DIY Network

Mystery Party: Food Preparation From "Weekend Entertaining" episode WKE-204

This party is rated 3 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most difficult, and is geared toward the skills of a frequent entertainer.

Hourly Breakdown

Total Prep Time -- 17 hours
Food Preparation -- 5 hours

Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp with Pesto

Prosciutto-Wrapped Jumbo Shrimp Stuffed with Pesto

Ingredients for the Shrimp:

12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 Tbs. dried crushed red pepper

Ingredients for the Pesto:

1/2 cup basil pesto
3 thin slices prosciutto ham
1 lemon

Preparation:

Peel and devein shrimp. Marinate the shrimp for at least 4 hours, or overnight in white wine, olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper. Toss a couple of times while it's marinating. Save the marinade because you will use it later.

Drain the shrimp. Butterfly each shrimp and stuff with 1 teaspoon of pesto. Wrap one slice of the prosciutto around each piece of shrimp and place it on a baking sheet. Tuck the ends underneath and put 1 tablespoon of marinade over each piece.

Broil shrimp until it's cooked completely through, depending on the size, 6-8 minutes. Watch for the prosciutto to get crispy but not burned.

Squeeze lemon juice over the platter of shrimp just before serving. Garnish with lemon.

Mesclun Salad with Goat Cheese Stuffed Grapes

Mesclun Salad with Goat Cheese Stuffed Grapes

Ingredients:

20 oz. of mixed mesclun greens
30 globe grapes
5 oz. goat cheese, room temperature
1-1/2 cups of toasted, salted pistachios
1-1/4 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Preparation:

Using a small paring knife, trim a tiny slice off the bottom of each grape so it will stand up. Then, cut about 1/8th of the top off and use a knife to core out the seeds.

Fill a pastry bag with the goat cheese and then pipe it into the grapes.

Put the pistachios in a plastic bag and crush with a kitchen mallet until they are broken but not pulverized.

To assemble the salads, each plate will get 2 ounces of greens and 3 globe grapes. Drizzle each with 2 tablespoons of dressing and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of pistachios right before serving.

Chef's Note: If you would like to make your own vinaigrette you can use 3 ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored and cubed to about 1/2", 2 shallots, minced, 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary, 1 Tbs. sugar, 3/4 cup olive oil and 3 Tbs. balsamic vinegar.

Cook the pears, rosemary and shallots in 1/4 cup olive oil until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Put in a blender. Add sugar and balsamic vinegar and mix until blended, then add remaining oil in a stream until it’s emulsified.

Expert Tip: The menu is the most important part of your party, so plan wisely but also plan carefully. Make things very simple for yourself and for your guests. Remember, you need to enjoy your party along with your guests.

Expert Tip: If you are cutting lots of greens and vegetables, you need to use stainless steel very sharp knives. The stainless steel will keep your vegetables from turning brown on the edges, and they will look bright and fresh until you are ready to eat.

Serves: 10 salads

Asparagus Parmesan Puffed Pastry

Asparagus Parmesan Puff Pastry (Web Exclusive)

Ingredients:

1 pkg. of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (17.3 oz.), thawed
3 egg yolks with 3 Tbs. cold water
6 oz. finely grated Romano cheese
24 med. Sized asparagus spears, trimmed to 6", reserving the tips at 1"
1 jar honey mustard dressing

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To trim the asparagus, cut one inch from the top to get the tips, then cut six inches down towards the base.

Unfold the pastry sheets and cut each one in half parallel to the fold lines. Working with one-half at a time, roll on a floured surface into 20" x 7" rectangle. Cover the other three in wax paper and chill. Let the rolled pastry sit for one minute to shrink, then cut the edges to make them even. Cut crosswise into six (6-1/2" x 3") rectangles.

Brush each rectangle with egg wash, then put 1 tablespoon of cheese on each rectangle, leaving 1/2" along the side to seal. Lay 1 stalk of asparagus along each rectangle, roll and seal each one.

Put the rolls about 1" apart on an oiled baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Chill until pastry is firm, about 20 minutes.

Bake the rolls until they are puffed and golden, about 15 minutes.

If you would like to garnish with the tips, you should blanch them for about 2 minutes.

Cut each end of each roll to make it neat, then cut directly down the middle diagonally. Arrange the diagonally cut ends facing all one direction and garnish with the tips.

Serve with honey mustard dressing on the side.

Serves: 48 appetizers

Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Roasted Chicken and Veggies (Web Exclusive)

2.5 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
1 lb. small whole mushrooms
1 lrg. or 2 small zucchini
15 small roma tomatoes
3 bulbs fennel
2 heads garlic
2 onions
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Dried basil
1 bottle sauvignon blanc
Fresh basil for garnish
Shredded parmesan for garnish

Ingredients for Polenta:

3 boxes polenta
1 pint cream
8 oz. shredded parmesan cheese
Salt

Preparation:

To prepare the chicken, heat some oil in a saute pan and cook onions (cut in large pieces). Remove the onions and cook the chicken, browning well, making plenty of fond (caramelized bits) in the pan. Deglaze with 1 to 2 cups of wine and reduce. Season with salt, pepper and basil.

To prepare the vegetables:

• Mushrooms -- Get small ones so that you can leave them whole. Wipe them off with a damp cloth, drizzle with olive oil, salt and plenty of pepper.

• Zucchini -- Cut in large dice (1 inch) and season with olive oil, salt, and plenty of basil.

• Roma tomatoes -- Roast whole until the tomatoes have some black on them and are deflating.

• Fennel -- Just use the bulb. Cut slices, drizzle with olive oil and roast until tender.

• Garlic -- You can either remove the skins from individual cloves and roast with oil, or cut the top off the whole head and roast with oil, then squeeze roasted garlic out.

After the chicken and vegetables have been cooked, place them all in a pan to warm.

For the polenta, cook the polenta according to package directions, substituting some cream for some water. Once cooked, stir in some cheese. Pour into greased pan and chill. Reheat in the pan while the chicken and vegetables are warming. Slice and serve as base for the vegetables.

Serves: 10

Berry Galettes

Berry Galettes (Web Exclusive)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup or more of ice water
2 cups flour
1/4-1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1-3/4 stick butter, cut in pieces
4 cups fresh berries (blueberry, raspberry, blackberry -- do not use strawberries)
4 Tbs. butter
Sanding sugar

Preparation:

To make the dough, in a bowl of a food processor blend flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt together. Put butter pieces in and pulse a few times until the butter pieces are the size of peas and smaller. While pulsing, add the sour cream a little at a time. Then add ice water a little at a time until the dough starts pulling together. Remove dough from the processor and divide into 10 pieces. Wrap and chill.

To assemble the tarts, roll the dough out. Put about 1/3 cup berries in the center of each dough circle. Sprinkle berries with 1 teaspoon sugar and about 1 teaspoon butter. Fold dough up and around berries, leaving center uncovered and letting the dough ruffle naturally. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.

Place the tarts on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before moving to cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Creme Anglaise (Web Exclusive)

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs. vanilla
Salt

Preparation:

Scald the milk in a saucepan.

In a saute pan, stir together the yolks, sugar, and pinch of salt with a wooden spoon. Do not stir so briskly as to make the eggs foam.

Very slowly add the scalded milk to the egg mixture while stirring with a wooden spoon. Put saute pan on high heat and stir constantly but gently until it reaches 170 degrees. Remove pan from heat and using a whisk, foam the custard. Stir hard and fast. Once it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and hold a mark, stir in vanilla.

Strain the custard into a clean bowl and ice bath it, stirring occasionally. Cover and refrigerate, and serve within 24 hours.

Serves: 10 one quarter cup servings

RESOURCES :

Tool, Equipment and Special Event Rental (HSS RentX)
HSS RentX
Denver, CO 80222
Website: www.hss.com/usa.shtml

Create for Less
Website: www.createforless.com

Fabric.com
Website: www.fabric.com

Fresh Market
802 Green Valley Rd.
Greensboro, NC 27408-7041
Toll-free: 800-520-1556
Website: www.freshmarket.com

Mysteries and More
54 N. Big Oak Dr.
Fletcher, NC 28732
Toll-free: 888-346-0777
E-mail: customerservice@murdermysterygames.com
Website: www.murdermysterygames.com

After Hours Formalwear
700 Kingston Pike
Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone: 865-693-7490
E-mail: store733@afterhours.com
Website: www.afterhours.com

GUESTS :

Harry Schwartz
Culinary Expert
PO Box 1320
Yarmouth, ME 04096
Phone: 207-846-8881
E-mail: chefharry@chefharry.com
Website: www.chefharry.com

Debbie Lee
Culinary Expert
President
Paragon Events and Catering
1620 Broadway #H
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: 310-453-8023
E-mail: debbielee@paragoncatering.com