Serve this complete meal for two for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner.  It requires little advance preparation and minimal clean-up, leaving you with plenty of time and energy to enjoy a proper “thank you” for your culinary efforts.

Roasted Rack of Lamb

1 Rack (8 ribs) of lamb, frenched (about 1.25 lbs)
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for roasting potatoes
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup parsley, chopped
1 Tbs. fresh thyme, chopped or ½ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. dried oregano
Juice of ½ lemon (about 2 Tbs.)
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. fresh-ground black pepper
½ lb. Yucon gold or other potatoes (about 6 small), thinly sliced length-wise

1.            Combine olive oil through salt and pepper in a zip lock bag.  Add lamb and marinate, turning bag occasionally, for at least ½ hour or up to 1 day in advance.  (Place bag in a medium casserole to prevent drips).

2.            Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Remove lamb from marinate and place in the center of a roasting pan coated with olive oil.  Stack potato slices on either side of the lamb and drizzle with additional olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place roasting pan in the top third of the oven and roast for 20 minutes, removing pan from oven half way through to flip potatoes.  After 20 minutes, remove lamb from pan and place the rack on a plate.  (After resting, lamb will be medium-rare; if you prefer more well done meat, cook for an additional 5 minutes for medium or 10 minutes for medium-well).  Tent lamb with tin foil and let it rest (covered) for 10 minutes.  Spread potatoes into a single layer and return potatoes to oven, continuing to cook until they are medium brown and slightly crispy.  Cut rack of lamb in half and divide between two plates, along with the potatoes.

• Variation:  You can easily add a vegetable to this one-pan dish, such as green beans or spinach.  To make green beans: Add trimmed green beans to the roasting pan after removing the lamb from the pan and cook, along with the potatoes, for 10 minutes.  To make spinach: Remove potatoes from roasting pan when they are done cooking, place 1 bag of prewashed spinach in the roasting pan (not over a heat source – the pan is hot enough from the oven to wilt the spinach), and toss the spinach in the pan until it is fully wilted.  Sprinkle vegetables with salt and pepper and serve along with lamb and potatoes.

Famed food writer Craig Claiborne said: “Cooking done with care is an act of love.”  This Valentine’s Day, forget the reservations and the pricey bill, and seduce the one you love with a romantic dinner at home.

The Menu

Cupid’s love potion (strawberry champagne cocktails)

Marinated mixed olives

Roasted rack of lamb with potatoes and green beans

Chocolate cheesecake with raspberry sauce

Check out my February 2011 column on The Family Groove for the complete Valentine’s Day prep timeline.  The recipes will be posted in the next few days so stay tuned.

http://www.thefamilygroove.com/feb11_EntertainingOnTheEasy.htm

Host a hip New Year’s Eve cocktail party with ideas from my monthly column on The Family Groove.

www.thefamilygroove.com/dec09_TheDinnerParty.htm

Tapas is one of my favorite theme menus to serve when hosting a cocktail party.  Compliment delicious small bites with a big batch of sangria.  Several items on a tapas menu – such as olives, nuts, cheese, bread and cured meat – don’t require any cooking.   Here’s a menu to get your tapas party started.

Tapas Menu

Marcona Almonds
Gazpacho “Shots” (served in tall shot glasses)
Spanish Cured Olives or any mixed olives
Spanish Tortilla Bites
(link to recipe below)
Patatas Bravas (fried spicy potatoes)
Gambas Al Ajillo (shrimp in garlic sauce)
Spanish Green Bean Salad with Pimientos
Garbanzo Bean Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
Spanish Cheese Platter: include Manchego (sheep’s milk cheese), Calabraza (Spanish blue cheese), Iberico (cow, sheep and goat’s milk cheese), Tetilla (soft cow’s milk cheese), Membrillo (quince paste – link to post about Membrillo below) and paper thin slices of Serrano Ham wrapped around store-bought breadsticks
Country-style Bread or Sourdough, sliced thin

Mini Delce de Leche Brownies (link to recipe below)
Caramel Flan

Sangria (link to recipe below)
Spanish red wine, such as Rioja, Garnacha or Tempranillo
Cava (Spanish sparkling white wine, similar to Champagne)
Spanish Cervesa (Beer), such as Mahou, Voll Damm and Mahou Negra

Spanish Tortilla Recipe
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/spanish-tortilla-recipe/index.html

Membrillo
http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/05/31/membrillo-quince-paste/

Dulce de Leche Brownie Recipe
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2006/06/dulce_de_leche.html

Sangria Recipe
http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/02/28/hip-twist-on-traditional-sangria/

Don’t let the rain ruin your plans for a Father’s Day cookout.  You can still throw your favorite father a BBQ in his honor -  just shift gears from a cookout to a “cook-in.”  Here’s a menu that you can make on the grill or in a grill pan.

http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/05/26/coffee-chili-steak-rub/

http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/espresso-chocolate-chunk-cookies/

Still looking for ideas for a Mother’s Day fete?  Throw a “mother nature” inspired dinner party by using spring’s bounty as the basis for your menu.  Hit your local farmer’s market or look for locally grown produce at your regular grocery store.  All of these recipes can be made year-round, but using seasonal/ local ingredients will up the “wow” factor in the flavor department.
 

This menu is fairly simple, even for a novice host/ hostess.  Several components of this menu can be made in advance to streamline your cooking schedule and minimize your cooking time during the party.  Make the spiced nuts up to 2 weeks in advance; the dip, oven dried tomatoes and biscuits for the cobbler can be made up to 2 days in advance; the wheatberry salad can be made 2 days before the party (wait to toss the greens with the dressing until you are ready to serve), and the popover batter and basil pea puree can be made up to 8 hours in advance.  Set our your crudites, dip and nuts while you sear the scallops, heat the pea puree and bake the popovers.  Put your cobbler in the oven when you sit down for dinner and it will be bubbly and perfect by the time you are ready for dessert.  

Mother Nature’s Spring Menu

Crudités (blanched asparagus, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, etc.) with Creamy Dill Dip
Maple Spiced Nuts
Wheatberry Salad with Arugula, Goat Cheese and Green Olives
Seared Scallops over Basil Pea Puree with Oven Dried Tomatoes
Herb Popovers
Mango Rhubarb Cobbler

Tips:

• Look for some interesting vegetable varieties, such as candy stripe radishes and purple carrots to serve with your dip
• Unless you love shelling fresh peas, using frozen peas for the basil-pea puree is perfectly fine (the peas are flash frozen and, unlike other frozen vegetables, the flavor is not compromised by the freezing process) 
• If you don’t have time to make the Maple Spiced Nuts buy some nice flavored nuts and set those out instead
• Substitute good quality bread for the herb popovers if you aren’t up for baking
• If you don’t have time to make the cobbler, buy or bake vanilla cupcakes, top with vanilla frosting and garnish with organic edible flowers for a simply beautiful spring dessert

http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/03/06/go-nuts-for-maple-spiced-nuts/

http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/04/20/wheat-berry-salad/

http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/seared-scallops-over-basil-pea-puree/

http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/06/24/mango-rhubarb-cobbler/

Didn’t make a reservation for New Year’s Eve?  There’s still time to plan and host a New Year’s Eve dinner at home.  This menu has all the components of a celebratory meal; a few fancy appetizers that feature choice ingredients, a great cut of meat with a special sauce, seasonal sides and a bittersweet ending (pun intended).  Make this meal for 2-10 people.  It won’t take you all day to prepare, but everyone will think it did.  Have a happy, hip and delicious New Year celebration.   

New Year’s Eve Menu 

Beginning the Countdown
Savory Black & White “Cookies” (Crostini with Black Olive Tapenade & Goat Cheese)
Shrimp Martinis

The Last Supper
Beef Tenderloin with Mustard-Cognac Sauce 
Sautéed Green Beans with Toasted Almonds, Shallots and Craisins
Balsamic Glazed Roasted Potato Wedges

Bittersweet Ending
Individual Bittersweet Molten Chocolate Cakes with Coffee Ice Cream
Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries with White Chocolate Drizzle

 
Recipes:
http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/04/12/savory-black-white-cookies/ 
http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/12/30/hip-tip-shrimp-martinis/
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-Tenderloin-Steaks-with-Mustard-Cognac-Sauce-236192
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Balsamic-Roasted-Potato-Wedges-231370
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Bittersweet-Molten-Chocolate-Cakes-with-Coffee-Ice-Cream-107659

A fiesta makes for a great summer theme party.  A south-of-the border menu lends itself to some simple, no-cook recipes and delicious frozen drinks.  I used the menu below for a summer fiesta theme party I threw on my roof-top.  The menu was based on fresh, local ingredients that are at their prime this time of year.  Check back over the next few days for posts with recipes and pictures.

Fiesta Menu

Appetizers

Warm Peach Salsa & Goat Cheese Dip with Cumin Dusted Pita Chips

Texas Caviar (Bean) Dip with Fresh Sliced Vegetables

Tortilla Chips with Salsa Fresca, Chipotle Salsa & Avocado Dip

Sweet Potato Fries with Avocado Dipping Sauce

Main Event

Black Bean Enchiladas

Organic Beef Taco Bar (warm corn tortillas, beef taco filling, shredded chipotle cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa fresca & guacamole)

Chipotle-Citrus Slaw

Dessert

Margarita Key Lime Pie with Toasted Almond & Graham Cracker Crust

Mellon Ball Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing

Mexican Chocolate Brownies

Drinks

Mexican Beer (Corona, Negra Modelo)

Frozen New Jersey Peach Margaritas

Favors

Sweet and Spicy Toasted Pepitas

After a stop at my local farmer’s market I was inspired to make the following menu for a dinner in honor of my mother-in-law.

Asparagus and rhubarb are at their best time time of year, as are ramps. 

• As rhubarb cooks, its juices act as a natural thickener, making it an amazing sauce for ice cream or cake.  Rhubarb’s tart, vibrant flavor is amazing when sweetened with a little sugar. 
• Ramps are young, wild leeks with tender leaves that have a mild garlicy flavor.  They are wonderful sauteed in a little olive oil. 
• Remember to bring a cooler or insulated cold bag with you if you are going to puchase your meat and/or cheese at the market.   

Don’t forget to buy flowers while you’re at your local farmer’s market.  I had been looking for lily of the valley all week (they are my mother-in-law’s favorite) and although May is one of the few months they are in season, I was quoted $50 for one small bunch.  I was able to get 4 bunches for $12 when I was at the market!  

Seasonal Spring Dinner Menu

Appetizers

Local cured meats
Olives in Dijon mustard
Assorted local cheese and crackers

 
Dessert

Sweet corn cake with pinot noir rhubarb compote and vanilla ice cream

 Check out the following site for more farmer’s market tips, ideas, recipes and stories:  http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2008/04/28/farmers-market-fare-3-2/

As the weather gets warmer I naturally make the switch to lighter recipes.  My spring menus often include a room-temperature grain salad, which is a great make-ahead side.  Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is one of my all-time favorite grains.  It’s high in protein, extremely versatile and super fast (it takes about 20 minutes).  Substitute it for couscous in any recipe or use it as you would use brown rice.

The menu below is from a dinner I made for friends the other night.  The orange flavors in the quinoa salad compliment the salmon really well.  Check back for the recipes, which I will post over the next few days.  

Starters
Homemade hummus served with carrots
Savory black and white “cookies”
Assorted cheeses

Main Event
Cumin seared salmon
Quinoa salad with orange, golden raisins and cilantro
Salad with herb (scallion and cilantro) vinaigrette

Dessert
Individual dark chocolate soufflés
Fresh strawberries