Dinner Party Canapé Recipes

Posted on March 14, 2013 by DM

If you love nothing more than putting on your apron, rummaging through the cupboards and seeing what culinary creations you can concoct, then it sounds like you are a passionate cook and a lover of good food.

As a keen cook, you are sure to enjoy relaxing on the sofa watching the food channel whilst reading through cooking magazines in your spare time. You probably have GoodFood.com and AllRecipes.com bookmarked alongside FoxyBingo.com and Sky News on your computer internet history as well. So why not impress your pals and show then your cooking skills by hosting a dinner party?

When guests arrive at your home, they’re sure to be feeling very peckish which is why we’ve come up with some quick and easy canapé recipes.

Why not welcome your dinner party guests with a cocktail and offer them a dish of neatly presented nibbles? Something quick and easy is recommended since you’ll want to spend most of your time focusing on the main course and the dessert.

Blini Bites

Why not try topping bread Blinis with mushroom pate and a black olive, or even smoked salmon mixed with chive flavored cream cheese? You could even top with mango chutney and a king prawn.

Savory swiss roll bites

This tasty mini rolls are sure to go down a treat. Begin by cutting the crusts off soft white bread, then use a rolling pin to squash the bread flat. This makes the base of your roll-up canapés which you can fill with anything you fancy. We recommend brie cheese and cranberry sauce, salmon and cream cheese or mushroom pate and olives. Once you’ve spread your filling on the flattened bread, carefully roll it up like a swiss roll. Slice the roll into 3 or 4 pieces. They’ll resemble sushi rolls. Turning the rolls on their side will reveal the swirled patten of the bread and display the filing.

Sweet potato bites

These sweet and soft potato bites will go down beautifully with your vegetarian pals. Peel and cube a sweet potato before laying them in a pre-heated baking tray. Drizzle over some olive oil, honey and lemon juice, then sprinkle over some sesame seeds. Bake in the oven until they’re soft and skewer onto toothpicks.

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My Best Chicago Restaurant Week Experiences, Ranked

Posted on March 3, 2013 by John Elstad

I’m a big fan of Chicago Restaurant Week.  While I don’t necessarily think it’s a phenomenal deal across the board (although you can find some really sweet deals out there), I love the event-focused nature across tons of varied restaurants in this awesome culinary city. It’s a wonderful way to get excited about going to dinner, and ensuring that you get 3 courses during a sit down dinner with friends. I typically try and do 2 or 3 combinations of lunch and dinner during that week, and decided to reminisce a bit via this page on my favorite restaurant week experiences in Chicago over the past few years that I’ve been doing it.  I really don’t think I’ll be able to recall every single dish, so I’m going to rank these on overall memorability of my experiences there.

1) Aria, Dinner 2012

This definitely was the best Restaurant Week experience that I’ve had by far, based on a combination of excellent food and service.  I can even recall all the dishes that I ordered since they were that good.  I had this wonderfully light short rib appetizer, a beautiful XO scallop entree, and a pineapple chili ice dish for desert.  I believe these are all on their normal menu, and this is one of the scenarios in which the restaurant week menu is a fantastic deal.  The scallop dish is normally about the same cost as the whole prixe fixed menu!  The service is what really propelled this experience to the top.  Many times during rest. week, I get the sense that the servers have to go along with this, and aren’t too excited for it.  It’s like they feel like they could generate higher bills and tips if the patrons are ordering off of the full menu.  There was no sense of this at Aria whatsoever.  From the host, to the server, to the sommelier, to the head chef herself, everyone seemed to be really excited about this great opportunity to bring new people into their restaurant.  Bev had just recently packed her knives from Top Chef, and was very open and generous as she walked around from table to table, honestly and eagerly interested in if everyone had enjoyed their visit.

2) David Burke’s Primehouse, Lunch 2010, 2011 and Dinner 2012

DB’s Primehouse is close to my office, thus the multiple visits during all 3 years that I’ve been hitting up restaurant week.  There IS a reason that I kept going back though.  It’s a fantastic meal for the price.  I recall a really nice surf and turf dumpling appetizer, Wagyu carpaccio on a block of pink salt, one of the best burgers I’ve ever had, a solid steak, and a dessert that is comprised of 3 different items.  $22 for lunch or $33 for dinner is well worth it.  Hit this place up if you’re looking for a place to hit over restaurant week. Reservations tend to be easier than some of the other buzzworthy locations.

3) Devon Seafood Grill, Dinner 2011

My family came in to visit one year over rest. week, and I booked us a table at Devon Seafood Grill.  I really liked the modern/sleek layout of this place, and the overall vibe in general.  Given the size of our party, we were given a table in a little secluded side-room, which was really cool.  I recall a lobster bisque, and a very attentive, genial server. Absolutely towards the top of my experiences over restaurant week, give them a shot.

4) Nacional 27, Dinner 2013

This is a recent visit, and one where I sensed the serving staff wasn’t the biggest fan of rest. week.  However, the menu was fantastic, and we all got to try a wide variety of food. A nice experience, but the service was lacking a bit.  They had a flyer that said free salsa dancing lessons on Thurs. night, so keep that in mind if you’re into that.  The best thing was the grilled kabob style skirt steak, sausage, peppers, onions, and the roasted corn, rice, chimichurri, and sauce that came with it.  Real good.


5) Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse, Lunch 2012

I was a little skeptical going into this meal, since the idea of a celebrity-owned steakhouse is a bit cheesy.  However, this Michigan Ave. spot located within a hotel had a classy, upscale steakhouse vibe to it.  The food was your typical steakhouse fare, but all in all I enjoyed myself.  Not sure if I’d go back, but if you’re in the area around Restaurant Week, this is a valid option (although David Burke’s Primehouse is pretty close, and there’s a reason why it’s higher up on my list here).

6) GT Fish and Oyster Bar, Lunch 2013

This one is fresh in my mind, since I just ate there this past week.  I also had dinner here for my birthday back in April of this year.  I really really want to like GT Fish and Oyster Bar more than I actually do.  The interior design and layout of this restaurant feels modern and hip, but there really is a fishy smell inside that’s not very appealing.  We’ll see if I make it back there, but if I’m in the mood for a Lobster Roll, I’m definitely going to New England Seafood Company.  Bigger, meatier, and far superior to what I’ve had at GT.  The shoestring onions at GT were good, but I wasn’t a big fan of the side of pickled vegetables.

7) Duchamp, Dinner 2010 Meh, I see that they are closed now.  This ranking sure does correlate with that.  Each course just seemed really average, and uninspired.  They had the communal tables, and our server really didn’t seem into the whole Restaurant Week concept.

8) May Street Market, Dinner 2010 The main thing that I recall about this meal that the lighting in the restaurant was just awful.  Kind of a flat darkness, which gave everything sort of a gray color (including the food).  Not surprised that they are no longer around, and they wrap up the bottom of my list here.

I’ll be sure to update this list after next year’s rest. week, and we’ll see how this list will change!  Hoping to try out a Blackbird, or something along those lines.


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Chipotle Needs an App that Works with Passboook

Posted on November 2, 2012 by John Elstad

I’m getting ready to meet up with a friend for lunch at an old and trusty favorite, Chipotle Mexican Grill (stock ticker $CMG). I’ve also been spending a lot more money at Starbucks lately (stock ticker $SBUX), and I’d say it’s 99.5% likely due to their incredible iPhone App. Apple has shown this functionality on their iPhone commercials, but if you’re not familiar, you can now pay for your coffee, latte, or whatever you fancy just by opening the app and scanning a code which is tied back to a Starbucks Card. It’s amazing. I know that I’m spending money, but to be honest it feels completely different than busting out a debit card or cash. The fact that you can set your card to reload, makes this more dangerous. Even more dangerous still, Apple’s Passbook in ios6 can sense when you’re at one of your favorite Starbucks locations and automatically bring your account up. I like to think of myself as a smart, frugal person, but I just want to reiterate that I’ve also been visiting Starbucks more than I ever have in the past. This could be disastrous for those people who already tend to make daily visits to their main source of caffeine. As I write this, Starbucks’ stock is up about 11% on the day due to a quarter that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations. Now, I haven’t really even seen the numbers or listened to a conference call, but my logic is telling me that a lot of other people are behaving just like I am when it comes to their coffee habits. It’s a win/win all around….customers are happy, service is quicker, and the company makes more money. Which brings me back to the original reason that I’m typing this out….

Why doesn’t Chipotle have an app that is featured on Passbook? Every time that I visit a Chipotle, there is a line. Granted, they’ve gotten pretty good about cranking out that line, but I also get the sense that everyone is in a complete panic behind that glass wall. It’s efficient, but I still have to bust out my credit card or cash to finish things off. It would be even better if I could just pull out my phone like I do at Starbucks, scan eat, and then prepare myself for that great, familiar burrito anticipation that is pretty unique to Chipotle. So to the folks at Chipotle, PLEASE GET ON IT! I can pretty much guarantee that I’ll be in there more often, if my experience at Starbucks can foreshadow anything.

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In 2012, the “&” is King

Posted on June 25, 2012 by John Elstad

I like to keep an eye out for trends in the overall “hipster-foodie-gourmet” gastronomical world, and in 2012 it appears the ampersand is ruling. A few years back, it seemed like any hip restaurant only needed one word and one syllable (see: Tru, Sprout, Spring, Fork, etc). These days, it’s all about lengthy restaurant names, with just the perfect amount of Wes Anderson-esque quirkiness.

For me, I first noticed this trend when Top Chef winner Stephanie Izzard opened up the uber trendy “Girl & the Goat”.

- The Walrus & The Carpenter (Seattle)
- Frog and Snail (Chicago)
- The Butcher & Larder (Chicago)
- Chef & The Farmer (North Carolina)
- Butcher & The Boar (Minneapolis)

What other ones examples of this naming convention are out there? Feel free to leave comments on this post – I’d be interested to see what other conjoined combinations these trendy chefs are coming up with…

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2012 Memorial Day: Indy 500, Grilling, and Your Party Playlist

Posted on May 24, 2012 by John Elstad

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already Memorial Day weekend! Crazy. At least we’ve had a fantastic spring here in Chicago, which is more than we can say for the past couple of years… We’re heading down to Indianapolis for the Indy 500 this year. Really excited about it, and have heard some great things. This will be my first time going, and if you have any tips on the best way to experience this classic event, please post them in the comments!

What do you have planned for the weekend? Don’t forget that we’ve got a great Grilled Chicken recipe and music playlist posted on our site. Click here to check it out. If you don’t have the songs already, we’ve posted links to them in iTunes. Enjoy the long weekend!!

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Posted on December 20, 2011 by John Elstad

Holiday Playlists to Mix Up Your Party


Courtesy of Douglas Elliman Real Estate Company, agents for NYC apartments.

With the holiday season here, it also means that holiday party season is here too. It’s a great time to gather with family members, friends and even co-workers socializing over food and drinks. If you’re getting ready to host your own holiday get together, food and drinks aren’t the only factors to consider in your party planning. You’ll want to set the whole mood for your party with festive décor and even a playlist to match the ambiance you’re creating. Here are a few suggestions to get jump start your playlist for whatever type of holiday soiree you envision:

Classic Family Affair

When it’s time to sit down with your family, think of sitting next to Aunt Helen catching up on what you’ve been up to for the last year over your glass of eggnog. You don’t want any music blasting over the table full of conversation and retellings of last year’s Christmas dinner embarrassing stories; enjoy your classic ham and potatoes with wine to a slower, quieter mix of Christmas tunes like the ones below.
o Christmas Waltz – Frank Sinatra
o Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley
o It’s Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas – Bing Crosby
o A Holly Jolly Christmas – Burl Ives
o Silent Night – Josh Groban

Classy Cocktail Party

If you’re heading to an after work, office party or throwing an adults only holiday shindig, you’ll want your tunes to be as bubbly and carefree as the champagne you’ll sip all night. Pair some easy hors d’oeuvres, like shrimp cocktail, mini meatballs, and pepperoni bread, with some spiked eggnog and these fun songs to keep your party swaying and socializing.
o Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
o Feliz Navidad – Jose Feliciano
o It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year – Andy Williams
o All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

If you’re ready to release some holiday stress steam, invite your closet friends over in their ugliest holiday sweaters, order pizza and buy some red and green solo cups to keep rocking around your Christmas tree to this fun holiday mix.
o White Christmas – Sister Hazel
o Christmas Wrapping – The Waitress
o Wizards in Winter – Trans Siberian Orchestra
o I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas – Gayla Peevey
o Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Bruce Springsteen

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Throwing an Inexpensive Wedding? Wedding Under 5k has You Covered.

Posted on September 3, 2011 by John Elstad

Is your wedding not going to end up on MTV, Platinum Weddings, Bridezillas, or the cover of People Magazine? Do you not care about riding into your reception on an elephant while being fed grapes from egyptian themed man-servants? Trust me, you’re not alone. If you’re a sane individual, then you know that blowing $100,000 on your wedding day is probably not a good idea. The folks at http://weddingunder5k.com are posting some really great tips on how to save money on, and before, your wedding day.  They go over things like saving money on save the dates, wedding dance ideas, organizing wedding photos, and more.  Keep checking back, because they’ve recently launched, and will be posting awesome wedding tips and tricks frequently.  They can be your source to help plan your awesome, yet budget friendly wedding!

While we’re on that topic, we’ll throw in a wedding tip of our own! Use our wedding playlists for dinner and your reception, and set up a laptop and a PA system.  Is it just me, or do Wedding DJ’s seem to be on the same pay scale as Doctors and Lawyers?  Cut out the cheesy DJ, and focus on the music/dancing!

 

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Grant Achatz: Culinary Genius, Marketing Genius, or Both?

Posted on August 13, 2011 by John Elstad

I’ll start this blog post off with a caveat. I still have yet to eat at Alinea or Next Restaurant, OR have a cocktail at Aviary. These are all establishments from the brain of celebrity chef Grant Achatz, and all are based in Chicago.   It’s possible that this is because I wasn’t brought up spending hundreds of dollars on MY own dinner at a restaurant, or that I haven’t yet achieved a bank account in which an 18 course, $210 meal makes a lot of economical sense to me.  However, it seems to be making a lot of sense to other people in the Windy City.

Let’s start off with Alinea, since that was the first restaurant of the three to open its doors.  This year, Alinea was named the #6 restaurant in the world, so there obviously must be something behind the hype.  Taking a look through the pictures of food on their website is like surfing for potential pieces of art for an upscale downtown loft.  The dishes are so artistically created that to me, they start to hardly resemble food at all.  I might even feel a twinge of guilt actually EATING the ensemble placed in front of me.  Aside from the arrangement, I’ve heard tales about specific scents being pumped near your table to be paired with certain courses, and step by step instructions on how to eat certain dishes.  I’ll admit, it adds a much higher level of excitement and engagement to what could be viewed as a daily chore by some, eating dinner.  This level of hype has lead to highly coveted reservations, made many months in advance.  Kind of hard to believe, in such uncertain economic times that have forced countless restaurants to close their doors.  For anyone reading this, is the food THAT GOOD?  Does the restaurant deserve this level of exaltation?  Or has Grant Achatz and his team engineered a level of supply and demand that induces a “foodie frenzy”.  I’ve heard that if Rolex lowers the price of their watches, they ultimately sell less.  Could this be the case for Alinea as well?

wine.com

Moving forward to Next (no pun intended).  I’ll have to admit, I really really love this concept, and have a feeling that this team of restaurateurs is nailing it.  Why?  Because people have sold their exclusive “Tickets” (a re-branding of your standard reservation) on Craigslist for thousands of dollars.  Again, Foodie Frenzy.  Their concept is that they create a short-term menu based on a time and place.  When the restaurant opened, their mission was to take diners back to 1906 Paris.  Brilliant, right?  Their current menu focus on the food of Thailand, but they neglect to mention a date.  Should we assume current day?  I think it’s kind of a ballsy move to create an upscale Thai menu, in a city with countless regional thai restaurants.  They’re really going to need to set themselves apart, and justify the price tags that they charge for a meal there.  As you can see from this YouTube video though, they really impart a sense of flash, artsy-ness, style, and confidence.  It ALMOST feels like you’re watching an Apple commercial or something….check it out.

Next, Thailand

 

I’m really interested to see which times and places they explore in the upcoming months/years.  Given the voracious demand for tables there, I’m sure they will be coming up with new experiences for quite a while.

Lastly, there’s the cocktail bar Aviary.  Their approach to drinks seems to have the same complexness that the dishes at Alinea do.  I’d love to check it out sometime, and really haven’t talked to too many people who have been there before.  Thus, I can’t say a whole lot about.  However, this is where the marketing genius really comes in.  They’ve opened a speakeasy underneath the bar, and the only way you can get in is if you’re INVITED.  Not open to the public.  We’re talking a level of exclusivity beyond even the famed Studio 54.  Given the level of hype and prestige that the other Achatz joints have, this is really taking it to the next level.  I don’t even think it has a name, and apparently it doesn’t even need to.

I’d love to hear your opinions of any of these places if you’ve been.  Maybe someday (hopefully soon), I’ll be able to offer up my own opinions on each of them.  That way, I can offer up my own real opinions on them, beyond my own external perceptions.  If anyone on the Achatz team is reading this, I’d be totally open to an invitation to try them out for a review.  You can email me at dinnerpartyplaylist@gmail.com ;)


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Quick tip for using Restaurant.com

Posted on August 6, 2011 by John Elstad

Have you used restaurant.com before? If so, listen up. It’s a great resource to find some great new restaurants in your area. In large cities like Chicago, there’s a neverending supply of new/old/hyped up/hole in the wall spots that I’ve spent the past few years trying to conquer. Restaurant.com is a deal website, in the same vein as Groupon. However, instead of placing a daily time limit on the deal in question, they offer up gift certificates for a fraction of the price. The standard certificate is $25 for $10, but here’s the tip that I want to give. Sign up for email reminders from them. I’m not sure exactly why they do this, but it’s seriously a rotational sale of 50%, 60%, 70%, and 80% off their normal rates! So, an 80% discount equates to basically $2 for a 25 dollar restaurant certificate. I’ll ignore the 50-70 percent off deals and then stock up when they offer an 80% off deal. Don’t EVER buy a gift card from restaurant.com at full price….there’s no need to do so. We’ve tried some really great new restaurants and got some amazing deals at them using this 80% off method. There’s typically a minimum dollar order, so it’s a great opportunity to try an appetizer, dessert, or splurge for that expensive entree. Enjoy!


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Chicago Food Trucks

Posted on May 11, 2011 by John Elstad

I’ve been living here in Chicago for about 5 years now, and have heard more about food trucks in the last 3 months than I had in the previous 4 years and 9 months….and I love it! This may have a lot to do with the fact that Twitter didn’t exist for much of that time, or mobile eCommerce solutions like Square weren’t yet born either; that just goes to show how quickly things are changing in our world. I know this concept has taken off in other parts of the US – I recall a row of food trucks (or stands?) when i took a trip out to Portland a couple years back. I’m just glad that we’re getting a nice selection of them here in Chicago.

The Southern's Mac and Cheese Truck

MMmmmm, mac and cheese

Here’s a selection of Chicago food trucks that I’m aware of. If you know of some other ones, please leave them in the comments section! I left of the cupcake trucks off of this list on purpose, fyi.

Hummingbird Kitchen

The Gaztro-Wagon

The Meatyballs Mobile

The Southern Mac and Cheese Truck

Simple Sandwich

Happy Bodega

Follow these guys on Twitter to know where they’ll be (lord knows we have)! They definitely add a fun spontaneity to lunch around the city. I’ve yet to really experience one yet, but I’m sure I’ll get around to exploring this food truck craze soon. Leave some tips in the comments section, and good luck with your mobile food adventures.


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