Blog - Page 31 of 41 - Impressions

7 Secrets to Confident Dinner Party Success

December 4, 2014December 5, 2014 Rachel Sherwood

Know your limits: When hosting a gathering start by knowing how much you can or want to take on. Your daily schedule, budget, amount of space available and cooking ability will all factor into this. Taking on too much is the downfall of so many. Being comfortable and confident is the first step to success.
Pick the right menu: The menu is more than just the tasty meal. It is the key to success. Plan a menu that highlights your skills – use recipes that you are confident with and choose things that can be done in advance.
Create a plan: Plan out the steps in as much detail as you need and space things out so that you don’t have to do everything at once. When you write down the plan of activities, you can easily see if you are overcommitting in an area. Now you can arrange to make it easier rather than stressing at the last minute, because you did not think about how much time it would actually take to make a particular item. You can also factor beverages, decorations and any little extras like music or favors into this plan as well if desired.
Prep in advance: This works in hand with picking the right menu, most items can be made in advance like soups, breads, some side dishes, sauces and desserts. Some items even get better if made in advance and others can even be frozen. Use this to your advantage. Cooking all day can be tiring and take the fun out of it, but little projects over a few days is manageable and fun.
Manage the dishes: When you prepare items in advance, it also helps, as you will have less dishes to clean up before your guests arrive. For me I always like to have my dishwasher empty so that once a dinner is finished plates easily get loaded in and washed as we enjoy the dessert. If you don’t have a dishwasher or you have too many dishes for one load designate a corner space in the kitchen or tub to stack dirty dishes in. That keeps everything together and out of the way to be handled later. I love those large cardboard tote boxes that are sold at grocery stores – they are inexpensive and if they get too dirty I can just recycle them after use.
Engage with guests: Once your guests arrive your advance preparation and wise menu choices should leave you plenty of time to welcome and engage with your guests. If this is not happening make a mental note for adjustment next time. Remember you invited people over so that you could be with them not spend the entire time cooking or cleaning.
Recap and repeat: Like with most things in life practice makes perfect. When the party is over take a moment to think about what really worked and went well and also make note of things that may not have worked as well as planned or things you would like to add or do differently next time. The more you entertain the easier and more confident and flawless your experience will be.

For more information on how to host the perfect stress-free parties contact Rachel today!

Pick up your copy of The Pretty Plate for more simple techniques and recipes, and learn about the five elements to make your everyday meals magnificent.

The Best Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

November 21, 2014August 9, 2017 Rachel Sherwood

This is one of my favorite creamy soups. My dad believes that any meal without tomatoes is not actually a meal. My mother’s only experience with tomato soup, however, was the condensed variety from a can. I wanted to make him something special so I created this recipe specifically for him and it is also the recipe I am asked for most often.

This recipe is the perfect combination of creamy and chunky. I have found that even the non-tomato-soup loving people, my mother included, become fans after trying it.

Be sure to blend with care.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
4 cups chicken stock
1 28-ounce can, whole-peeled tomatoes with juices
½ stick butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 large onion, diced into small pieces
1 large carrot, grated
2 bay leaves
1 large garlic clove
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups tomato juice
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 14.5-ounce can, small-diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

In a small saucepan, melt half of the butter and add flour to make a roux. (A “roux” is a French word for a thickener.) To make a roux, stir the flour into the butter until it looks like wet sand and let this boil for two to three minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it does not burn. It should still be light in color, not brown, set aside.

In a large soup pot over medium-low heat, melt the other half of the butter and sauté the onion, carrot, bay leaves, garlic, and basil for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, and tomato juice to the sauté mixture and bring to a light boil for 20 minutes.
Turn down the heat to simmer. Add the heavy cream and milk and lightly simmer for an additional 20 minutes be sure not to boil the soup after this point so you don’t curdle the cream.

After 20 minutes remove the bay leaves. Add one cup of soup to the small roux pan. Stir to combine until it is thick and almost paste-like. Add this mixture to the remaining soup, stir, and simmer about five minutes until the soup thickens.

With a stick blender or carefully in a beverage blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth.
Return the puree mixture to the soup pot. Add the can of diced tomatoes and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Makes about 10 cups.

Pick up your copy of The Pretty Plate for more simple techniques and recipes, and learn about the five elements to make your everyday meals magnificent.

Don’t Let this Blender Disaster Happen to You

November 21, 2014November 21, 2014 Rachel Sherwood

It is that time of year again, slowly getting chilly out which always makes me want a nice warm bowl of soup. I love to make soup in large batches and freeze it so it ready for quick winter meals. However, we all have those “oh no” moments in the kitchen. A friend sent me this picture of her latest day making soups for the winter. Needless to say she spent more time cleaning than she did cooking. These little mishaps can ruin a day of cooking and keep any novice cook far from entering the kitchen. Don’t let these things discourage you! Clean it up, share the story for a few laughs and keep on moving. After all, it is just soup and that is why we have paper towels. See below on how to avoid this from happening to you.

Today’s Kitchen Tip
Here is how to avoid making more soup on your cupboards than in your bowl. The science behind it is actually very simple but I am not the one for being to scientific, so I will keep it simple basically, when you heat gas it expands. So when you put hot liquid in a blender and trap the steam with a lid and turn on the blender – the hot air gets pulled into the liquid as it expands and then blows the top off. In order to be safe and avoid sending scaling hot soup all over your kitchen follow the recommendations below.

Blend in small batches, only fill the blender with 1/3 maybe even less liquid
Hold on Tight, with a dry dish towel cover the lid and hold the lid of the blender firmly in place
Slow is better, start by turning the blender on the slowest speed possible

* If you are blending lots of soups look into purchasing a “stick” or an “immersion blender”. Then you can blend directly in the pot

Pick up your copy of The Pretty Plate for more simple techniques and recipes, and learn about the five elements to make your everyday meals magnificent.

Hearty Appetizers Meatloaf Cupcakes

November 13, 2014November 14, 2014 Rachel Sherwood

I had so much fun sharing again on Twin Cities Live last week. I love this time of year, as it is prep time for all the fun holiday festivities to come. To get you started on the right path I shared some really simple and practical techniques for making your food look beautiful and your guests feel special. After all we all want to look good and have everything perfect his time of year while making our loved ones know how much we care. I love doing that through food. Watch here so you can add a little something special to your holiday parties this year.

As we move into the holidays I am always looking for fun hearty appetizers that will please the crowds. This is one of my latest favorites for kids and adults. It’s simple, hearty, can be prepared in advance and is sure to please. Make Meatloaf Cupcake for your next party.

MEATLOAF CUPCAKES

Meatloaf

1 lb 80/20 ground beef

½ breadcrumbs

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic power

1 teaspoon onion powder

¼ cup fresh herbs or 1 tablespoon dried

*This recipe can be doubled

To Prepare the Meatloaves:

Combine the milk and breadcrumbs: Pour the milk over the breadcrumbs in a small bowl and set aside while preparing the rest of the meatball mix. The breadcrumbs will absorb the milk and become slightly soggy.
In a large bowl add the egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and herbs, whisk until blended.
Add the meat, soft breadcrumbs to the egg mixture and mix with your hands just until all ingredients are combined. Try not to overwork the meat; pinch the meat between your fingers rather than kneading it.
Make a test patty, After you combine all your ingredients take a small portion of the mixture and flatten it into a small patty. In a small sauté pan thoroughly cook the patty and a taste it to make sure you like the seasonings, if not make adjustments as necessary. (when making your own recipes remember if you are unsure of a seasoning – add it to just a small quantity of the meat to test it out first or add it sparingly as you can always add more once you have tasted it, never taste raw meat)
Form the meatloaves:Lightly grease a muffin pan if using a regular size muffin pan portion out ¼ cup of the mixture into each cup; one batch will make about 9 portions. If using a mini-muffin pan – portion out a tablespoon of the mixture into each cup, one batch will make about 29 portions. Bake at 350 until cooked completely thought, 25-30 min for a regular size pan and 10-15 for a mini muffin pan.

While they are cooking prepare the potato “icing”

To Prepare the Mashed Potato “Icing”

1.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes peeled, cubed 1 in

3 medium cloves garlic

1 tablespoon salt

½ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 egg

pepper to taste

chopped parsley is desired

Directions:

Peal and wash the potatoes; place potatoes and slat in a medium sauce pan and cover with cold water. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cook potatoes until fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain; and mash potatoes while still warm. Add sour cream, butter, egg and pepper. Mash until creamy and smooth, adding more sour cream or milk if necessary. It is important to make sure the mashed potatoes are creamy and smooth so they can be piped onto meat loaves.

Place potatoes in 10-inch decorating bag with or without a star tip. Starting at outside of loaf and in circular motion, pipe potatoes onto each meat loaf. Brown under the broil 2-3 min until lightly golden.

Garnish with finely chopped parsley if desired.

Pick up your copy of The Pretty Plate for more simple techniques and recipes, and learn about the five elements to make your everyday meals magnificent.

The Magic of Crostini

November 7, 2014November 7, 2014 Rachel Sherwood

I love to make crostini because it takes something that you would otherwise toss out and make it into something delightfully crispy perfect for snacks and elegant appetizers. Take a look at how easy it is to make home-made crostini and magically turn it into one of these three impressive appetizers.

(All photos taken by Nikki Santavy)

Crostini:

1 long baguette

¼ cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the baguette at an angle about ¼ inch thick slices. Spread slices in an even layer on a baking sheet, drizzle one side with half of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 2-3 minutes until lightly crisp on topside. Remove pan from the oven. Flip slices over and drizzle with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; continue baking for anther 2-3 min until crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pan. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

3 Sorts of Crostini Toppings:

Fresh Strawberries and Goat Cheese with Basil

Top crostini with goat cheese, fresh strawberry slices and thinly slices basil. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar just before serving is desired.

Fresh Pear and Blue Cheese with Honey

Top crostini with goat cheese, fresh pear slices and drizzle with honey just before serving.

Blue Cheese with Toasted Pecans and Grapes

¼ cup chopped pecans

1-tablespoon butter

¾ cup blue cheese, crumbled

1-3 teaspoons milk or cream

½ cup red grapes sliced in half

Fresh parsley or chervil for garnish

In a medium sauté pan melt butter and add pecans stirring to evenly toast about 3 minutes. Remove pecans from pan and allow to cool.

In a small bowl combine crumbled blue cheese, cooled pecans, and just enough milk or cream to have the mixture hold together.

Top each crostini with a scoop of the cheese mixture, press the grapes into the cheese mixture and garnish with herbs, serve immediately.

Watch Rachel Today:

Tune in today, Watch Twin Cities Live, local channel 5 at 3pm for Holiday food and presentation techniques that will have you looking good for the festivities to come.