hrj

It must simply be a part of my kink, but I love hyper-organizing massive cooking projects. Last night I did a rather sketchy time-line organization of all the party prep (nothing nearly as tightly scheduled as, for example, an SCA feast or big family dinner). At this point I'm more or less right on schedule. And with the cake in the oven and the dishwasher running (which ties up the sink) I have a more or less enforced kitchen break. Just for amusement, here's the party menu:

Drinks:
raspberry-garnished lemonade
iced tea
coffee for those who like after the cake is served

Opening appetizers:
vegetable-based canapes
* slices of cucumber, raw zucchini, and daikon radish, or hollowed-out cherry tomato halves
* covered with one of: cream cheese, spiced carrot paste (see my experiments of last winter), quince paste, sweet bean paste
* topped with one of: smoked salmon with dill and capers (on the cream cheese only), sliced olives, slivered toasted almonds, kanpyo (sweet gourd, used in sushi), pickled ginger
fruit-based canapes
* dried halves of apricot or plum, date halves
* filled with one of: almond paste, sweet bean paste, poppy-seed paste
* topped with one of: candied orange peel, slivered toasted almonds, dried cranberries
crab & cheese stuffed mushroom caps
cheesy-deviled eggs (a recipe adapted from Platina: mix the cooked yolks with runny Brie and minced mint, marjoram, and parsley)

Moving on to a more meal-like environment:
fruit skewers: strawberry, canteloupe, pineapple, blueberry, banana, grapes
green salad with vinaigrette dressing
4-bean salad with sesame dressing
mixed grain salad with minced crunchy things (celery, bell pepper, sweet onion)
meat skewers (cooked on my new gas grill!)
* lamb marinated in lemon juice and mint
* chicken marinated in ginger sauce
* beef marinated in a mustard-honey-horseradish sauce
* shrimp marinated in sesame sauce

And finishing with:
cake (layers of chocolate, spice, and plain, iced with melted chocolate)
assorted frozen substances

(Momentary pause in the typing to take the two smallest cake layers out of the oven.)

So far there have been only two glitches in the smooth operation of the plan. (I don't count having to run out for sugar -- it should have occurred to me that I wouldn't have enough sugar on hand for a full-sized cake recipe.) For the beef skewers I bought some "pre-sliced sirloin" from Trader Joe's, intended for fajitas, stroganoff and similar dishes. Well, their notion of "sliced" seems to correspond with what I'd describe as "mangled". It'll certainly go on the skewers ok, but not in uniform neat little slices. Glitch #2 is ironic because 10 minutes after mentioning to the downstairs tenant that as much as I liked whole grain foods, cake really called for something bleached and refined ... I discovered that the pastry flour I'd bought special for this project happens to be whole wheat. Well, it'll be delicious, although not exactly what I had in mind.

The weather forecasts haven't quite decided whether it'll be cloudy for the party tomorrow. Well, it would be nice to have a garden party, but it would be equally nice if people stay indoors. Not much that can be done about it.