All of your poultry questions will be answered today because we’re serving the best and easiest birds around. It starts with our Crushed Chicken and ends with our fluffy meringue eggs in a green custard nest.
Gameplan
Day Before Party:
Coat bread cubes to make croutons for Pea Panzanella
Mix and blanche pea dressing for Pea Panzanella, refrigerate for party
Pull croutons for Pea Panzanella, set aside
Morning of Party:
Mix and puree pistachio custard for Meringue "Eggs" with Pistachio Custard and Chocolate Drizzle
Mix and poach meringue eggs for Meringue "Eggs" with Pistachio Custard and Chocolate Drizzle
45 Minutes Before Party:
Season and brown chicken for Chicken Ala Vendimia
Mix pea dressing with coated croutons, pour into spring mold for Pea Panzanella
Reduce sauce for Chicken Ala Vendimia
At Party:
Unmold Pea Panzanella, top with salad
Add grapes to Chicken Ala Vendimia and serve
Eat and Enjoy:
Assemble and serve Meringue "Eggs" with Pistachio Custard and Chocolate Drizzle
Eat and Enjoy Dessert.
Tiffani Thiessen and husband, Brady Smith, host a holiday party for their nearest and dearest friends, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and his wife, Catriona; Tim and Elisa DeKay; and Jason and Naomi Priestly. This festive feast features a whole Smoked Turkey with Crispy Skin, Fennel and Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing, Cheesy Potatoes au Gratin, homemade boozy Blood Orange Cranberry Sauce and fresh-baked Gruyere and Thyme Rolls. For dessert, Tiffani serves up Brady's favorite, Bourbon Pecan Pie with Homemade Vanilla Whipped Cream. Of course, it's not the holidays without some sparkle: For her festive bash, Tiffani fashions a bubbly bar where her guests create their own sparkling cocktails.
Celebrate your new home with a home made meal that's as simple as it is delicious. You'll be the envy of the neighborhood with recipes for Crespelli "Short Stacks" with BBQ Chicken; Slightly Cooked Gazpacho and Olive Oil Cake.
Gameplan
2 Days Before Party:
Assemble and simmer all ingredients for Barbeque Sauce. Cool, cover and refrigerate sauce until day of party.
Blend ingredients for Crespelli Short Stacks crepe batter. Cover batter and refrigerate.
Mince carrots for Slightly Cooked Gazpacho. Saute carrots with garlic, add tomato juice. Season and pour into a bowl to cool. Cover the Gazpacho and refrigerate.
Reheat Barbeque Sauce. Using a roasted store-bought chicken, remove the skin and pull the chicken from the bone. Stir the chicken into the warm Barbeque Sauce. Stir in orange zest. Set aside to cool. Cover and place chicken in refrigerator.
Pull Gazpacho from the refrigerator and finish Gazpacho by adding small-diced red onion, zucchini, celery, fennel, fennel fronds. Season Gazpacho, cover and set aside in refrigerator.
Cook crepes in butter. Layer crepes on a sheet pan on top of wax paper.
Assemble Crespelli Short Stacks by buttering crepes and layering them with chicken in Barbeque Sauce. Wrap finished crepes in foil and set aside in refrigerator.
1 Hour Before Party:
Pre-heat oven to 350?F and place wrapped Crespelli Short Stacks for 30 minutes to heat through.
Reduce orange juice for Olive Oil Cake. Reserve.
Assemble chopped scallions, cabbage, apple, lemon juice, lemon juice, olive oil for Apple Slaw.
Blend milk, eggs, olive oil, liquor, reduced orange juice, sugar, rosemary, lemon zest and anise seed for Olive Oil Cake batter.
Add dry ingredients, baking powder and flour, to Olive Oil Cake batter.
Bake Olive Oil Cake in two greased round spring-form pans.
Plate Gaspacho in a large bowl. Finish with chopped fresh parsley, fresh basil and Sweet 100 tomatoes and red wine vinegar.
At the Party:
Toss Apple Slaw with dressing.
Remove Crespelli Short Stacks from the oven and slice into 8 pieces.
Un-old Olive Oil Cakes and spread with orange marmalade while cake is still warm. Slice cakes into eights and garnish with rosemary.
Eat and Enjoy!
Chef George Stella invites his family and friends over for a dinner party that no one would ever suspect was low carb! He starts off the meal with one of his personal favorites – teriyaki sesame chicken skewers served outside a hollowed out melon half filled with melon balls. Next he prepares fresh Key West crab cakes (without using breadcrumbs) and a mustard dipping sauce; grilled Jamaican jerk pork loin cooked to perfection with a light summer squash salsa; and a healthy dessert –a gratin of fresh berries with a little sour cream. No sooner do the guests arrive than they all dig in to taste the fruits of George’s creations.
Top 5 Tips
1. Watch out for mayonnaise that is labeled "light," as it may contain more sugar than regular, full-fat mayo.
2. When cooking with crab, splurge for the real thing. Many imitation crabmeats contain added sugars.
3. Baking powder, along with eggs, will act as a binder in place of the usual carb-heavy breadcrumbs.
4. Pork is an excellent carb-conscious option. It is low in fat, has zero carbs, and usually costs less than beef.
5. Cantaloupe is a good fruit choice for the low carb dieter. Contrary to popular belief, George says that many fruits are acceptable on a low carb diet, but limit your intake.
No matter how hot it gets, it's just too cool when Michael and his guests whip up a vanilla gelato with crazy variations. Making your own ice cream cones is almost as much fun! A fancy pre-frozen layered ice cream torta served with smashed strawberries brings it high cotton.
Gameplan
1 Day Before the Party:
Bring chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice creams for Neapolitan to room temperature.
Simmer and strain Mint Simple Syrup for Cantaloupe Granita.
Peel and puree cantaloupe. Blend cantaloupe puree with Mint Simple Syrup and freeze overnight.
Layer softened ice creams into a freezer-proof dish. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
Heat cream and espresso to blend with chocolate for Chocolate Hazelnut. Set aside.
Clean, core and quarter strawberries for Strawberry Balsamic Sauce. Blend strawberries with balsamic vinegar. Season and allow to marinate.
Stir Cantaloupe Granita.
Blend Mint Pesto with one pint of vanilla ice cream and return to the pint. Cover and freeze overnight. Blend Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache with one pint vanilla ice cream and return to pint container. Cover and freeze overnight. Blend one pint vanilla ice cream with Strawberry Balsamic Sauce and return to pint container. Cover and freeze overnight.
Blend batter for Ice Cream Cones. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Place plates for Neapolitan in freezer, freeze overnight.
1 Hour Before Party:
Bake and shape Ice Cream Cones on a parchment paper covered baking sheet.
Place milk for Egg Creams in freezer for 15 minutes.
Unmold Neapolitan and slice into one inch slices and place on pre-frozen plates. Drizzle with Strawberry Balsamic Sauce.
At the Party:
Blend Egg Creams and serve.
Scoop and serve Blended Ice Creams and Ice Cream Cones.
Scoop and serve Cantaloupe Granita.
Eat and Enjoy!