Spring Fling...on the cheap

The key to elegant entertaining on a budget is to keep your menu and décor as seasonal as possible. Both food and flowers are always less expensive when bought during their peak growing season. Not to mention that’s when they taste and look their best. Try to think out of the box as much as possible, scour your house for creative uses for everyday things. For example I often use a scarf as a table runner and my drinking glasses for tea light holders. I’ve also been known to use my clear glass vases as vessels for serving anything from veggies and dip to fruit punch. It’s amazing how many things you already have on hand to set a truly elegant table.  

Menu

Steamed Mussels in Lemon Curry Cream Sauce 

Asparagus Prosciutto Roses with Lemon Olive Oil

Angel Hair Pasta tossed with Fruits of the Sea, Candied Lemon Peel, and Capers 

Lemon Mousse Tarts with a Ginger Snap crust topped with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Décor

Use a curtain panel as a table cloth! I bought this one in the clearance section of a discount store for $10- who cares if someone spills red wine on it!

The black table runner is actually one of my scarves...I bought it for $2 at a secondhand store.

3 tall glass vases are usually on the mantle of my fireplace filled with sea shells and white pillar candles; they were originally purchased for $10 each at a liquidation store.

Lemons in the vase are from my fridge and will be made into lemonade among other things after the dinner party is over.

The yellow tulips are in season right now so they were a steal at $20 for all of them. The greens on the sideboard were just snipped from my garden.

The silver chargers were purchased on clearance for $5 for a set of 4 after Christmas one year and I’ve have been using them ever since.

The gorgeous china was my first and only purchase from the home shopping channel about 15years ago and they too were a steal- if remembering correctly... they were $100 for a set of 6 including serving pieces and coffee/ tea service!

The small square dishes filled with parmesan cheese curls and baguette slices are actually vases from elsewhere in the house!

Wine, water, and martini glasses I already owned but can be easily purchased for a dollar or two at any dollar store.

Silverware is a family heirloom each of my siblings was given a set of 6 when we got married, but mismatched silverware from a second store looks equally nice; I especially like when each guest has their own pattern.

Mercury glass birds were marked down Christmas ornaments from a grocery store ...they were all of $2.50 each.

The tea light holders are my small kitchen drinking glasses.

Yellow napkins are from the dollar store, normally I prefer cloth but wasn’t able to find the color I wanted for a price I was willing to pay- so paper it is!

* A good rule of thumb if you want a luxe looking modern setting is repetition. Notice the bold color scheme is limited to black and white with hits of yellow. The centerpiece is 3 of the same vases in a row, 4 of the same tea lights, 2 of the same birds ECT.

 Recipes- Total cost of the meal is approx. $36.50

Candied Lemons (approx. $.50)

1c              sugar

1c              water

2                lemons

Slice one lemon into 1/4” thick circles. Cut the other lemon into quarters lengthwise, and then carefully remove the fruit from the skin. Reserve the fruit for use in another recipe. Remove as much of the white pith that lines the lemon skin as possible...it is very bitter. If you can start seeing clearish dots through the white you’ve removed enough. Slice the lemon skin lengthwise in thin strips.

 Preheat oven to 350.

Mix water and sugar in a small saucepan and place on medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Turn temperature to low and place the lemon slivers and the lemon slices into the sugar mixture and continue to simmer until they start to appear translucent. This only takes about 10 minutes or so.

Gently remove lemons from the syrup (keep the syrup) and let the excess syrup drip off. Carefully place onto parchment lined baking sheets (not touching each other). Bake at 300 for 5 minutes then turn off the heat but keep the lemons in the oven to slowly dry out. About 2 hours.  Let cool and set aside to be used in the following recipes.

Sweet and Spicy Lemon Garlic Prawns and Scallops

100gm    scallops

12           prawns peeled and deveined (fresh or frozen)

1/2c        lemon syrup (from making candied lemons)

1tsp        salt

4             cloves garlic

2             dried red chilies (crushed)

1tbsp       butter 

Pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and let marinate overnight (or as long as possible)

Place the butter into a hot skillet and toss in the marinated shrimp and scallops (not the marinade) sauté until they are slightly caramelized...DO NOT OVER COOK! Set aside to be tossed in with the Angel Hair Pasta.

Angel Hair Pasta tossed with Fruits of the Sea, Candied Lemon Peel, and Capers (approx. $11.00)

1          900gm pack of angel hair pasta (cooked al dente)

1/2c     olive oil

6          cloves of garlic (crushed)

1/2       100gm jar of capers (drained and diced if they are large

1           candied slivered lemon peel from one lemon

1           handful of parsley (finely chopped)

4           juice of 4 lemons

100gm salmon lox (I use trim- it’s cheaper)

Sweet and Spicy Lemon Garlic Prawns

Any extra mussels from making the appetizer (not the sauce)

Salt (start with 3/4 tsp) and pepper to taste

Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Simply toss everything together. This pasta is delicious hot or cold (great to take on a picnic!)

Lemon Mousse Tarts with Ginger Snap crust topped with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote (approx. $5.00)

These look complicated but they really aren’t! They can even be made a day ahead of time.

1c               strawberries diced

1c               rhubarb diced (about 3 stalks)

1/2c            sugar

1tsp            ginger

Place everything into a medium sized pot and simmer on medium heat until the rhubarb is so soft. Remove from heat and place in a fine sieve to drain out the liquid (reserve it for later use) place both the liquid and the compote in the fridge until completely cooled.

1/2c              whipping cream

1c                 lemon yogurt (I use island farms)

3tsp              unflavored gelatin (dissolved in 1/3c of boiling water)

2tbsp            vanilla               

1tbp              sugar

Place whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and whip at high speed until light and fluffy. In a small bowl, combine boiling water and gelatin, whisk until it dissolves and then add it to the lemon yogurt. Now slowly fold it into the whipped cream. When the yogurt is completely incorporated set aside in the fridge until needed.

3                      long stalks of rhubarb                                                                                                     (cut a thin strip off the top and bottom lengthwise- like wide ribbon)

1/2c                 lemon syrup (reduced by 1/2)

6                     ginger snaps (I like Peak Freans “Ginger Crisps”)

6                     strawberry halves and candied lemon slices for garnish

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Gently slip the 6 rhubarb ribbons into the boiling water. Leave them in for a minute or 2, just until pliable but not falling apart. Carefully remove them and place on a paper towel to cool.

Place each gingersnap separately on a baking sheet. Use a rhubarb ribbon to form a collar around a ginger snap and hold the seam closed with one hand until it is filled with mousse which will hold it in place nicely.

Now take your Mousse and spoon it on top of the gingersnap lightly pressing it down. Fill the collar to the top. Repeat until you’ve completed all six desserts. Next take the cooled Strawberry Rhubarb Compote and spoon it on top of the mousse.

Place cookie sheet in the fridge to set. Garnish with a strawberry, a drizzle of reduced lemon syrup and a candied lemon slice. Gorgeous!  

Steamed Mussels in Lemon Curry Cream Sauce (approx. $12.50)

1/2c                        water (white wine if you have it)

2                            lemons (juice and rind)

1tsp                        salt

1/2tsp                    curry powder

3                            cloves of garlic (crushed)

1/2                          red pepper (finely diced)

1.5lbs                     fresh muscles (presoaked and rinsed- discard any open ones!)

1                             handful of parsley (chopped)

1c                           whipping cream

1                             baguette

Place first 8 ingredients in a pot that has a tight fitting lid and bring to a slow boil. Add the mussels and cover. Let steam on low heat for about 3-6 minutes or until the mussels have opened. Remove the mussels, discarding any unopened ones, and add the whipping and parsley. Simmer on medium heat for a few minutes until sauce is slightly reduced.

Serve in mussels on a puddle of the cream sauce in a martini glass and serve with fresh baguette cut on an angle for dipping.

Asparagus Prosciutto Roses with Lemon Olive Oil (approx. $6)

1/4c                 olive oil

2                      rind of 2 lemons (pith removed)

Place in a small saucepan on low heat for about 15 minutes or until you can smell the lemon. Remove the lemon rind and set aside to cool.

6                      asparagus spears (blanched)

6                      slices of prosciutto

Place an asparagus spear on the plate. Now fold a piece of prosciutto in half and roll until you’ve reached you desired size, pinch one side (like making a tissue paper flower.) cut off any excess length and approx. 1” of the pinched bottom (reserve the trimming for later use) Place on top of the pointy part of the asparagus, and voila you a rose! Garnish with a few drops of olive oil, maybe even some lemon syrup, and some chopped candied lemon if you have any left. Repeat the process until you’ve completed all six.

Blush of Spring Spritzer (approx. $2-non alcoholic)

                     Reserved liquid from strawberry rhubarb compote

1/4                 of a can of concentrated orange juice (thawed)

1                    juice of one lemon

1/4c               sugar

1                    750ml bottle of white wine (optional)

1                    1 liter bottle of soda water

                      Any extra strawberries or lemon slices you may have

Mix the first 5 ingredients into a large pitcher or punch bowl. Slowly add the soda water and toss in the fruit.