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September The Malt Shoppe
Onion Rings ~ Iceberg Wedges with Blue Cheese Dressing ~ Trio of Burgers: All-American Cheeseburger with Everything Teriyaki Pork Burger with Pineapple Relish and Bacon Lamb Burger with Onion Jam and Apricot Ketchup ~ Chocolate Cherry Dessert Shakes ~ Cherry Nibs Coffee
This back-to-school menu is an updated version of a traditional Malt Shoppe, romance included. The onion rings are surprisingly good with cocktails (which is why they often appear on happy hour menus). Iceberg wedges with Blue Cheese dressing are pure 50’s and 60’s. The trio of mini burgers is a fun take on the traditional hamburger, but you could certainly serve regular sized versions of just one of them if you wish. For a romantic dessert, serve chocolate cherry shakes for two (with two straws and two spoons), but be sure to make extra in case one person drinks more than his or her fair share! If your table set-up would make it too difficult to share, or if your guests aren’t the type, you can serve one per person. Cherry Nibs – or a selection of old-fashioned candies – are great to nibble with coffee.
I cut a length of red vinyl, purchased at the fabric store, to the exact size of the top of my table. White diner-style dishes work well with this theme, along with white hotel napkins. A fist full of gerbera daisies in hot pink, orange, yellow, dark red and white make a colorful, casual centerpiece. I found old-fashioned fountain glasses for the dessert milk shakes online at http://www.newyorkfirst.com/gifts/1038.html. Red, yellow and white plastic squeeze bottles for ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise are available in many kitchen-ware sections of supermarkets and even hardware stores.
Invitations and menus for this dinner can be downloaded from the computer. I would suggest laminating the menus to set at each place for a nostalgic touch. For party favors, pack a clear cellophane bag with nostalgic candies – B-Bat suckers, Bazooka bubble gum, Fruit-Stripe Gum, Licorice Snaps, Licorice Wheels, Necco Wafers, Charms and Tootsie Rolls. To order on-line, check http://www.nostalgiccandy.com. To give your guests a chuckle, include a pair of cat-eye rhinestone glasses for the ladies and a set of fuzzy dice for the guys – available on-line at www.cpstore.com .
Your favorite music from the 50’s and 60’s is an important part of setting the tone for this party. And if you have room for dancing, so much the better. Fun is the order of the day.
2 onions 1 cup milk 1 cup water 2 tablespoons oil 1 egg 1 cup water ½ cup buttermilk 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon cayenne 2 3½-ounce packages panko breadcrumbs Oil for deep frying Sea salt
Slice onions into ½” slices. Mix together 1 cup milk and 1 cup water. Soak onion rings in the milk-water mixture for 1 hour.
Whisk together 2 tablespoons oil, egg, 1 cup water and ½ cup buttermilk. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and cayenne. Whisk the flour mixture into the egg-milk mixture.
Spread some of the panko crumbs on a plate. You will add the crumbs a little at a time, otherwise they will get all gummy and won’t coat your onion rings. Dunk onion rings into the batter, then coat with panko crumbs. Place on waxed paper on a baking sheet.
Preheat oil to 375º. Fry onion rings in small batches about 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown. You need to cook them long enough so that the onion itself becomes soft enough to bite through, otherwise you will pull the entire onion out of the fried casing on the first bite. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle each batch with sea salt while still hot. You can hold these onion rings up to an hour or so and reheat on a baking sheet when ready to serve – handy when you have guests coming over.
Iceberg Wedges with Blue Cheese Dressing
2 heads iceberg lettuce
1 ½ cups mayonnaise 1/3 cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 cup crumbled blue cheese 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or to taste
Whisk together mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons of the buttermilk and lemon juice. Stir in blue cheese and pepper. If dressing seems too thick, thin with additional buttermilk. Taste and adjust pepper to taste.
Remove the damaged outer leaves from the lettuce. Cut each lettuce head in half, cutting through the core. Cut each half into three wedges. Place one wedge on each plate and spoon on a generous amount of dressing.
1 pound ground beef 1 pound ground pork 1 pound ground lamb Bottled teriyaki sauce Kosher salt 24 small dinner rolls Softened butter
Divide each pound of meat into 8 equal pieces, for a total of 24 pieces. Shape each piece into a small burger. Season both sides generously with kosher salt. Brush pork burgers with teriyaki sauce. Refrigerate burgers on a baking sheet until ready to cook. Separate layers with waxed paper. Make sure you keep track of which are lamb, which are beef and which are pork.
Cut dinner rolls open. If they are very tall and you think there might be too much bread, you might want to cut a slice out of the center so you have a thinner top and bottom. Butter both top and bottom of rolls and set on a baking sheet.
When ready to cook the burgers, preheat the grill. While you are waiting for the grill to heat up, toast all the buns under the broiler. Cook all burgers until done to taste. Melt ½ slice of cheese on the top of each beef burger. Put each burger on the bottom half of a bun and top appropriate toppings and the top of the bun. Put all three mini-burgers – one of each – on a plate and serve to your delighted guests.
For All-American Cheeseburgers with Everything
4 slices Cheddar cheese 8 thin slices of red or yellow onion 8 thin tomato slices (Roma tomatoes are the perfect size) 8 attractive, ruffle-y lettuce leaves
Top each beef cheeseburger with a tomato slice, an onion slice and a lettuce leaf. Let guests help themselves to ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise from the nostalgic plastic squeeze bottles.
For Pork Burger with Pineapple Relish and Bacon
2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped into very small pieces 2 small jalapeños, seeded and chopped into very tiny pieces. 5 drops Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce 4 thick slices applewood or other smoked bacon
For relish: Put pineapple pieces, jalapeño and fish sauce into processor and pulse until pineapple is the consistency of crushed pineapple. Put into a small bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Cut bacon into matchsticks. Sauté until done and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Top each pork burger with a generous tablespoon of pineapple relish and a sprinkling of bacon pieces.
For Lamb Burgers with Onion Jam and Apricot Ketchup
2 onions, chopped 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon sugar Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cups apricot nectar 1 cup dried apricots ½ cup sugar ½ cup apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped 1 jalapeño, chopped and seeded
For onion jam: Sauté onions very slowly in olive oil until golden brown, about 20 minutes. While they are cooking, sprinkle with sugar, kosher salt and pepper to taste. When onions are nicely caramelized, add butter and balsamic vinegar. Simmer for a minute to blend flavors. Refrigerate in a small bowl. Heat on the stove or microwave when ready to use.
For apricot ketchup (adapted from Hugh Carpenter’s Fast Appetizers): Combine apricot nectar, apricots, sugar, vinegar, ginger and jalapeño in a small saucepan and simmer 20-30 minutes. Purée in blender. Refrigerate in a small bowl. Bring to room temperature or zap quickly in the microwave when ready to use.
To assemble: top lamb burgers with a generous tablespoon of onion jam and a generous tablespoon of apricot ketchup.
I like the idea of the chocolate-cherry combination because the flavors are more nostalgic. I also tried this with Chambord raspberry liqueur and it was really delicious. The advantage of the Chambord is that both it and the Godiva liqueur are frequently available in the individual serving size at most large liquor stores, so you don’t have to buy a regular-sized bottle of each one, which can get expensive. Each small bottle holds 4 tablespoons.
This quantity is enough for four 10-ounce fountain glasses. If you are serving eight people, each with their own glass, you will need double this amount.
2 pints premium vanilla ice cream (Häagen-Dazs makes the creamiest shakes) 4 tablespoons Cherry Heering liqueur or Chambord Liqueur 6 tablespoons Godiva chocolate liqueur
Old-fashioned fountain glasses Straws and spoons (long-handled iced tea spoons are perfect if you have them)
Soften ice cream – 10 seconds or so in the microwave should do it. Put 1 pint ice cream in a blender with 2 tablespoons cherry liqueur and 3 tablespoons chocolate liqueur. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a freezer container. Repeat with remaining ice cream and liqueur. Freeze until time to serve.
The liqueur will prevent the shakes from freezing solid, so they should be just the right consistency at serving time – thick and creamy. You can soften them in the microwave for a few seconds if necessary. Pour into old-fashioned fountain glasses. Serve each with two straws and two spoons. |
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Copyright © 2008 by Charlotte Rose. All rights reserved. |