Boeuf Bourginion ...a la Julia Child....
easy.....delicious and better for being made ahead.
Linda C

I always do Chicken Divan, very popular.

I would make either Sharons Spanikopita or Lobster Triangles....

Alexa

Phyllo Triangles with Lobster Filling
Martha Stewart Entertaining
Makes about 50

1 Steamed Lobster
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 scallions finely chopped
ü cup white wine or vodka
1 ý tbsp all purpose flour
ü cup heavy cream
pinch of cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 lb Phyllo
1 lb unsalted butter, melted

Remove meat from lobster and chop. Set aside
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small skillet and sauté the scallions for 2 or 3 min. Add lobster meat and wine or vodka and stir quickly to combine over high heat. Drain the mixture reserving the liquid.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in another skillet. Add the flour and cook slowly without coloring the flour for 5 minutes. Add the reserved liquid and cream and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir the lobster meat back into the cream mixture, add cayenne and season to taste. Cool completely before filling the triangles.

Prepare the triangles as you would sharonâÂÂs Spanikopita. If you need those directions, I can copy them over.

I do not know if these freeze, but I am not going to need all 50 for Xmas Eve, so I am going to give it a shot with the leftovers.

We're having a pot luck hors d'oeuvre party at my house in December for my wine and dine group. We generally have a black tie catered affair but that got to be too much for the hostess, and pretty expensive so we decided to try something different this year. I wanted something easy for my portion, so I'm making sweet and sour meatballs (very Christmasy looking with green pepper and maraschino cherries) I've already made the meatballs and frozen them. Just have to make the sauce, trifle because it can be done the day before and is very elegant looking, and marinated veggies because we need vegetables and people often skip by a crudite' platter.

Colleen, I love Chicken Divan. Would you please post the recipe you use?

Judi

What about a marinated asparagus, artichoke, and tomato salad:

blanch fresh asparagus spears, chill
trim frozen or bottled artichoke hearts, chill
wash grape tomatoes and dry
slice fresh mozzarella cheese
quality balsamic salad dressing or balsamic vinegar reduced into a syrup
fresh washed and dried green leaf lettuce
kalamata olives (opt.)

on a large glass or white china platter, lay lettuce leaves to cover the platter

alternate rows of grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts, asparagus (laid parallel to the long sides of the platter), and the sliced mozzarella - repeat rows down the entire length of the platter, make clusters of olives along the sides and corners if using them - wrap well with plastic wrap and chill

just before setting out to serve, drizzle lightly with the balsamic dressing or syrup

I love Chicken Divan too, Judi :-) This is my Mom's recipe:

Chicken Divan
Serves 6-8
This is great for dinner parties, functions or casserole dinners

1 3lb chicken, cooked, boned and cut into bite sized pieces
1 head of broccoli, broken into florets and cooked
2 cups white sauce*
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cream
3 tbsp sherry
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Parmesan cheese

Choose a shallow oven-proof dish suitable for serving from, and lightly grease it. Arrange cooked broccoli over the bottom of the dish, then scatter the cooked chicken evenly over the broccoli. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over the top, covering well. Again sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. May be refrigerated at this point. Place in 400F oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and bubbling. If it has been refrigerated this will take longer. Serve immediately.

*To make white sauce, place 4 tbsp butter in a saucepan or micro-safe dish and melt on stove top or in microwave. Add 4 tbsp plain flour, mix well. Away from heat, whisk in 2 cups of milk, then return to heat and gently bring to boil. (Microwave in 3-minute bursts, whisk well between zaps.) Cook until thick. Season to taste.

I've recommended this one so many times for occasions such as you describe that people must think I can cooking nothing else!

It can be made ahead, travels well, presents well, tastes great and can be served anywhere from hot to room temp.

Chicken Marbella (Silver Palate)

9 pounds chicken - either whole birds quartered
-or a combo of thighs and breasts (If
-using breasts be sure not to
-overcook)
1 head garlic peeled and chopped
1/4 cup dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted Spanish olives
1/2 cup capers and a bit of the juice
6 Bay leaves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup Italian parsley -- chopped

Combine chicken garlic, oregano,salt,vinegar, oil, prunes, olives. capers and bay leaves. Marinate & refrigerate overnight.

Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large baking dishes. Spoon marinade over evenly. Sprinkle chicken evenly with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

Bake in a for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350. DO NOT over cook.especially if using breasts

Transfer chicken and prunes etc to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Pass the remaining sauce in a sauce boat.

If preparing a few days in advance refrigerate cooked chicken in the sauce and allow to come to room temp before reheating, just until warmed through.

If serving cold allow to come to room temp before serving.

Thank you for these great suggestions and recipes. They all appeal to me! I will be using several of them over the holidays, in addition to this event.

caliloo, if you have time, I'd appreciate if you could copy over the directions from Sharon's Spanakopita Triangles.

Someone mentioned a trifle as a good make-ahead dessert. I recall trifle recipes being discussed here at one time. Is there one from AnnT that was a big hit? Does anyone recall?
I have to bring dessert to an Open House and that would fit the bill.

I just made Chicken Marbella last weekend using the same recipe, although I always reduce the amount of oregano by half. It's a wonderful dish!

Here you go for the Spanikopita. Just finished a freer batch for the holidays last week! I've also attached a pic from the Penzey's catalog when they used my recipe....my 15 minutes of fame! LOL

Spanikopita

16 oz Phyllo Dough,Thawed In The Fridge For 24 Hours
10 oz Frozen Spinach,Thawed and drained Of All Liquid
3/4 lb Feta Cheese,375 Grams
1/2 lb Cottage Cheese,Pressed And-Drained - About 1 Cup
1/4 lb Cream Cheese,Softened
3 Eggs
1/4 c Fresh Dill,Chopped Fine
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
3/4 c Butter,Melted

In large bowl combine all ingredients except phylo and butter. working
with one sheet of phylo at a time, brush with melted butter and cut in
5 strips lengthwise. Place 1 spoonful of mixture at the bottom of each
strip about 1 inch from the bottom, fold the bottom pieece up over the
filling and then fold up into triangles. Fold like you fold a flag,
to the left, up , to the right ,up etc.

Place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden.

Wowee! I didn't remember you were featured in Penzey's. Thank you for the recipe & photo.

And a question to all about Chicken Marbella....Do you think this could be made using smaller, cut up pieces of chicken breasts instead of whole or split breasts? I'm thinking it would work better at a pot luck with lots of people sampling various main dishes. Or would that not suit this type recipe?

Those Spanikopita are always a hit! I've made them a number of times!

The first thing that came to my mind was Deb's Paella Salad. It makes a lot!

Paella Salad

1 cup good olive oil
2 cups long grain rice (I use 1-1/2 c)
5 cups chicken stock (I use 4 c)
2 generous pinches saffron
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1-1/2 pounds medium sized shrimp, cooked, peeled
1/2 cup julienne slivers red pepper
1/2 cup julienne slivers green pepper
1 cup green peas (I use uncooked frozen)
1/2 cup halved black olives (a mix of greek olives are good)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped chives or green onion
1.In large heavy bottomed pot with lid, heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium high heat. When oil is hot add the rice and cook, stirring until it is opaque, 2-3 minutes. Add the stock, saffron, and 1/2 tsp. of the salt. Stir well to dissolve saffron and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and cook, covered, until all liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. (try not to over cook)When rice is cooked, remove and turn out into a large shallow bowl or pan and let cool to room temperature.

2. To assemble the salad, place the vinegar and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the remaining 3/4 cup olive oil. Add the shrimp, red and green peppers, peas and olives. Let marinate 10 minutes. Then add the rice, parsley and chives. Mix well.

3. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Posted 9/22/08 by Deborah_ps

Or if you want to do a dessert, Ann's Bread and Butter Pudding with Caramel Sauce is wonderful!

As is this chocolate turtle torte.

Chocolate Turtle Torte
Source: St Paul Hotel

Crust:
3-2/3 c pecans
1-1/4 c sugar
7T unsalted butter

In food processor blend pecans and sugar, add melted butter in steady stream until combined well. Turn out mixture into a 12" tart pan with removable bottom. Press to 1/8" thickness on bottom and 3/8" on sides. Bake at 350F for approximately 20-25 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cool.

Filling:
1lb semi sweet chocolate
2 c heavy whipping cream

Bring cream to a boil and pour over coarsely chopped chocolate. Mix until chocolate is melted and mixture is combined well. Pour into cooled crust and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to overnite.

Caramel Sauce:
4oz unsalted butter
1 c sugar
1 c heavy whipping cream
3/4 c crushed pecans (for garnish)

In heavy saucepan melt butter, add sugar and cook until dark brown (not burnt). Add cream and remove from heat. Mix thoroughly until mixture turns a rich golden color.
Drizzle over slices of torte and serve.

Linda

The chicken for Marabella can definitely be cut up smaller. I choose to make all my chicken pieces the size of thighs so that's maybe three cuts per breast, maybe even four. That way it works really well for a buffet.

It's a no fail recipe as long as you don't overcook it.

English Trifle

2 8" sponge cake layers cut in half vertically
Vanilla custard
1/2 C raspberry preserves
toasted slivered almonds
dry sherry or grand marnier
sweetened whipped cream

Sprinkle first three layers of cake with sherry (sherry is traditional but I use grand marnier because I like it). Spread each layer with raspberry jam. Place first layer in trifle dish or deep round bowl. Sprinkle with almonds and spread with 1/4 custard. Repeat two more times. Top with fourth cake layer sprinkled with sherry and finish with custard. Decorate with whipped cream and sprinkle with almonds.

You can also use instant vanilla pudding mixed with sweetened whipped cream for the filling but custard is so much better. Some people add fresh raspberries or strawberries between layers and garnish with the fruit also.

I make my own sponge cake layers but you can buy the sponge cake or use pound cake or lady fingers. If you would like sponge cake recipe, let me know.

{{!gwi}}

I make this for holiday parties, weddings, showers, etc. and it is always the hit of the gathering. It's easy, beautiful and delicious. For Christmas, I alternate basil pesto and sundried tomato pesto layers. In the summer, I make pesto with the tiniest bit of oil and freeze it to use in this recipe. The oil from both types of pesto (don't use commercial pesto, it's too oily; make your own with the tiniest bit of oil possible to get it to blend together) will bleed into the cheesecloth, so I am very careful to layer quickly and put in freezer for only a minute or two to harden the cheese/butter enough to be able to spread more pesto on top and do another cheese/butter layer. I've gotten pretty adept at doing it without chilling between layers. I spread most of the filling toward the edges so I don't need to use so much pesto and it looks like it is heavily layered.

I use a large (16 oz) cottage cheese or sour cream container because the taller is more spectacular, but you can make it in a loaf pan which is nice, too. Once it has the final layer of cheese/butter, I turn it out onto a small plate (I use a glass one not much bigger than the bottom of the torta, which I can then leave on and place on a serving platter with crackers or bread and the little plate is not noticeable). The instant it is finished and the last layer is hardened a bit, I turn it out of the plastic tub and I remove the cheesecloth so I can prevent bleedout of the pestos. You can then put the clean tub over the top to refrigerate and also for traveling with it. Once it is chilled it is quite stable. I like to let it sit on the table for 30 min or so to soften for spreading.

Here is a link that might be useful: pesto cheese torta

Olychick, that torta looks fabulous! I've C&P to try next summer when I've got fresh basil again.

/tricia

Don't know if this is fancy enough to add to the above, but here goes:

Cranberry meatballs
2 pounds ground chuck
2 large eggs
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 (16-ounce) can cranberry sauce OR you can use the whole cranberry suce.
1 (12-ounce) jar chili sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Shape mixture into about 54 (1-inch) balls.***I made 75 with smaller balls

Cook meatballs, in batches, in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned (about 5 minutes); remove meatballs from pan, and drain well on paper towels.

Stir together cranberry and chili sauces, sugar and lemon juice. in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, and cook, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes or until smooth. Add meatballs; reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes or until centers are no longer pink. **Because my meatballs were smaller, cooked in 10 minutes.

***The thyme, etc added an extra delightful taste to the meatballs

Oh, olychick, I use that exact same recipe--it was printed in a Sunset magazine about 30-plus years ago! VERY yummy, and pretty too!

Smiles,
Sooz

I'll definitely be trying that one too, olychick! Thanks!

I do like those rosemary flowers which I only have for a short time though.

Sooz, yes, the torte was from Sunset and is on the cover of my Sunset Appetizers cookbook - from 1984 - probably why I bought the book.

Bumblebeez, at Christmas I use any kind of edible green I can find that looks like a leaf and use small whole fresh cranberries or pink peppercorns for garnish.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunset book

The cranberries sound easy! I do have a large rosemary bush outside but the only winter flowers I usually have are pansies and camellias, all too big.

olychick, do you toast your baguette slices to serve with the torta?

amck, I've done it both ways. My preference is a great, warm, crusty baguette, but that's hard to do unless you've got access to an oven. Toasted, dried is good, but more work than I like, so I very often serve it with crackers. These are everyone's favorites with it, and I use the heart shaped ones for weddings and other "love" themed parties. Otherwise I use an assortment of whole grain and water type crackers. I just recently discovered Trader Joe's pita crackers and they would be perfect, too. Not pita chips, but their crackers. Whole grain and plain are both good.

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: lahvosh crackers

Thanks, olychick. I agree that fresh toasted would be great, but I like the idea of crackers instead of a freshly sliced baguette. Seems like they would an easier texture for spreading. I appreciate your recommendations. I'm hoping to fit in a trip to Trader Joe's in the near future.

Posting a follow-up on the Pesto Cheese Torta.

Was able to get lots of fresh basil from Trader Joe's, so I gave this a try. It presented so well and I received many compliments and requests for the recipe.

I served it on a large square rimmed platter w/ a pedestal base with TJ's plain & whole wheat pita crackers surrounding it. Unmolded the torta itself on a small clear glass plate. I placed decorative green leaves under it and set it in the center of the platter. People loved it!

I found I needed a larger container (32 oz.) than olychick noted to fit in all the cheese & layers. Otherwise, the recipe & instructions worked perfectly.

Note that this is a VERY rich spread. If you're making it for a smaller gathering and don't want a lot leftover, I'd suggest making half a batch.

amck, I'm so happy you decided to try it. Yes, it is always a hit. And just so you know, any leftovers makes dynamite pasta sauce. Just toss it with hot pasta and maybe some sauted veggies and yum, yum.

olychick, I am so glad I checked in this morning and saw your post. I have appointments & errands to run throughout the day & was trying to think of what would be easy to get on the table for dinner tonight.

I'm going to pick up some shrimp, saute some vegetables and have pesto pasta with a salad. Perfect!

Oh dear....I have a very small green glass EAPG child's footed cake plate.....now to find a container that just fits!!