It’s been a while since we had one of these and I need inspiration. My trusty and much used cook books aren’t cutting it. I have a dinner party planned for Saturday evening for six friends. No one is dieting, but I’d like to serve something light (it is August) but still satisfying. No dietary restrictions, I’m thinking maybe fish. Talapia seems very popular. It’ll be semi-formal; it’s an engagement party. I was thinking maybe four courses including dessert.
Help help help.
I highly recommend this recipe for Fish Soufflé. It’s fairly easy to prepare, and the result is scrumptious.
Are any of you fans of Babylon 5? I did a dinner party based on foods mentioned on the show. Swedish meatballs, bagna cauda, peaches, plums and oranges, etc.
If you want light, I’d suggest grilling the fish. In which case, you might want something thicker than Tilapia (although that is a good fish!)…perhaps grouper fillets. In any case…
I’d suggest one of my personal recipes:
Take the fish filets and soak in soy sauce for 10-15 minutes. Coat them with powdered Italian dressing mix. Grill.
Steam cook asparagus spears in a little water with light butter and l ight salt.
Add a salad…I’d suggest spinach (with shaved carrots and some diced boiled eggs) with a vinegar-bacon dressing wich is warm to hot, and poured over the salad just prior to serving.
Your not giving us much to work with. Do you want to do Soup, Salad, Main, Dessert? I’ve never really liked doing fish as a main. Generally, fish dishes don’t seem to scale beyond 4 people very well unless you have a lot of pans and a lot of co-ordination. Unless you have a salmon poacher, the best way I’ve found to do cooked fish for a crowd is En Papillote (don’t follow that recipe, en papillote refers to the technique of wrapping fish in paper and baking). This looks like a really nice en papillote recipe which I’ve been meaning to try.
If you don’t want to heat up your oven for the fish, then I suggest a ceviche which is a mixture of raw fish “cooked” in lemon/lime juice. Theres recipes all over the internet but I’ve done one recently with ginger and passionfruit that was amazingly good.
For dessert, with the weather you’re experiencing, I would suggest a sorbet. If you have a blender or ice-cream maker, it’s easy. Just find some top quality, ripe fruit and juice or puree it, make a sugar syrup of 4 parts sugar to 1 part water simmered until the sugar has completely dissolved and then cooled and then mix together. If you don’t have a Baum-meter and most kitchens don’t, take a raw egg, clean it well and drop the egg (shell on!) into the mix and add sugar until a nickel sized portion of the egg floats above the surface. Remove the egg, freeze, run it through the blender once frozen and then freeze again.
Soup, if you want a cold one, then it’s hard to go past a classic gazpacho. It’s hard to really suggest anything without knowing what your after. Why don’t you suggest some produce that is really good in your area right now and we can get back to you?
Some of the Chinese paper wrapped fish recipies are very light tasty and easy.
A soufflé is a great idea, if you know your oven well enough to cook one and have it set propperly.
Desert, make use of the good fruit in season the moment. Maybe a strawberry flan. A desert that can be made the day before always helps reduce stress on the day of the party. Consider a small amount of citrus sorbet between the first and main course (this helps digestion and gives the chef a little extra time).
Gazpacio is a good summer starter, and won’t have you running out of space on the stove.
Sorry. I thought I’d give the main dish and see what interesting ideas you all had for accompaniments [sp?], as I’m completely at a loss. I was thinking I’d grill the Talapia (maybe with a mango salsa?), but beyond that I hit a wall.
Well, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area (south bay), so just about everything that’s in season as far as produce is available here. I was thinking about tiramisu, but really it just sounds too heavy. Maybe something with peaches?
Thank you all for the suggestions so far, keep 'em coming!
Try and make use of the heirloom tomatoes available now in the local farmer’s markets, maybe in the gazpacho or in a salad. Blue cheese (Raw gorgonzola from Whole Foods) goes very well with heirloom tomatoes too.
Along the lines of Bippy’s suggestion, a fabulous salad can be made from tomatoes, FRESH mozzarella and basil.
Get the newest mozz you can get your hands on, and cut it into 1/8" slices. Slice the tomatoes to the same thickness, and line a plate or platter with them, alternating cheese and tomatoes. Sprinkle them with chopped fresh basil. Drizzle everything with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.
Delicious, fresh and in-season. Makes a great appetizer, too.
Maureen - since you already have the grill going, for desert, here’s a recipe for grilled peaches from Steve Reichlen.
For a starter, you could do a chilled cucumber soup - this one looks really easy.
You’ve got the grilled tilapia with mango salsa, so now you need a veggie - you could grill those too. Stick 'em on skewers, and make veggie kabobs.
First Course: Chilled melon and strawberry soup.
Second Course: Grilled tilapia dusted with a blend of salt, black pepper, chipotle pepper, served with a lime wedge or mango salsa, grilled asparagus and a lightly flavored couscous
Third Course: Salad of mixed greens, with sliced strawberries or peaches and crumbled goat cheese, light on the oil & vinegar
Fourth Course: Dessert of sorbet, light cookies and coffee or some sort of cold drink
This sounds absolutely lovely. Thanks 
And Beadalin, Caprese salad is one of my favorite things, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it, thank you.
All of which should go very well with the champagne and Pinot Grigio.