven when ready and place one on the side of each plate. Your dish is ready to impress.
Main - Gnocchi With Garlic Mushrooms And Sage
Recipe (serves 4)
Time to prep and make dish - 30 minutes
500g Gnocchi
500g Chestnut Mushrooms
10 Sage Leaves (chopped)
50g butter
Two Garlic Cloves (crushed)
1 Teaspoon Chili Flakes
100g Grated Parmesan
Slice the chestnut mushrooms into thirds, heat a frying pan and add a knob of butter then throw in the mushrooms and cook for a two minutes. Add the gnocchi to a large pot of boiling water, add two pinches of salt and cook until the gnocchi rises to the top of the water, this should take around 3 minutes. Drain the gnocchi and keep back 100ml of the cooking water from the pot. Put the pan of mushrooms back on the heat and add the chopped sage leaves, crushed garlic, chili flakes and a pinch of black pepper, mix everything together for 30 seconds then add the gnocchi, the cooking water you kept and half of the parmesan cheese. Mix everything well and serve up your gnocchi with garlic mushrooms and sage, sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese on top of each serving.
Dessert - Pina Colada Pavlova
Recipe (serves 8)
Time to prep and make dish - 1 hour 45 minutes
6 Egg Whites
320g White Sugar
20ml Lemon Juice
2 Teaspoons Cornflour
200g pineapple (thinly sliced)
600ml Double Cream
50ml Malibu Liqueur
5g Vanilla Bean Paste
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Desiccated Coconut
Pineapple Curd
60 ml Pineapple Juice
2 Eggs
50g Butter
100g White Sugar
15ml Lime Juice
Preheat oven to 110 degrees celsius. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment, draw a 20cm circle on the parchment then flip it over. Place your egg whites in a large dry bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Slowly add a spoonful of sugar, whisking well after each spoon of sugar added until you have added all of the sugar and your meringue is thick and glossy. Add lemon juice and cornflour then whisk until everything is mixed together. Spoon the meringue on to the baking parchment, use a palette knife to spread the mixture to fit the 20cm circle you drew. Place the meringue in the oven and cook for 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 90 degrees celsius and cook for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and leave the pavlova in the oven for 2 hours until it is cooled completely.
Whilst it cooks, combine the pineapple juice, lime juice, eggs, butter and sugar in a pan over medium heat. Stir the mixture constantly for around 5 minutes until it thickens. Strain this mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl and place in the fridge. Place the pineapple slices, malibu, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl and gently mix together, place in the fridge for 1 hour to soak. Pour the cream and desiccated coconut in a bowl and whisk together until firm peaks form. Once the pavlova has cooled completely, place on a serving plate. Add half of the pineapple curd to the whipped cream and mix in, neatly spoon on to the top of the pavlova, drizzle the remaining pineapple curd over the top. Arrange mint leaves on the pavlova if you would like to add decoration.
Tiramisu
Recipe (serves 8)
Time to prep and make dish - 4 hours 20 minutes
4 Egg Yolks
60ml Double Cream
45ml Dark Rum
100g White Sugar
450g Mascarpone Cheese
350ml Strong Coffee
24 Lady Fingers
15g Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
You will need an 8x8 inch baking dish. In a large bowl beat together the eggs, double cream, rum, sugar and mascarpone cheese for 2 minutes, this is the filling. Place the cooled strong coffee in a medium sized bowl. Quickly dip each lady finger into the coffee, don't let them get too saturated. Arrange the lady fingers side by side in the baking dish, fill any gaps by breaking apart a couple of ladyfingers and fitting the smaller pieces in. Scoop half of the filling on top and spread out evenly. Arrange another layer of lady fingers on top as you did before. Scoop the remainder of the filling on top and spread out evenly. Cover the dish with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours. When you are serving, remove the cling film and sift the cocoa powder over the entire surface of the tiramisu.