Let's Get This Party Started

It's been difficult getting back into the swing of things since January and I needed a serious kick-in-in-the-you-know-what to get me going.  Lucky for me my Mom was able to provide that well needed boot when she hosted her monthly book club and recruited me to provide the food.   

The book taking centre stage for the evening was The Jade Peony, which is a story about an immigrant family living in Vancouver's Chinatown.  Naturally I wanted to keep with the Chinese theme so I set out to design the menu and table design for the evening.  I started a few weeks ago with the planning and the menu ended up looking like this:

• Sichuan Shrimp nestled on rice crisps with herbed aioli (pictured above)
  
• Sweet Crispy Duck Pizza's with caramelized onion and sweet soy tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese
  
• Baked Brie topped with an Asian mint pesto
• Smoked Salmon Pate drizzled with apple teriyaki sauce and crispy capers

• Sesame Creme Brulee served in Asian soup spoons with caramelized sugar and sesame Florentines
• Green Infused Tea Cheesecake with white chocolate and fresh raspberries
• Chinese Egg Custard Tarts paired with strawberries marinated in a dark anise syrup

To start off the posting frenzy that will cover the evenings eatables, let's take a look behind door #1...

Sichuan shrimp. 

The sauce for these shrimp turned out better than I expected with a perfect balance of sweet, sour and spice.  The original recipe from The Food of China calls for the shrimp to be served hot but for my purposes I cooked the shrimp in the sauce and then chilled them before service.  It was quick to put together and would also make a great stir-fry sauce.

Sichuan Shrimp:
Adapted from The Food of China (Sichuan-Style Braised Shrimp)

30 cooked shrimp with tails on
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sake
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp mirin
splash of homemade beef stock
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
sesame oil to taste
2 tsp cornstarch mixed with water

Heat several tsp of oil in a large skillet until hot, add the garlic and ginger, fry for several seconds before adding the next six ingredients.  Once heated add the shrimp and sesame oil and cook until the shrimp begin to deepen in color and curl slightly.   Add the cornstarch mixture and continue to cook until thickened.

Remove the shrimp from heat and chill.

Before assembling the crackers I prepared a simple herb aioli.  Combine 4-5 tbsp of mayo with 1 clove roasted garlic, 1 tsp chopped parsley, a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.  I placed about 1 tsp of aioli on a rice cracker and then placed one shrimp on top.

Comments

[Sara]

How beautiful! I've been looking for an appetizer for a dinner party for Easter - this may be it.

[Liz]

Hey Sara! How are you? It's a fairly easy thing to make, but it looks and tastes complicated. Good luck with it. Are you counting the sleeps to the Millarville Market yet? :o)

Liz

[Sara]

Hi! I'm doing pretty good, thanks. So glad to see you back. You are right, we can't wait for Millarville to open!