Cooking for Seven

Last Friday us girls hosted a party for a few friends. It was so much fun to quickly throw a menu together. Join me for a look at our splendid little party.

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:: The Menu ::

Lunch

Appetizers:

Piped Deviled Eggs

Cheese and Crackers

Soup:

Creamy Onion Soup with Croutons

Sandwiches:

Chicken Salad Sandwiches on Toasted Bread

Salad:

Fruit Salad

Dessert

Vanilla Rice Pudding with Whipped Cream

Poppy Seed Cake with Orange Cream

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Creamy Onion Soup, made by yours truly.

Janna made these delicious Chicken Salad Sandwiches, served on buttered, toasted bread.

Sister Amanda prepared these cute little deviled eggs. They were seasoned just right.

We decided to serve the fruit salad in tea cups. They looked so elegant.

We played a delightful little game. It is a Scandinavian tradition to place one almond in the rice pudding. Whoever finds the almond is promised to be the next to marry.

Breanna found the almond.

Amanda also made poppy seed cake. We served it with orange cream.

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Are you hungry yet? I promise to give you at least a few of these recipes. For now, I must away and roll out tortillas for supper. How prosaic.

Would you like to see more photos of our party? Stop by my photo blog.

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I while ago I saw an article in Martha Stewart Living, February 2007 about English puddings. I immediately wanted to make some of the delicious-looking recipes. So we made Eve’s Pudding. I was quite pleased with the results, as was everyone else. Even Dad, the ultimate food critic in our family, said it was good. Keeping with the British tradition, we served our pudding with a vanilla sauce. It was the perfect dessert for a cool, wet fall evening!

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: : Eve’s Pudding : :

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Printable Page

Ingredients:

For the Pudding:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened, plus more for baking dish
• 1 1/4 cups (5 oz.) Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• Salt
• 1 3/4 pounds baking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
• 3/4 cup demerara, Sucanat, or rapadura
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup whole milk

For the Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

For the Pudding:

1) Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9″ square baking dish; set aside. Whisk flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

2) Put apples, 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt into a large bowl; toss to combine. Transfer to prepared baking dish, and sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over top; set aside.

3) Put butter and 6 tablespoons sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk. Mix until combined.

4) Spread batter over apples, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until batter is cooked through and juices are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, as the pudding in cooling, make the sauce:

1) Blend maple syrup, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Combine milk and egg yolks. Gradually stir into sugar mixture.

2) Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm over the pudding.

The original recipe is supposed to serve 8-10, but seven hungry people didn’t find it hard to lick the pan clean.