Dinner Party Delights

Along with spring comes the sudden realisation that, in a few weeks time, we are going to want to be donning our sexy summer garb and soaking up some of those beneficial rays of sunlight! Or, perhaps not. Unless we refresh our winter menu by leaving those heavy, comforting carbs on the shelf and choosing, instead, some vibrant and fresh spring fruits and veg.

Spring is definitely the time to start practising with the different fruits and veg that make up the myriad cocktails and smoothies, salads and refreshing meals that are an essential part of the summer menu. There is a worldwide trend in the food sector these days to make sure that even our ‘fun food’ has a health element to it. This is why fresh fruit as part of a smoothie is a great way to start the day.  Choose your favourite spring fruit, a few dollops of plain yogurt, some oats or muesli, blend with a little ice and, within minutes, a healthy, rounded and sumptuous breakfast is ready to be enjoyed. 

Fortified by this energising breakfast that will keep your hunger at bay, you will be well able to cope with whatever the rest of your day throws at you. As a perfect end to a perfect day why not invite a few friends round to show off some of your mouth watering, healthy, spring fresh culinary delights

Just in case you need a bit of inspiration here are the recipes for some out of the ordinary, fun but easy to make dishes to freshen up your menu next time you get the gang together:

Starter:           Fresh Melon and Parma Ham

This is so easy you’ll be looking for the catch. Cut a fresh, chilled cantaloupe melon into slices with enough to go around, perhaps 2 slices each, and drape with air dried or Parma ham. That’s it. Place it in a funky way on the plate and your guests will be very impressed.

Main:               Grilled Butterfly Salmon with Stir Fried Spring Vegetables

If you use brightly coloured vegetables such as spring onions, red, yellow and green peppers, sweet corn, carrots or broccoli, this dish will look tantalising and your guests will be impatient to tuck in.

·         Cut the Salmon fillets into 1 cm thick slices; but for every alternate slice, cut only as far as the skin, leaving the skin to hold 2 slices together.

·         Spread the pieces out to make a butterfly shape.

·         Brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and grill.

·         Cut the vegetables into strips.

·         Sizzle the vegetables over low heat.

·         Pour in 45ml water and season with salt

·         Let the vegetables simmer until tender.

·         Arrange the butterfly salmon on individual plates, and garnish with the vegetable strips. Serve a mustard sauce on the side.

Dessert:         Chocolate dipped fruit

Choose any soft fresh fruit, but strawberries work the best for this romantic party faire.

Make sure you have enough melted chocolate to keep all your guests happy. This can be an interactive feast where your guests get to dip their own fruit or, for a pre-prepared plate of delicious gourmet-looking fresh fruit, dip half the piece of fruit in dark chocolate and then, when that has hardened, dip the tip in white chocolate for a funky two tone effect.

What to Drink

All over Europe and America the wine that is being heralded as a very trendy, chillable, tasty and refreshingly light beverage, and which would go perfectly with this menu, is a rosé. Many people have, in the past, dismissed the rosé as a wine for people who cannot palate a ‘real’ wine. This is no longer considered the case and it is now highly recommended by those in the know. In fact, in France, sales of rosé have overtaken those of white wines. So make sure you have a couple of bottles chilled to serve with your main course.

Once dinner is done, and you have retired to the comfort of the bar or lounge, get those cocktail shakers working and wow your friends with some simple, but tasty fresh fruit based cocktails.

HOT TIP Prepare your cocktail fruit in advance and stash it in your freezer. Adding frozen banana to any cocktail will thicken it up nicely, and keeping all your fruit frozen, so that the cocktails are ice cold, will ensure all your guests are thoroughly refreshed and ready to party the night away.