Cocktail Party 101

There are many, many things I learned while in college.  How to do laundry without turning my entire wardrobe pink, for one.  How to make friends with a whole bunch of strangers, another valuable one.  How to get home safely after an evening at a block party, for another.

Oh yeah. There was some actual studying and learning done there too.

But the one thing that college didn't teach us was how to throw a fun evening in with some friends, while keeping everyone's bellies happy too. That's something I've learned on my own in my years post college.

And what I've learned is that it's actually not that hard! Throw in a few appetizers, some fresh fruit, a few tasty cheeses, some good crusty bread and a good bottle (or two) of wine and everyone is satisfied and happy.

Here is a new found and totally wonderful appetizer recipe. I hope you love it as much as I do.

Roasted Artichoke Antipasto Salad
Recipe from Circle B Kitchen, originally from Ina Garten

(Photo by Andrew!)

3 boxes (9 ounces each) frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 shallot, minced
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
6 tablespoons capers, drained
1 roasted red pepper, sliced thin
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 pinches hot red pepper flakes, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the artichoke hearts in a bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss until the artichoke hearts are coated. Dump the artichoke hearts onto a sheet pan and spread out into 1 layer; roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. Place the minced shallot, lemon juice, mustard, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process for 5 seconds. Add the basil leaves and process into a green puree. With the processor running, slowly pour 1/2 cup olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube until the ingredients are finely pureed. Set aside.

Place the roasted artichoke hearts in a bowl and toss with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Add the capers, red peppers, red onion, parsley, 1 tablespoons vinegar and red pepper flakes, if using, and toss gently. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and let stand for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

Homemade Hummus

Recently Andrew and I were invited to a friend's place for an evening of drinks and good food.  All attendees were asked to bring an appetizer and drinks to share.  Well, the drinks part of the equation was a no brainer. 

We like wine.  Yes we do.

So a bottle of Kluge's Albemarle Simply Red, purchased recently on a wine tasting weekend in Charlottesville (see, I told you we're winos), was the perfect choice for the evening.

The appetizer selection proved to be a bit harder.  I wanted to bring something filling and tasty, but I also wasn't prepared to spend a whole afternoon cooking.  Also, I wanted to make something that would be easy to transport without fear of a leaking, stinking mess on our hands. After searching some blogs and the food network, I decided that hummus would be the perfect accompaniment to a night with good friends and good wine.

Roasted Garlic Hummus
Recipe adapted from several sources: Sweet Pea's Kitchen and About.com

Ingredients:

•  1 15 ounce can chick peas, drained
•  1 head garlic, intact
•  1/4 cup olive oil
•  1/4 cup tahini
•  1 teaspoon salt
•  1/2 teaspoon chili powder
•  Juice from one lemon
•   1/4 cup water
•  1 teaspoon onion powder

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Remove outer papery skins from the garlic heads. Chop off the top quarter of garlic heads so that all of the cloves are exposed. Drizzle with olive oil (about a tablespoon), and wrap the garlic in foil and roast until very tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Once the roasted garlic is cool enough to handle (about 10 minutes), squeeze the cloves from their skins. 

•  In the bowl of a food processor, combine chickpeas, tahini, roasted garlic, minced garlic clove, lemon juice, water, salt and chili powder, until the mixture is almost fully ground, about 15 seconds.  Scrape down  bowl. With the food processor running, add the olive oil through the feed tube in a steady stream. Scrape down the bowl and continue to process until the hummus is smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. (Helen's note: I ended up adding an extra tablespoon of olive oil and an extra tablespoon of tahini paste, as requested by Andrew, my official taste-tester). 

• Transfer hummus to a serving bowl, top with roasted garlic slices and sprinkle extra chili powder. Drizzle with extra olive oil (optional) and serve with pita, grape tomatoes, peppers, carrots, or any other vegetables.