This month’s Dinner Club should present quite the costume creations! I can’t wait to see what all of our incredibly creative friends come up with! Having said that; a few notes on our thought process when planning food for a costume party…
The biggest focus is that we try to come up with food that doesn’t require a ton of last minute preparation. (See below for a delectable make-ahead recipe) Most of our Dinner Clubs are spent with our group chatting in the kitchen prior to the meal, while everyone sips their beverage of choice. Some of us are chopping, sautéing, or stirring as we converse. This is how we enjoy doing it and it works well for us. We do as much of the advanced preparation as possible before we arrive, but for the sake of freshness of the served meal, we like to work (lightly) together just before presenting it at the table.
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| These rich and saucy "Stout Braised Short Ribs" (recipe below) were a key make-ahead element in a previous Dinner Club costume bash; actually prepared the day before, they required only re-warming in the oven to serve! |
In the case of a costumed theme party, we kick up the “advanced preparation” portion even more. For this month’s dinner, much of the planned menu is fondue. This makes it easy for us to dice up the elements or pre-mix the fondue ingredients prior to getting into our ridiculous disco garb! The other mainstay elements of the meal are designed as casserole-type dishes that need only be placed in the host and hostesses’ oven upon arrival; no last minute flambéing with your angel-sleeves in the way; yikes!
Another focus is on keeping the menu elements simple, yet delicious and true to purpose! For our “Roaring 20’s” costume party a few years back, we researched popular foods or ingredients of that time (we even found the original menu for the Cotton Club online) and designed a meal that incorporated those elements, yet was thoughtful to keeping the meal simple so we could pour our energy into playing roulette in our feather boas and fedoras!
We enjoyed terrific cocktails of the 1920’s and dined on stout-braised short ribs (See the recipe for these below: they were slow roasted in the oven all day the day before and then re-warmed for the party – no last minute work); squash casserole (also a make-ahead dish); a lovely celeriac soup (prepared in advance and allowed to sit in the refrigerator – soup is often better that way as it allows the flavors to meld together more fully), and on and on… See what I mean?
Our meal quality didn’t suffer in the least (trust me!) and we danced the night away and gambled our hearts out with piles of fake money! If you’re looking for a rich and hearty winter entrée for guests or just your own family, give this one from our 1920’s bash a try! Yumm!
Stout-Braised Short Ribs
Found at: http://www.epicurious.com/
Gourmet | March 2005
Servings: Makes 6 servings.
Ingredients
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika (not hot)
1 tablespoon curry powder (preferably Madras)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
4 to 41/4 lb beef short ribs, cut into 4-inch pieces
4 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped (2 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium carrots, chopped (2 cups)
3 celery ribs, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1/4 cup chopped garlic (5 to 6 large cloves)
1 3/4 cups beef broth (14 oz)
2 (12-oz) bottles stout such as Mackeson or Guinness
2 (14- to 15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
Special equipment: a wide 6-qt heavy nonreactive pot with a lid1 tablespoon paprika (not hot)
1 tablespoon curry powder (preferably Madras)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
4 to 41/4 lb beef short ribs, cut into 4-inch pieces
4 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped (2 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium carrots, chopped (2 cups)
3 celery ribs, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1/4 cup chopped garlic (5 to 6 large cloves)
1 3/4 cups beef broth (14 oz)
2 (12-oz) bottles stout such as Mackeson or Guinness
2 (14- to 15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
Accompaniment: buttered egg noodles tossed with chopped fresh parsley
Preparation
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
Stir together brown sugar, paprika, curry powder, cumin, pepper, salt, and mustard in a small bowl until combined. Pat ribs dry and arrange in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan or a shallow dish, then generously coat all sides of ribs with spice mixture. Marinate, uncovered and chilled, 1 hour.
Wash leeks in a bowl of cold water, agitating water, then lift out leeks and drain in a colander.
Heat oil in pot over high heat until hot but not smoking and quickly brown ribs on all 3 meaty sides (but not bone side) without crowding, in batches if necessary, about 1 minute per side. Transfer meat to a large plate, then add leeks, carrots, celery, and bay leaves to pot and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
Add broth, beer, and tomatoes with their juice, then add ribs with any juices and remaining spices accumulated on plate and bring liquid to a boil, uncovered. Cover pot and transfer to oven, then braise until meat is very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Skim off excess fat from surface of sauce. Discard bay leaves.
Cooks' note:
Short ribs improve in flavor if braised 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat, covered, in a 350°F oven until hot, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
