My father's 50th birthday is coming up, and organizing and preparing the food for his party is my pleasure/task. I did the same last year for my mother, and it was great fun, but lots of work, too. I did not go the easiest route, and ended up spending nearly two days in the kitchen, preparing all sorts of appetizers.
My parents and I decided early on to keep the food mainly Italian, although we are not really strict about it, though you wont find Middle Eastern mezze on the table this Sunday. We are going to buy all sorts of cheeses and cured meat, and then I plan on making a variety of crostini, and a few other things.
Where we run into a problem was dessert. The problem is my parents fridge, to be exact. I don't know how many bottles of Prosecco are going to be stored in there, plus theres beer and maybe white wine, too.
This leaves little room for other things, which kind of makes choosing desserts difficult.
One of the things I already prepared for Sunday are these Pistachio Cantuccini. They are Italian, can be kept at room temperature and are quite easy to prepare. And they should appeal to all those coffee drinking folks my father invited.
Pistachio Cantuccini
slightly adapted from this Jamie Oliver recipe
110g butter, softend
3 eggs
1 package powdered saffron
200g sugar
630g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
150g pistachios (unsalted)
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
In a mixing bowl eat the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add in the eggs, the sugar and the saffron and beat until creamed. In a other mixing bowl, measure out the flour, baking powder, salt and the pistachios and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and incorporate with a wooden spoon.
Form the dough into 4 logs, place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and flatten them until they are about 2 cm thick. Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the logs from the oven and let them cool down for about 5 minutes. With a serrated knife, cut the logs in 10-12 pieces, each about 1 cm thick. Place them cut side down on the parchment paper, and bake them for 5 minutes. Remove them again, turn them and bake for another 5 minutes.
Let them cool down and store them in a dry place.
Makes about 50 cantuccini.
Lena, it's great that you're doing so much for your father's 50th. Since my dad's birthday is in mid-January, I've basically missed his birthday for years now while away at school. I was looking through something today and was reminded of a cake that would be utterly perfect for him. It made me a little sad--I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to make it for him since it requires some special equipment. Anyway, hope everything is/was a success.
ReplyDeleteKatie, I hope you get to make your father this cake soon. What kind of cake is it, if I may ask? I don't think I can think of a cake that requires special equipment.
DeleteThe birthday party went great, I am quite tired today, but my father was happy and that is what counts.
This should be no surprise, but it's a Momofuku cake (the recipe wasn't printed in the cookbook but in the second issue of Lucky Peach) - the Arnold Palmer cake. Arnold Palmer is, of course, a famous golfer, but there's also a drink named after him. It's half iced tea and half lemonade, so black tea and lemon are the flavours in the cake. My dad is a long-time golfer and likes lemon desserts, so if there's a cake I'd make for him, it would be this one. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be visiting me in Chicago for at least another year or two, so I'd have to drag my cake rings, etc. to my parents' place. Probably not going to happen.
DeleteGlad that your father enjoyed everything!