Ready to party?

Tomorrow, Sandra and I are are cooking in advance for 90 guests at Cousin Eoin the Gardener’s wedding to Cinthyia, which takes place at the weekend in Ballisadare Sligo.

Cabots of Westport’s food sauces will adorn canapés with shredded red peppers, angled cucumber rings, and fresh coriander leaves. The main course, Mayo venison stew, will come with a good mix of onions, thyme, bay leaves, fennel root, maybe some leeks – must remember to include some steaky bacon or chorizo pieces to counter the dry venison meat. There will also be a vegetarian bean stew on offer, with servings of Sandra’s famous mash and some rice. Auntie Philly is providing dessert of her cake with meringue and cut strawberries.

Of course, it’s one thing throwing those dishes up on the kitchen table, but quite another providing it for 90 people! Sandra is having conniptions about how to scale up her famous mash. She’s used to cooking it on the spot and using good elbow grease while blending in generous portions of butter and milk to create a creamy, finished product. We’ve run one test with cooking rooster spuds the day before and putting them through a food mill (a moulin) into steel trays, sealing these with cling film and then heating butter and milk in a pan the next day, and combining the two prior to serving. By the time you read this, it will be known whether it worked or whether we messed it up!

All this brain activity got me thinking about how one goes about providing one’s favourite dishes to larger groups or parties. Are you able to scale up your specialty recipe, or will it flounder if its needed to feed more than eight people?

recipe – note, ingredients are in two parts – topping and chicken 

Lemonless chicken piccata

Here is an interesting recipe we cooked last summer that we were able to prepare earlier in the day and then heat up to serve. The capers add a citric twist and bite to the creamy chicken and the lovely, herby crunch on top. The Italians cook this dish with lemon and call it Chicken Piccata. The stove top and the oven are both used but, mercifully, the recipe needs only one pan!

What you need:

For the topping

40g thick white bread loaf

25g Parmesan or Manchego cheese

½ tsp each of oregano and thyme

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Seasoning

For the chicken

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

100ml cream

200ml of water

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tbsp capers, drained

4 tbsp olive oil

Seasoning

What you do

To make the topping, blend the bread in a food processor and fry these in a non-stick pan with oil for about five minutes, stirring regularly. Then place in a bowl and mix in the garlic, cheese and herbs, and plenty of seasoning, then set aside.

Season your chicken breasts. Add more oil to the non-stick pan that was used for the breadcrumbs, and cook the breasts for two minutes each side over a medium-high heat until nicely browned, then remove from the pan and set aside. The breasts won’t be fully cooked at this stage.

Using the same pan, add the onion and gently fry it over a low heat for five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another two minutes. Pour in the cream, water and capers and bring to a simmer, stirring. Cook for three minutes. Now place your chicken breasts back into the pan, sprinkling the topping over. Place the lot in a hot oven, pre-heated to 210°c, and let it cook in its bubbling sauce for 15 minutes.

Remember to include the sauce when serving out. This dish can be served with rice, noodles, or pasta – or serve with mash (Sandra’s if you’re lucky) and spinach.

This is a great dish for scaling up – you can make it in advance for two or twenty, people! Happy partying.

— Redmond