Roasted vegetable pizza, peppers, aubergine, blush tomato, fresh basil, mozzarella.

Commonly known as a traditional Italian food, pizza didn't actually arrive in Italy until the 16th century, with the addition of tomatoes to leavened flat bread. Flavoured flat breads, including onions, garlic and herbs have dated back to over 3000 years ago to the ancient Greeks, The Middle East and Mediterranean cuisine. Now an immensely popular food all over the world, there is so much versatility, with different types of dough to many variants of sauces and toppings. Margherita, (dating back to 1889, created to honour the Italian Queen Margherita, was the first recipe to add cheese,  using tomatoes, mozzarella and basil to represent the colours of the Italian flag)  With more exotic and modern additions now appearing on menus, such as: Chicken Tikka, baked beans, lobster, Cajun pork, crispy duck, spinach and poached egg, you can see that the versatility is endless.

I was round friends last night with my lovely wife and we all fancied to have some pizza. I knocked up some granary dough to use as a base and with two vegetarians amongst us, it was an easy decision not to use meat,  selecting some delicious Mediterranean vegetables that I roasted off for the topping. Rather than a traditional tomato sauce, I spread the dough with some red pesto to give a great intense flavour. I  recently borrowed a great little camera lens from my good friend Jules for my Nikon 7000 and I thought it would make a great opportunity to give it a test run. (See my photos below)

I served freshly baked cheesy garlic bread, Avocado, cherry tomato and watercress salad with balsamic dressing and Cajun potato wedges alongside. A great treat to a Saturday night in left us all full and with a few slices left over to enjoy the next day. 

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Spiced scallop and King prawn platter.

Seared scallop - Laksa spices, - Potato, carrot and parsnip rosti.

x x x x x

Scallop sashimi, red chilli, spring onion, lime and pickled ginger – Sesame fried scallop roe.

x x x x x

King prawn wonton - Laksa curry spices - Sweet chilli sauce -Garlic and ginger fried bok choy,

x x x x x

King prawn, spring onion, chilli and coriander fritter – Laksa curry and coconut yoghurt.

I love cooking with South East Asian spices and I fancied making some little canape style dishes to enjoy at home with my lovely wife. Laksa is a curried soup, originating from Malaysia and Singapore and there are many different variations of this traditionally street food style dish. The most popular are the curried coconut soup with noodles and also a tamarind based broth. Both are usually with seafood.

I have played around with the laksa spices and incorperated them into some delicious canape style dishes with scallops and king prawns. They were really delicious and the flavour from the laksa spices really brought out the best of the seafood that I used.

 

ChefGary

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PRIVATE DINNER PARTY, Eleanor Willcox

I really do enjoy catering for Private Dinner Parties and I get passionate about them from the very first moment, starting with the initial confirmation of the date, right up until I get to prepare, cook and serve the food.  It gives me a great buzz when  I am in full swing, cooking away in the kitchen and it makes it all the more rewarding when I get such brilliant feedback as I did tonight. When I finish cooking for the evening, I always find it further rewarding to update my blog with a small write up, including some photos that I have taken from the Dinner Party.

My latest Dinner party was for Eleanor Willcox near Fleet, Hampshire, who was celebrating her Birthday with close friends and family. After exchanging a few emails and a telephone conversation to finalise Eleanor's menu, I was confident in some great choices that I would put together to ensure a fantastic evening, deserving of a Birthday celebration.

I arrived to a lovely converted bungalow with a beautiful spacious kitchen, giving me plenty of room to unpack and set up. Eleanor had gone to a lot of trouble organising her evening, even making up little menu cards for the table which were very elegant and looked really great. I usually supply napkins but there were some pretty little "Ladies shoes" already done so I just finished off the table with my cutlery. Everything went really well, from starter to dessert and I enjoyed meeting a fantastic bunch of people who really appreciated my food. Eleanor and Kevin were brilliant hosts and I was made to feel very welcome. It was  a pleasure cooking for everyone and I am sure I will do again in the future.

Menu

To begin:

Platter of:

Parma ham, rocket leaves and parmesan shavings, 

Dijon mustard, honey and sesame glazed pork chipolatas, 

Sizzling chorizo and red peppers,  

Marinated green olives, blush tomato and fresh basil,

 Freshly made cheddar, blush tomato and spring onion loaf, olive oil and balsamic.

Main-course:

Beef fillet Wellington, wrapped with chicken liver pate, Parma ham and puff pastry, red wine gravy.
Rosemary roasted baby potatoes, glazed carrots and parsnips, steamed broccoli.

To finish:

Trio of desserts:

Chocolate orange cheese cake,

Lemon crème brulee, honeycomb,

Raspberry cheese cake, fresh raspberries.

"Thank you so much for the fine feast that you put together for my birthday. Kevin has said that it was the best meal that he has ever eaten. We were very impressed with the quality of the ingredients that you used as well as the presentation and how delicious it all was. You have been brilliant throughout - I had a few guests who either had food allergies or were fussy eaters, but every time I spoke to you, you put me at ease and found alternatives - you are extremely knowledgeable and very professional in your field. 

Thanks once again for your part in making my birthday perfect" Eleanor and Kevin Willcox

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PRIVATE DINNER PARTY, Margaret Brown

I love all aspects of cooking and it is really rewarding when I get such positive feed back as I did from my latest dinner party, even more so when it involves my utmost favourite styles, creating a variety of amazing curries from different parts of Asia. I love to make everything from scratch, utilising the best quality ingredients to make my own curry pastes and sauces and I now make a lot of my curries from taste and experience. I gained a lot of my initial love for them when I visited Asia on my travels as a younger chef and from many books and television series, particularly from Ricky Stein who has had amazing experiences around Asia. 

We started the evening off with some light canapes that were enjoyed with a few drinks in the lounge area whilst I made the samosas and bhajis. These followed shortly afterwards which were thoroughly enjoyed before I dished up the curries. We had versatility in strengths of sauces, with the mild green Thai curry to the spicier beef Ran dang which is definitely one of my favourites. The butternut squash curry was inspired from North India with Kashmiri chillis and whole coriander and cumin seeds in the recipe. I also did a medium Sri Lankan style King prawn curry with ground spices, turmeric, ginger, dried lime and coconut milk, finished with  toasted cashew nuts. I also made fresh chapati dough and added sliced garlic, fresh coriander, cumin seeds and dried coconut for added texture and flavour.

The brulees were a great way to finish off the meal, and then coffee and petit fours were served in the lounge area.

I really enjoyed the whole evening and Margaret was a complete star, helping me in the kitchen when I was busy.

Menu

Canapes:

Char grilled asparagus spears, Parma ham, garlic and basil mayonnaise,

x x x

Crispy duck pan cake rolls, Sweet chilli sauce,

x x x

Tempura King prawns, mango mayonnaise,

To Begin:

Poppadoms,

x x x

Spiced potato samosas,

x x x

Crispy onion and coriander bhajis,

x x x

Diced red onion, cucumber, tomato, fresh coriander, lime,

Mango chutney, 

Fig and ginger chutney, 

Coconut yoghurt.

Main Course:

Beef Ran dang: 
Malaysian curry with red chilli, ginger, lemongrass, coriander , tamarind, coconut milk.
x x x
King prawn Sri Lankan curry: 
Ground coriander, garlic, cardamom, turmeric, green chilli, dried lime, coconut, cashew nuts.
x x x 
Thai chicken green curry:  
Green chilli, fresh coriander, galangal, lemongrass, Kaffir lime, coconut milk.
x x x
Butternut squash and spinach curry: 
Fresh chilli, garlic, ginger, coriander and cumin seeds, fenugreek, tomato, fresh coriander.
x x x
Cardamom and cinnamon rice
x x x

Garlic and coconut chapatis, Coriander naan bread.

To Finish:

Duo of creme brulee

Vanilla and honeycomb, vanilla and chocolate tuille,

White chocolate and raspberry.

Petit fours

Chocolate coated strawberries, 

Chocolate and orange truffles, sesame seeds.

"Thank you so much for all your efforts this evening.  The meal was fantastic and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Thank you again for a wonderful evening and see you soon" 

Margaret Bathurst Brown

"Thanks for a tremendous dinner last night.  Every course was spot on and I would be hard pressed to find a  favourite, they were all so good from the canapés through to the main meal.  It made a great evening and a wonderful way to say goodbye to Margaret.  

I’d love to have the recipe for the beef curry, if possible as that was exceptionally tasty" 

Brandon Ashton

"Just wanted to congratulate you on the wonderful dinner that you cooked for us on Friday.  Everything you gave us was absolutely delicious and it was a real treat to be able to relax and enjoy it.  Thank you for making our farewell for Margaret so memorable" 
Penny Charles

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PRIVATE DINNER PARTY, Sharon and James Sothcott

I cooked for Sharon and some of her friends for a "Girls night in" a few weeks ago and it was great to be asked back to cater for Sharon and James together for New years eve. Also attending were Jules and Sue Porter who recommended me to cook for Sharon the first time round. Jules and Sue did the photography for our wedding, making a lasting impression as such a great friendly couple, taking fantastic quality modern photographs and producing the most amazing job of our album that we have stayed friends since then. 

I have been looking forwards to cooking tonight for a good while as we came up with a very special menu, including six courses, with my utmost favourite of fillet of beef Wellington appearing as the star main-course.

Menu

Canapes:

Caramelised figs, Dolcalatte, balsamic, cinnamon,
Goats cheese, blush tomato, olives, filo pastry,

Crispy duck spring roll, sticky sweet chilli sauce.

x x x 

Cream of parsnip and apple soup, parsnip crisps.

x x x 

Grilled asparagus spears, Parma ham, Bearnaise sauce.

x x x

Saute King prawns, chorizo, chilli and garlic butter.

x x x 

Raspberry and pink champagne sorbet.

x x x

Fillet of beef Wellington, red wine gravy.

Dauphinoise potatoes, roasted chantaney carrots, winter greens.

x x x

Chocolate and cinnamon tarte, fresh raspberries, raspberry coulis.

I arrived just before 6:00p.m with my lovely wife to set up with James and Sharon greeting us very warmly and we were all looking forwards to the evening. As I had cooked for Sharon before, I was familiar with the kitchen and got things organised fairly quickly with the help of my wife. I cater for most Dinner parties on my own so it was great to have the extra hand. Canapes went out about 7:00p.m, which went down very well and we were in good stead for the remaining courses.

The whole evening went exceptionally well, with lots of great feed back from the guests. The whole group had a fantastic atmosphere and everyone was in the party mood. Karen and I joined the table for a celebration drink and it was really brilliant to be involved with the evening as much as we were.  After the dinner was finished we stayed on afterwards and it was a brilliant way to see the new year in. I look forwards to cooking for James and Sharon again as I had such  a rewarding night.


"It was an amazing night Gary and Karen, what a great team you are, the food was the best yet and I predict not the last time we all get together, top night with great food and beautifully presented. Thank you" Jules and Sue Porter

"It was a top evening thanks, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The food was amazing and everyone is raving about it" James Sothcott 

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PRIVATE DINNER PARTY, Liesl Devereux

I have had a great busy weekend cooking so far and I have just finished my latest Dinner Party for some previous guests of mine and also my favourite big cousin, Liesl. She asked me a little while back to cook for her and a group of friends to celebrate the birthday of her husband Richard. I have cooked for Richard's parents before and it was a pleasure to see Terry and Carolyn again as well as meeting some of Liesl's other friends.

I recently purchased my new camera, a Nikon 7000 and it was a great opportunity to try it out.

Menu

To begin:

Trio of bruschettas, rocket leaves, caramelized figs, balsamic.

Marinated olives, blush tomato, mozzarella,

Tomato, red onion and chilli salsa,

Wild mushrooms, tarragon, Parma ham,

Main-course:

Marinated fillet steak medallions, garlic and rosemary,

Hand cut chips, sweet potato croquette, saute winter greens, roasted chantaney carrots,

Masala and peppercorn sauce.

To finish:

Trio of desserts:

Strawberry and coconut mille fuille, mango and strawberry coulis,

Chocolate orange tarte,

Vanilla ice cream, brandy snap basket.

" I was buzzing last night. The meal was amazing" Liesl Devereux.

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PRIVATE DINNER PARTY, Terry and Carolyn

Canape Party, Jannette Finn

I catered for many BBQ's last summer and have great memories from Rob and Kate Buschelle's function near Andover. I was initially contacted by Kate's Mother, Jannette enquiring about my BBQ menus, so I was really happy to be contacted by her again to be asked to cater for a Christmas drinks party, also celebrating her Wedding anniversary.

I forwarded Jannette a choice of canapes that I felt would suit her occasion and she chose a great selection for her Christmas party. I Arrived shortly before the guests so I could  set up and things went smoothly, with the everyone enjoying the drinks and food throughout. Jannette used to be a caterer herself, so it must have been a strange feeling having me cater for her in her own home. However, Jannette seemed quite relaxed and was a great help, seeming more than happy to hand out the canapes when they were ready. I made everything from fresh ingredients on the day and I received great feedback from many guests so I was really pleased with the evening. Jannette and her husband Frank were fantastic hosts and I wish them a very happy anniversary for December 30th.

Menu

Caramelised figs, Parma ham, honey and cinnamon dressing,

Crispy duck spring rolls, sweet chili dip,

Game pate, red onion and port chutney, Granary toast,

Crispy Tempura prawns, lime and mango mayonnaise,

Bruschetta, mozzarella, blush tomato, black olive and fresh basil,

Avocado. mozzarella and fresh basil on puff pastry.

"Thank you so much Gary for making our drinks party special - everything produced was delectable I particulary loved the bruschetta - tempura prawns and caramelised figs and Frank loved the game pate - but everything was delicious, well presented and very well received by my guests. Many of the thank you letters I have received mention how interesting it was for them to witness you creating the canapes! It was wonderful for me to take the evening off from cooking and I felt competely confident in you, your food and presentation - thank you again and all good wishes for 2012" Janette and Frank Finn