If I had to pick a season to have dinners it would be summer, from basil to tomatoes, everything is at the peak of perfection. So we decided to kick off the start of August with a dinner party with close friends and loaded up with a lot of food to keep the night rolling. When guests walked in we had the special cocktail ready, music on and some nibbles out. Our rule is that every event has to hit the five senses from start to end.
Since August in Washington can bring some warm weather, we kicked off with a frozen basil lemonade welcoming cocktail. I like to have a drink ready as folks arrive and you can alway make a batch without vodka for the drivers who those who don’t want a cocktail.
We kicked it off with crisp veggies and our green goddess dressing, also know as Crudités. It’s great to just have it out and ready so folks can have a bite when they arrive.
When all the guests arrived we seared some fontina cheese that was wrapped with prosciutto ande drizzeled some aged balsamic over the top. This is a bit over the top but so tasty even in bathing suit season.
Fontina wrapped with Prosciutto “Crudo”
Though we love a good cocktail hour we decided that the next appetizer was better served while seated so we cracked the wine and went to the table for our Tuna Poke served with purple tortilla chips. This recipe was born from an amazing dish at 167 Raw in Charleston, SC. The heart of it is a carmalized soy sauce, simple sugar, Sriracha and lime juice. Lite, chilled and refreshing.
After the appitizer we had our Tomato Bread which is a feta, cream cheese, goat cheese pillow on top of a crisp slice of country bread with a pile of marinated tomatoes on top.
Now it was dinner time and there is something about steak and potatoes to make the menu. We cooked our Tuscan Steak, Mini Twice Baked, Once Fried Potatoes and as a side we grilled zucchini.
After all of that, Jennifer brough her amazing spicy chocolate cake and the night was closed down with those glasses of wine you really do not need. Of course none of this would be possible without our good friend and master butcher Pam Ginsberg at Wagshalls in Washington, D.C.
Nice post