Impromptu Dinner Party: Brent & Ty Take Over
May 13, 2009 by Culinary Cory
Filed under Beverages, Entertaining, Stories
After returning home from a wonderful trip in Toronto, the last thing I wanted to do was eat in yet another restaurant. I craved a home cooked meal and the comfort of relaxing in the backyard, without the annoyance of servers asking us if we were American based on what we ordered. While trying to decide on what to have for dinner, I noticed a stack of magazine clippings Ihad read during my trip were still on the kitchen table. It was as if the torn sheets were begging me to test them and create an impromptu dinner party.
As you may know from my Hello Toronto post, my friend Ty took the liberty of sharing his photographic perspective by creating a mini photo shoot at one of the restaurants we dined in Toronto. Since it would be his last meal with us before traveling back to his native land of Atlanta, I thought it would be fun to create an impromptu dinner party series of posts with him as my guest photographer. Then to take things even further, Brent was in charge of transforming my ingredient preparation into works of art through his masterful grilling techniques.
The Menu:
- Beverage: Strawberry Bellini
- Appetizer: Assorted Cheeses and Sausage Nibbles
- Salad: Tomato Feta Salad with Basil Parsley Vinaigrette
- Entrée: Grilled Lemon Rosemary Chicken
- Side: Grilled Vegetable Kabobs
- Dessert: Grilled Angel Food Cake with Balsamic Strawberries
I have to admit, it was a ton of fun having Brent and Ty take over. It was as if I had my own personal team of stylists working to make my recipes look as magical as they taste. I hope you enjoy photos, stories and flavors over the next several posts as much as I enjoyed this home cooked meal.
Strawberry Bellini
Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine1 pint strawberries, rough chopped
¼ cup powdered sugar
2 Tbl. brandy
1 bottle Prosecco sparkling wine
whole strawberries for garnishPulse the chopped strawberries, brandy and powdered sugar in a food processor until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and chill until ready to use. Spoon a desired amount of the strawberry mixture into Champagne or tall wine glasses. Then, fill the each glass with the Prosecco and garnish with a whole strawberry. Serves 4 – 6 glasses.
Authors Note: This was the first time I made this recipe. I didn’t like how the pulp floated to the top of the glass. It made for an odd texture when I took a sip. In the future I will probably skip the food processor step, quarter the strawberries, and toss with the other ingredients. I think seeing chunks of strawberries at the bottom of each glass will create a much more interesting presentation.
Photos by: Ty Wong (left in picture above)
Cooking and Styling by: Brent Ricketts (right in picture above)
Writing by: Cory Van Horn
Eating by: Jimmy Lohr
Print This Recipe
Subscribe to Culinary Cory
Thanks for adding me to your blog list. I really enjoy reading yours.
Beautiful pics, and you look like you’re having a lot of fun! I’ve added you to my blog list. Great blog!
That looks like a very refreshing drink. And I agree that chunks of fruit at the bottom of the glass would look more appetizing than pulp floating on top. Still very pretty, though
Grilled Angel Food Cake with Balsamic Strawberries now there’s a recipe I wouldn’t mind having at ALL! The rest of the menu looks pretty darn good too!
I just did a post about Harry’s Bar, home of the Bellini, the Harry’s Bar Cookbook suggests using a food mill or a meat grinder to make a puree and then to force it through a fine sieve. I don’t see why you couldn’t use strawberries instead of white peaches. He also suggests sugar syrup if sweetener is needed. Just a thought:)
The evening was a blast! I hope everyone enjoys the pictures and stories that are coming from it.
The bellini was good, but take Cory’s advise in his authors note. They would have been better either made in more of a Sangria style (larger fruit pieces), or more traditionally with a strained syrup/nectar style. We will be trying more for sure!
The main thing to remember is the Prosecco… so much better than Champagne.
The whole menu sounds amazing – looking forward to the recipes. I could drink a few of those bellinis.
Such a cute photo of Ty and Brent.
You popped into my google reader as a featured blog this AM – and I’m happy to have found you. Looks like and very nice food photography.
Brent + Ty are adorable…I would love to be at this dinner party
for the gorgeous food and the cool company…
Well done, Brent + Ty…beautiful images as well…
That bellini is lookin’ good!