Preparing a Buffet Party

Reasoning behind menu (can be shortly be seen in the Planning Meals section):  Weather forecast for Saturday was looking good so I was looking forward to using both inside and outside.  Since sixteen adults and 8 children are quite a crowd, I opted for an informal type function with no formal seating. Food would be laid on the dining room table inside and guests could informally find corners, tables, etc inside or outside and eat at leisure.

Choice of food was to be Mediterranean, the type of cuisine I really love. Emphasis (as always) is on healthy food which could even be eaten standing up. Having just returned from the Trapani area in Sicily, I wanted to share with our guests some nice carciofi and black olive pate’s which would go wonderfully with bruschetti.  Together with these to spice up the ‘starters’ I laid around an assortment of nuts, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella balls, stuffed olives and a homemade pesto dip and galletti.

Main Course:  My idea was to give guests a choice between meats and fish without having anything heavy. The number of guests made it ideal to do a turkey. Some months ago, we got a frozen turkey as a gift and when I do I always take to my butcher to have these smoked for me as the result is quite mouth watering.  Once smoked these can be served cold or warm with or without a nice sauce.   I also wanted to try out a dish that I recently had at Lo Spago restaurant, the beef tonnato (thin layers of beef with a light tuna mayonnaise).  Prawns are always a nice seafood option  which always give a good impression in parties and are easy to prepare although somewhat expensive.  As a fourth option I included one of my favourites, the spinach and salmon roulade.

Accompaniments (contorni). Again I wanted a variety of local vegetables, in season.  So I opted for an onion tart (brown when cooked), baked pumpkin (orange), tomato and parsely salad (red and green) and a  zucchini salad with bufalo mozzarella (mainly with zucchini – light green and white).  In order to have some carbohydrates I included a risotto with ricotta and broad beads (ful) which are in season.

Desserts.  Since this was an informal belated birthday celebration I wanted to have a special cake, again I opted for one of my favourites, chocolate almond and rum cake.  I never give one sweet in a party,usually I always have a fruit dessert too for those who really want to keep to healthy food but this time I had some left over almond filling from the Easter figolli and so decided  to prepare some almond tarts to go round with coffee.

I knew that this was going to mean a lot of cooking, so the only way to deliver on the day was to spread the cooking on various evenings besides Saturday morning and afternoon.   One also has to consider the other aspects of hosting, such as getting the house and garden clean, buying flowers, ensuring  attending to little things which need seeing to  in the house. It is very difficult to be cooking and having to clean, buy the drinks, set the tables, etc on the last day.  Ensure that adequate help  is available on the day.

Research and studies have shown that an increased portion size or an over-consumption of any type of food may lead to weight gain because this may lead to an increase in the calorie intake.  In Home Economics we teach our students to look at the labels and evaluate ingredients present with respect to their nutritive value and what may be present in 100g of the food as well as what is present in a recommended serving size.  This helps consumers evaluate how much energy content, fats and sugars they will be taking.  It is a known fact that people who are given food in a large plate will most probably eat more than they actually would.  Smaller plates are better as they help people control what they eat.  

I have come across an interesting article which exposes different schools of thought on serving sizes and which I thought I'd share here.  Anyone wanting to read further can copy the link below and read this article:

http://brands.kraftfoods.com/kraftnutrition/pdf/knu_apr04_prof_art.pdf

Do you think the maltese are becoming more conscious of their serving sizes or portions?

Karen

A recent visit to Sicily...

On a recent visit to the beautiful island of Sicily we stayed in the Trapani area.  As always we made sure to savour typical food and enjoy the delicious Cucina Siciliana......Although I am very fond of Maltese food traditions and dishes, I look up to the art of cooking of our Mediterranean neighbours, which in many ways is so diverse to ours.  I think we have a lot to gain by merging both cuisines and getting the best out of them which is why I often adopt or adapt Sicilian dishes at my table.  There is a great variety in Sicilian recipes due to the vastness of this island and the different regions.  In the past these regions created their own cucina distinct from other areas in the same country because of a lack of communication that existed between the regions and so now we have such a rich and extensive cucina.

                                                                             Karen in Erice in a shop selling typical gastronomical items

The ingredients and dishes in Sicily may have traces of different influences who travelled and rested on the Sicilian soil.  The area we were in this Easter: Trapani, San Vito lo Capo, Erice, all have traces of an Arab influence.  The Arabs also introduced the citrus fruits and the sugar cane to Sicily as well as the use of sesame and spices such as cinnamon and saffron. In fact, a typical dish there is the couscous which is served however, not with lamb and chicken but with seafood and a fish broth ('aljotta' in Maltese and 'ghiotta' in Sicilian).  In other areas one can sense the Greek culture which is were the Sicilians may have got their usage of green and black olives, salted ricotta, honey and wine.

One of the interesting dishes I tasted this time round which is simple to make is the Pesto Trapanese.  This is a mix of raw tomatoes mixed with basil, olive oil, almonds and garlic and then mixed with pasta.  The Sicilians in the North West region like to use the Busiate pasta which are long shapes of twisted pasta which absorb the pasta sauce beautifully. 

 This time round I have chosen this unique recipe to share with you:

AUGERGINES WITH A PASTA AND SAUCE BAKED IN THE OVEN

4 large aubergines boiled and soften so that they can be halved and centre is removed

250g pasta (shells would be best or small gnocchi)

Either a bolognese type sauce made with 250g mince meat OR a plain tomato and basil sauce mixed with ricotta

3 tablespoons mozzarella

2 tablespoons grated cheese

Boil the pasta and make the sauce and mix together as for baked macaroni dish.  If using as a vegetarian dish, make the tomato and basil sauce and mix in the ricotta at the end.  Then mix in with the pasta.Then add 2 tablespoons of grated cheese and 2 tablespoons of mozzarella.

Once the aubergines are ready with centre removed well enough to have a good place to fill, place in on a baking sheet and fill in the pasta with the sauce, as we would normally do with a bolognese sauce.  Place in the oven for around 35 minutes.  Then take out and sprinkle the other tablespoon of mozzarella onto the aubergines and filling and put back in the oven for another 5 - 10 minutes.  Do not allow the cheese to harden or burn.

I served the aubergines with a tomato and basil salad and olive oil mixed with the chopped parts of the aubergines which I had removed from the centre of the aubergines.  This is delicious but any other salad can be used.

Karen

9/4/10