The Last Shebang Revisited

The Last Shebang was a party that took place two weeks ago, and yes, it's taken me this long to get around to writing down the recipes for the stuff people liked. The theme of the dinner was pink, whether or not anyone else actually noticed. I'd say almost everything went over well, with some minor hitches involving the asparagus and timing. I had a lovely time, and I hope the guests did as well. For a last hurrah in Reston it will just have to do.
Here's the menu:

Appetizers
Herbed Goat Cheese on Endive leaves
Prosciutto & Melon

Entree
Peppered Beef Tenderloin
Roasted Garlic and Dill Baby Potatoes
Green Beans with Meyer Lemon Aioli (should have been asparagus...)

Dessert
White Chocolate Champagne Ice Cream with Fresh Strawberries

Drink
Blood Orange Punch

and on to the recipes...

Goat Cheese on Endive Leaves
This one isn't so much a recipe, as being specific as to what I used. I bought the fines herbes goat cheese from Trader Joes and mashed it up with a fork to distribute the herbs a bit more, then placed it on the broad ends of endive leaves in about half teaspoon sized lumps. A five or six ounce log served 8 of us pretty well as munchables spread over three heads of endive, using mostly the the larger leaves and not the tiny inner ones.

Prosciutto and Melon
Again, not really a recipe. Just chunk up some cantaloupe (or honeydew if you're adventurous) and wrap it with pieces of prosciutto. The prosciutto will stick to itself, so just make sure you've got pieces long enough to either get all the way around the melon or enough to layer all the way around.

Peppered Tenderloin

Ingredients:
-2-3 pound beef tenderloin
-4 Tbsp coarse ground black pepper
-olive oil
-kosher salt

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan or roasting pan in foil (optional, but recommended). Place roast in 9x13 diagonally or in roasting pan's rack. Rub on olive oil to coat on all sides and cover in black pepper, making sure to get it on all sides as well. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Place in oven uncovered for 45-65 minutes depending on desired doneness. 45 minutes will be medium to medium rare, depending on the size of the roast. Check it with a thermometer if you're aiming for a specific level. I recommend cooking to medium or medium rare if you're going to use it for leftovers, as reheating will cook it further. The thin end of the loin will also be further along than the middle, so keep that in mind if you're cooking for people who prefer differing degrees of done. Remove from oven and allow to rest for at least ten minutes before slicing.


Roasted Garlic and Dill Baby Potatoes

Ingredients:
-2 heads garlic
-olive oil
-1/2 stick butter, softened
-3-4 pounds baby or new potatoes, the smaller the better, and red ones if your theme is pink
-2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
-kosher salt

Directions:
Slice the tops off of the heads of garlic, drizzle the innards with olive oil and roast wrapped in foil in a 425 degree oven for 20-40 minutes until golden brown and soft. Allow the garlic to cool, then squeeze out the roasted cloves into a bowl and mash with a fork. Add the softened butter and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
Boil whole baby potatoes in a large pot. Drain and return to the still-hot pot. Scrape the butter/garlic mix onto the potatoes, top with the dill and shake the pot to coat the potatoes with the melting garlic butter and dill, tossing with a large spoon to make sure all potatoes have been coated. Sprinkle with kosher salt and shake pan to distribute.



White Chocolate Champagne Ice Cream
(This deserves a post of it's own, but it's here anyway. It is a bit on the extravagant/decadent side, but very much worth it. If you feel the champagne is too over the top, feel free to omit and just enjoy the white chocolate ice cream on its own. Serve this with fresh fruit, or possibly with cake or brownies or cookies. It's quite good alone, but sublime with fresh strawberries. This recipe started as an adaptation of the one in David Lebovitz's Perfect Scoop. I've said it before, I'll say it again--GO BUY IT. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 quarts.)

Ingredients:
-2 1/4 cups champagne, divided
-2 cups whole milk
-pinch of salt
-2/3 cup sugar, plus two tablespoons
-5 egg yolks
-8 oz white chocolate, chopped fine
-1 cup heavy cream
-2 pounds strawberries, cleaned and quartered

Directions:
Boil two cups of champagne until reduced to 1/2 a cup. Set aside to cool. Combine the milk, salt and 2/3 cup sugar in a saucepan and stir to dissolve sugar. Warm the milk until it is steaming, but not bubbling. In a separate bowl mix the egg yolks together and gradually add some of the hot milk while stirring constantly--I find a whisk useful for this. When you've added about half a cup to the yolks, stir them back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon until custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon/spatula. Strain the custard into a bowl and add the white chocolate, stirring to melt. Stir in the cream and cooled reduced champagne and the last quarter cup of straight champagne. Cool the mixture completely and freeze according to your machine's directions. This ice cream won't freeze to rock hard in the freezer, so it can be made ahead and still be easily scoopable. Toss the strawberries with the remaining two tablespoons of sugar and allow to macerate for at least fifteen minutes. Serve the strawberries with the ice cream.


Blood Orange Punch
This was because I wanted something nice to drink and didn't want to have to serve a lot of alcohol, what with being a bit skint and all. The blood orange juice can be subbed with regular orange juice, but the color will need some help if you're looking for a bright punch. Made with blood orange juice, this punch is the color of sunrise--orangey pink and pretty.

Ingredients:
-1 liter blood orange juice
-4 liters ginger ale
-1/2 bottle grenadine

Directions:
Chill all ingredients and combine just before serving in either a punch bowl for a whole batch or a very large pitcher for half batches. Serve cold. Add a few drops of food coloring if you skip the blood orange juice in favor of regular orange juice.