Fallen Souffle

We can all breathe a sigh of relief, the party went off (almost) without a hitch. Actually, no one even realized the mishaps that went on in the kitchen, I disguised them well

I made a pretty simple meal of spiced roasted chicken, roasted broccoli, baked potatoes and chunks of bread from the bakery. For dessert it was a creamy vanilla pumpkin pie. What I love about this meal is that it is nothing complicated and it is totally affordable, I think I spent no more than $40 for this dinner and that includes wine.

Here are some highlights of the night:
1. I got stuck in excruciating traffic on the way home, the traffic gods were not on my side last night!

2. I was in such a hurry getting everything in the oven that I forgot to put the sugar in the pumpkin pie. Thank goodness I tasted it first! I had some leftover cheesecake in the fridge so I put that out but everyone insisted I bring out the pumpkin pie (I never said I omitted the sugar entirely, just stated that it “wasn’t sweet enough”) so I made everyone put whipped cream on the pie before they ate it- it added atleast some sweetness.

3. The chicken was undercooked, but because I did a 90 minute weight workout that morning I could not bare the thought of lugging my huge roasting pan and 2 whole chickens back in the oven, so I cut the meat off and nuked it till done….squeezed a little fresh orange juice over it and no one knew!

4. While we were eating dinner our Dog-Cat Sasha snagged the last pieces of baked brie ever so quietly from the coffee table without a single crumb left…well atleast the dog has some taste.

5. All of our friends got together, which is really awesome because two of our friends just got engaged (Congrats Scott and Jess!) and are moving to NYC in a couple of week, and another one of our friends just got back from his final (we hope!) tour of Iraq. So it was such a special night for everyone. I am just glad we had the honor to have everyone over.

So here are a few things I learned form this “event”:

1. Plan an easy menu and dishes you know how to make so you don’t have to constantly refer to a recipe. Everyone loves comfort food so there isn’t any need to invent new gourmet dishes…too much stress! Also make sure everything that needs to be in the oven can be in at the same temperature.

2. Prep as much as you can the night before. Set the table, set out the wine glasses, scrub the potatoes, set out your ingredients, set out all of your gadgets you will need.

3. Empty the dishwasher. Having an empty dishwasher means you can throw all of the dirty dishes from the night in and run it while you sleep.

4. Having an appetizer and drinks available as soon as your guests arrive means you don’t have to have the main course ready as soon.

5. Get your significant other involved! Evan gets home 90 minutes before I do, so he could take the butter out to soften, did a final vacuum and started baking the potatoes. He definitely helped reduce my stress a bit!

6. Sit down and relax during your party! Don’t be like my Grandma T. and keep jumping up and down to make sure everyone has enough wine or bread. Keep everything on the table or within arms reach so people can help themselves.

So here area few recipes from the night, I would certainly make both of these dishes again (but remember to add the sugar to the pie!)

Vanilla Pumpkin Pie

1 can pumpkin puree
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, flour, salt vanilla and cinnamon. Pour filling into pie shell.

3. Bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees then turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees and continue baking 40 more minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Orange Spice Chicken

Spice Butter:
Half a stick of softened butter
zest of one orange
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cloves
1/2 teaspoon of cardamom (if you don’t have this just add more cinnamon)

Mix the spices and zest into butter. Smear all over and under skin of whole chicken which has been washed and patted dry. Add a half of an orange to the inside cavity of the chicken. Roast in 450 degree oven for 20 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees and roast for about 40 minutes, until juices run clear or thermometer reads 180 degrees. After cutting up chicken squeeze a little fresh orange juice over chicken pieces.

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 4th, 2005 at 4:55 am and is filed under Chicken. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.