B-Day dinner for my Mother-In Law

Last Night I threw a dinner party for my Mother in-law. It turned out all in all pretty good. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and my mother in law seemed genuinely touched. Here is what I made:

Appetizers:

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus: I take cleaned and trimmed asparagus and wrap them with thin strips of prosciutto. Then I spray them with a little olive oil spray and put them in the oven at 400 for about ten minutes til slightly tender but not mushy. The prosciutto forms around the asparugus, and my guests raved

Italian sushi: My daughter and I sort of winged this one together and it turned out yummy! We took a slice of smoked deli turkey and we spread a thin layer of cream cheese on it, then spread a small amount of prepared pesto followed by a small stick of cucumber, and a roasted red pepper strip. I rolled it up, refridgerated to firm it up, then sliced it into four pieces per roll and put them on tooth picks.

Bake Brie Puffs: Another big hit of the night. Thaw one sheet of puff pastry dough. Cut into small circles (I used a small juice glass to cut the rounds), then put a small cube of brie in the middle of the pastry and wrap the dough around it. Put this into a mini muffin pan that was sprayed with pam. Bake for about ten minutes or until golden.

1st course Twice baked Lobster tails with mixed greens. I had prepped the tails early in the day by steaming them, then taking the meat out of the tails and cutting the meat into bite size pieces and putting it back into the shells. Then just before serving I dotted the meat with butter, sprinkled on lemon juice and salt and pepper and a light amount of Italian bread crumbs. Then I put the tails in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Served them on a plate with some mixed greens that I had tossed with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Main Course: Tortellini Carbonara. This is super easy and always a hit. I made a double batch, start with a half stick of butter melt it down over med. heat, then add to it 4 cloves of garlic chopped, let those flavors mingle in the sizzling butter for a while and then add the heavy cream along with 1/4 cup parmesean and romano cheese. (you can add more to taste), a little salt and pepper and let the sauce warm on the stove. Cook the tortellini and then toss it with the sauce some chopped proscuitto (or sometimes I use pancetta or bacon) along with some cooked peas. Serve immediately.

Dessert: My daughter and I made the napoleons pictured. Go to the puff pastry site to get the recipe. The only twist we added was that we made a double batch and used two boxes of the pudding mix one box we used was vanilla and one was white chocolate which created an amazing flavor. I would highly reccomend it. The desserts were impressive but really easy to pull off.

I have a feeling that tonight the menu will be left overs, but I'll keep you updated either way.

Happy Sunday everyone!!