I love starting a dinner party with an interesting cocktail, and a beautiful canapé.
Let’s start off easy: a savory pastry shell of good quality – you can find a good recipe on Bon Appetit, but my local bakery makes them to order with 24hour notice, and I tend to go that route since I’m cooking plenty of other things. I have bought some shells from Clearbrook Farms that worked out fine.
Ensure that they are a 1-2 bite delights. Below is the recipe for the canapé I made at my last dinner party, the following day I got 2 calls asking for the recipe.
The cocktail is very refreshing, and looks very elegant in a highball, I just wish I could have gotten a better picture. This is the Lilac Bloom.
Lilac Bloom – 2 cocktails
8 shots of Spring Water
4 thin slices of fresh ginger
4 cubes pure cane sugar
1 shot of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 bunch of fresh lilacs
Combine ginger, sugar and lemon juice in a shaker. Muddle the ingredients thoroughly, until sugar has dissolved.
Add spring water and ice, shake vigorously.
Strain mixture into 2 high ball glasses, containing layers of ice and lilac blossoms. Enjoy!
Smoked Salmon with Dill Mustard Crème fraîche – 24 servings
24 savory pastry shells
1/2 cup crème fraîche
2 tablespoons dill mustard, or to taste (recipe below)
3 tablespoons capers
24 2-inch slices of smoked salmon
1 shallot, minced
Line pastry shells on a serving dish. Whisk together crème fraîche and dill mustard, be sure to taste to ensure it’s to your liking. Fill a pastry bag with the crème fraîche mixture, and pipe generous amount of filling into each shell. Top with double or tri folded piece of salmon, garnish with whole capers and minced shallot. Serve immediately.
Dill Mustard – 1/4 cup
1 1/2 tablespoons dijon
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced
Combine mustard, honey and vinegar in a small bowl. Whisk in oil and stir in dill. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Happy Cooking!
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