An Orange Dinner Party

November 11th, 2008

It was my sister-in-law’s birthday last weekend so I made a big dinner and had my in-laws over. I wanted to use the pumpkin–the biggun’–that we bought at the farm and debated over stew versus risotto. The stew was sounding a little bland to me, so I made saffron risotto and stuffed the pumpkin with it. The only thing I didn’t take into account is how long it would take to make enough risotto to feed twelve–about an hour and a half! I cleaned the pumpkin and baked it for about 30 minutes before stuffing it with the risotto, after the risotto was in I cooked it for another 30 minutes at 300, based on this recipe. It was delicious! And very orange! Continuing with that theme, I made roasted carrots with thyme, a delicious salad with orange vinaigrette, and butterscotch cake from the Nigella Lawson book. I think my favorite part was the salad. It was made with mixed greens, walnuts, shaved pecorino, shredded red cabbage, and pears sauteed in butter and brown sugar. The dressing is as follows:

Orange Vinaigrette
1 small shallot, minced
2 tbsp. squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp. orange zest
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp. salt

The cake wasn’t as good as I imagined it would be. I wouldn’t make it again–it wasn’t very sweet, was too dense, and tasted a bit more like a biscuit with unsweetened caramel cream cheese frosting. I did have fun making my own caramel, a first for me. It was pretty easy and very delicious on its own!

Entry Filed under: Crafts