Dinner Party

 Dinner Party

This party makes a novel change from nice Saturday afternoon bun-fights. It is easy for working parents to arrange, as food can prepared in advance and the table set the evening before. Parents or older siblings could enter into the sprite of things by serving the meal on silver trays and acting the part of waiters to the sophisticated; draping a white cloth over one arm and wearing white cotton gloves. Invite guests to wear the formal dress they will enjoy dressing up in borrowed evening finery- long swish skirts and flouncing feather boas, how ties and jackets.

Age group:                         Four to ten

Venue:                                Home

Number of guests:               up to 8 

Invitation:

Make an invitation from a black card decorated with silver glitter on the front use a silver pan or white crayon to invite a guest to a Soiree at six

Thirty: to ask them to wear a Formal dress and remind them R.S.V.P

Decoration:

Make the table setting as elegant as possible. Borrow silver candle candelabra and use it as the centerpiece, with floral decoration around it and along the length of the table. Use a tall plastic wine glass with long steam to serve sparkling apple juice. To Fold the table napkin into lady Winder mere, Fans or other decorative shapes. Make a small place card for each guest. Write the menu out in flowing cursive writing on a piece of card or mock parchment, and have it displayed on the table. Play soft background music and keep the light low. As each guest arrives, announce them formally. Serve them each a cocktail; fruit juice in a long steamed practice glass topped with a cherry twisted slice of orange and a thin paper umbrella with a novelty plastic swizzle stick for extra impact, you could serve these in frosted glasses. To frost, dip the rim of each glass in egg white, then into caster sugar, and let the frosting harden in the fridge for ten or fifteen minutes before pouring the drinks.

As this is the evening party, the guest will probably be ready for their meal soon after arriving plan to have the games after dinner and have guests seated not later than half an hour after arriving.

Games:

After dinner, plan half an hour of a quiet game such as hangman, making words, or hat making. Have a Memory test or play a mystery matchbox. More active games later could include the balloon wrap mummy, the chocolate game, or charades. Play hedgehogs find the bell ringers, and balloon dress up a broomstick relay is lots of fun.

Prizes and Favors:

Inexpensive toys, jewelers, novelty, party hats, and cocktails accessories- tiny umbrellas, fancy swizzle sticks, and some decoration things.

Food:

Entrance melon strawberry cocktail

Main course:

Spaghetti Bolognese served with tossed salad and garlic bread.

Deserts:

The number cake or Chew chocolate ice- cream.

Cake:

The number cake made from choux pastry could be served as a party cake or could be served as an elegant dessert at the end of the meal.

Melon and Strawberry cocktail

Dinner Party, Kid's Series

Preparation time:               15 minutes

Cooking time:                    nil

Makes about                     12

 Easy:

Rock melon:                        ½

Honey dew melon:                               ½

Punnet Strawberries:                            1 x 250 g

Lemon juice:                                       1 tablespoon

Sugar:                                                  t teaspoon

Kiwi :                                                  3

Fresh mint for garnish:

Making:

1. Scrape seeds out of the center of melons. Scoop out the flesh using a melon baller, or peel and cut into 2 cm chunks. Wash and hull the strawberries and slice them into halves. Toss fruits in sugar and lemon juice and chill for one hour.
2. Spoon fruits into six glasses, bowls, or tall par fruit-style glasses 

           Garnish with sprigs of mint and serve.

SPAGHETTI BOLOGNAISE:

Preparation time:           15 minutes

Cooking time:                nil

Makes about:                 12

 Easy:

Vegetable oil:                      1 tablespoon

Minced beef:                       750 g

onion :                                  2  (Finely chopped)

Garlic                                    1 cloves (crushed) 

Tomatoes:                            1 x 425 g can 

Lemon juice:                       1 tablespoon

Tomato paste:                      2 tablespoon

Beef stock:                            1 cub

Dried basil:                          ½ teaspoon

Cold water:                               3 Tablespoon

Plain flour:                                1 tablespoon

Spaghetti                                   385 g

olive oil:                                    1 tablespoon

Cheese                                     grated for serving

Making:

Bolognaise Sauce:

1.  Heat oil in a large pan. Add mine and cook in the oil until meat brown and separates into small pieces. Add garlic and onion and fry further 5 minutes.
2. Add tomato, tomato paste, lemon juice, stock cube, herbs, and sugar. Stir to combine. Simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up tomato. Blend flour and water together to form a smooth paste. Add to meat mixture and again to boil, stirring constantly. Pour over cooked spaghetti and serve with sprinkled cheese.

To cook spaghetti
To  cook spaghetti ti to bring a large pan of water to boil, add oil. Add spaghetti to rapidly boiling water. Stir once and 

 

 

GARLIC BREAD:

Preparation time:         15 minutes

Cooking time:                nil

Makes about                  12

 Easy:

French Bread:                   2 (Sticks)

Butter:                                200 g (softened)

Garlic:                                3 cloves (crushed)

Making:

TOSSED SALAD:

Preparation time:                15 minutes

Cooking time:                      nil

Makes about                       12

 Easy:

SALAD:

Lettuce:                                     1 (washed)

Tomato:                                    2 (washed)

Cucumber                                 1/4 thickly peeled

Celery                                         2 stalks

Carrot:                                       1 peeled

Mushrooms:                                 6

Dressing:

oil                              1 tablespoon

White vinegar:        2 tablespoon

Mayonnaise:            3 tablespoon

Parsley:                     1 tablespoon (Finely chopped)

Making:

• 1.       Tear lettuce into bite sized piece and place in a large salad bowl. Remove core section from tomatoes and cut into quarters. Slices cucumber and celery. Cut carrot into thin sticks and quarter mushrooms. Arrange all vegetable on the top of lettuce and toss lightly.
• 2.       To prepare dressing: To combine all ingredients in screw top jar and shake well. Pour dressing over salad just before serving.

              

CHEWY CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM SUNDAE:

Preparation time:            15 minutes

Cooking time:                   nil

Makes about:                   12

 Easy:

Vanilla ice-cream:                  1 liter

Mars bar:                                  3

Cream:                                      1 cup

Milky Ways:                             2

Flake crumbled:                       1

ice-cream wafers:                     6

Scorched peanut bar:                1 (broken into small)

Making:

1. Roughly chop Mars Bars in small piece and place in a heat proof bowl with cream. Heat over simmering water until melted. Cool slightly. Slice Milky Ways into 1 cm slices.
2. Place a small scope of ice-cream into each of six parfait glasses. Divided half the Mars Bar mixture. Milky Way pieces and Scorched Peanut Bar between the glasses. Top each serving with another scoop of ice-cream then top with remaining Mars mixture, Milk Way and Scorched Peanut Bars sprinkle with crumbled Flake and insert an ice-cream wafer on top of each glass. Serve immediately

NUMBER CAKE:

Preparation time:                 15 minutes

Cooking time:                        nil

Makes about:                          12

 Easy:

CAKE:

CAKE:

Water:                    

 Butter:

Plain flour

Sugar:

Eggs:

Making:

1.       Preheat oven to 210. Grease an oven tray and mark on it, as a large number, the child age. Heat water and butter in a pan and bring to the boil. Sift flour and sugar together and add all at once to boiling butter and water mixture leaves the side of pan. Remove from the heat and cool.

2.       Meat eggs lightly, Add a little at a time flour mixture, beating well after each addition. When all the egg has been added, the mixture should be thick and glossy.

3.       Spoon or pipe batter onto prepared try in the shape of number required. Bake for 20 minutes or until puffed. Reduce heat to 180 and cook further 30 – 40 minutes or until golden, and cool on a wire rack.

4.        To prepare topping:

Wipe cream with sugar and vanilla until soft peaks from. Still cake in half horizontally, fill with cream and replace with top

Place filled cake wire rack with a clean oven tray underneath. Warm icing or melt chocolate and pour immediately over the cake allowing excess may be re-melted and poured over again. Before icing or chocolate cool top with an assortment of sweets and add candles.