Living in South Africa, I am finding it more than more that it is less expensive and safer to entertain from home. Three years ago I lived in the UK where being entertained was easier because there is just so much to do there and the extra benefit is having public transport. I love being with my family and friends so I decided instead of finding fun things to do, why not just use my imagination and have fun at home. Lucky I have open minded friends and family, and we all enjoy good food, good drink, good music and good times. In my posts I would like to share some of the ideas that I have used in my recent dinner parties. We have had wonderful times and allot of fun and I would really like for you to get that same pleasure :) What we have done as a family is to have turns once a month to throw a dinner party, this helps with the costs as well as well as letting everyone have turn to be creative.
Right so there are so many dinner party themes out there. One of my very first themed nights was my Caribbean Night. This was fantastic because it included cocktails and a very simple menu. It is also very cost effective because the decorations were not very extravagant. To make my dinner parties more creative, entertaining and special I also ways start by sending out a personalised invitation to my guests (even if its my grandmother whom I see everyday). As you can see I used bright warm colours to make it more fun. I also found some great fonts that tie in with the theme. This is your chance to set the theme and to get your creative juices flowing !
What I also asked my guests do is dress up as if they were on a Caribbean holiday !This was an easy one because all they needed was a pair of slip slops and a colourful shirt. I went out and bought everyone a floral lay as a gift for coming. If you have the time and want to get very creative these are also very easy to make. I opted for the purchased ones due to a lack of time. They were very inexpensive as I bought them from a party shop.
Table setting and decorations
As this was one of the very first themed dinner parties I had thrown I went for something very simple to start off with, as I organised more parties the table got slightly more extravagant. Still focusing on the Caribbean theme I used some colourful Hibiscus flowers and palm leaves ( luckily I live and Durban and these grow in our back garden), some fruit and some very colourful napkins, and if you have one, why not use a bright coloured table cloth. If you want to go all out for your guests you could make some name place cards. There are so many different ways to decorate your table, so go nuts!
Menu
I decided to go with something really light and tasty. I did a bit of research with the menu online before hand. After a bit of research I found out that most Caribbean food is both spicy and sweet so end the end I decided to go with a Avocado and Papaya salad served with Sweet Lime and Angostura Bitters Chicken. For desert I went with Rum Banana's and ice cream. Both combinations worked really well. The salad in particular is divine ! Both recipes are below, I hope that you enjoy the food as much as my guests did :
Avocado and Papaya Salad :
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 2 ripe papayas
- 85g bag trimmed and washed watercress (alternatively used mixed leaves)
- 20g pack fresh mint
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Method:
Dry-fry the pumpkin seeds in a frying pan for a few minutes, tossing and turning them until they look toasted. Tip them out of the pan and let them go cold. Peel the papayas, halve them length ways and scoop out the seeds. Cut the flesh into long, thin slices. Halve the avocados and remove the stones, then peel off the skin and slice the flesh length ways into thin slices.
Put the papayas, avocados, pumpkin seeds and watercress into a large bowl. Chop about 1 tbsp of the mint leaves and set aside. Pick the remaining leaves from the stalks and tear them into the bowl.
Mix the lime juice and olive oil with the rest of the chopped mint to make a dressing, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the salad and gently mix all the ingredients together with your hands. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you think it needs it, then transfer to a serving platter . Serves 6
Sweet Lime and Angostura Bitters Chicken
Ingredients
- 12 chicken pieces, such as wings, thighs and drumsticks
- boiled rice and salad, to serve
For the marinade
- 6 tbsp lime marmalade
- 1 lime, juice only
- ½ tbsp angostura bitters
- 1 tbsp light soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground ginger
Method
Mix all the marinade ingredients together, adding some salt and pepper. Pierce the chicken pieces all over with a small, sharp knife. Spread the marinade all over the chicken, tucking it down into the cuts. If you can, cover and leave for a couple of hours in the fridge, turning the chicken over several times. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put the chicken in an ovenproof dish and roast for about 40 minutes, spooning the juices back up over the chicken as it cooks. The chicken is ready when the juices run clear when a skewer is pushed into the thickest point.
Caramelised Bananas with a Rum Sauce served with Vanilla Ice Cream.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 bananas
- butter
- 1/2 a sachet of vanilla powder, or, the pulp of 1/2 a vanilla pod
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons rum
- Some raisins
METHOD :
Cut the bananas lengthwise and brown them in a frying pan with the butter.
Keep aside the banana in a plate. Still on the heat, pour the sugar in the frying pan and allow it to slightly caramelise. Add a handful of raisins, the vanilla, the orange juice and the rum. Cover up and allow it to cook for about 5 minutes. Coat the bananas with this sauce. Serve warm.
A Caribbean party would not be the same with out a cocktail or two. I decided to go with a Strawberry Dakery, but there are so many others you can try, such as Pina Colada, Tequila Sunrise, Hurricane, Mojito and so many more. The idea is to make something colourful with umbrellas and fruit. Have a blast, but as always these are very strong so if your guests do need to drive home try a virgin cocktail .
Music
A party isn't the same without the right music. Once again keeping within my theme I put together a mix of Caribbean music. I found a great CD called Caribbean Party which has a mixture of songs on it which really bought my dinner party to life.
The last thing to do is relax and enjoy ! We really had a fantastic evening especially after a few cocktails !
No comments:
Post a Comment