The moon is NOT made of green cheese, but this Jupiter-influenced appetizer is definitely cheesy!
The Foodies (formerly known as the Supper Club) are a group of friends who love to cook, eat, drink, and laugh together at themed dinner parties. Our friends and family tell us they enjoy living vicariously through tales of our feasts so we’ll share the stories, pictures, and recipes here on the blog from time to time. Click here for previous Foodie Group posts, and here for the group’s origin story.
What’s a hungry foodie to do when all the current food trends have been sampled, the must-taste ingredients have been savored, and the hot new cooking techniques have been tested? Leave this world behind and examine new ones!
Ellyn took us on an inter-planetary adventure with this dinner party theme – Pick Your Planet, Pick Your Course. Super-cool theme which became more challenging as we trained for the mission. Martian beverages? Venutian sweets? And what about Uranus??!
What’s a hungry foodie to do when all the current food trends have been sampled, the must-taste ingredients have been savored, and the hot new cooking techniques have been tested? Leave this world behind and examine new ones!
Ellyn took us on an inter-planetary adventure with this dinner party theme – Pick Your Planet, Pick Your Course. Super-cool theme which became more challenging as we trained for the mission. Martian beverages? Venutian sweets? And what about Uranus??!
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(You may be pleased to know that no one actually picked Uranus as their planet, so we were spared the juvenile jokes. Well, mostly.)
For this post’s musical accompaniment, we’re taking a classical turn. Please enjoy Gustav Holst’s seven-movement orchestral suite, The Planets, performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and conducted by Leonard Bernstein. This version was remastered in 2017. |
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As usual, the Foodies rose to the occasion, rocketing to new heights of creative exploration. Here is the menu card – who had which course, the planet selected, and what was prepared.
Drinks – Greg and Dan – Mars: Martian Sunrise cocktail; Assorted wine and beer
Appetizers – Kathleen and Karen – Jupiter: Gruyere-Thyme Cheese Ball
Appetizers – Kathleen and Karen – Jupiter: Gruyere-Thyme Cheese Ball
Main Course – Ellyn – Saturn: Crown Roast of Pork and Dressing; Black Cherry-Walnut Jell-O Salad; Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Dessert – Ilise and Ann – Venus: Galaxy Chocolate Mousse Cakes; Cinnamon Candy Apples
Dessert – Ilise and Ann – Venus: Galaxy Chocolate Mousse Cakes; Cinnamon Candy Apples
To ensure a successful lift-off to our intergalactic evening, Dan and Greg prepared a Martian Sunrise cocktail. Note the multi-colored striations in the pitcher. The Boys do strive for authenticity as well as deliciousness! Here’s what they had to say about their concoction:
We wanted to honor the Red Planet by creating a layered presentation that would represent the ruddy tones of the Martian atmosphere. Shaken together the drink is reminiscent of an Old Fashioned. The addition of seltzer helps tamp down the sweetness and provides a refreshing sparkle to the drink.
Greg and Dan also provided an assortment of beer and wine that reinforced the theme with planetary or space references. As Greg notes, “Mars is red because of iron oxide on its surface and in its atmosphere, so there some ‘iron’ names as well.” Wines included 2015 Planeta Cerasuolo Di Vittoria; 2015 Soter Planet Oregon Pinot Noir; and 2014 Ironstone Petite Sirah. Beer was represented by Three Floyds Space Station Middle Finger and Elysian Space Dust.
David Bowie famously, melodiously, wondered, “Is there life on Mars?” That I don’t know, but can attest that the crowd in the living room got quite lively after a few mouthfuls of this magnificent Martian cocktail. Just take a look at this recipe (also available to download).
David Bowie famously, melodiously, wondered, “Is there life on Mars?” That I don’t know, but can attest that the crowd in the living room got quite lively after a few mouthfuls of this magnificent Martian cocktail. Just take a look at this recipe (also available to download).
Martian Sunrise
Recipe source: Gregory Beckett and Dan Dexter
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
Recipe source: Gregory Beckett and Dan Dexter
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 ounces grenadine
- 2 ounces Patron Citronge (tequila based lime liqueur)
- 2 ounces Pamplemousse grapefruit liqueur
- 2 ounces Pama pomegranate liqueur
- 2 ounces Cointreau
- 4 ounces lemon juice (1/2 cup - from 3-4 lemons)
- 2 ounces Calvados apple brandy
- 12 ounces bourbon, divided in half (1 1/2 cups)
- 6 drops or more hot sauce (Tabasco or Cholula)
- Seltzer
- Maraschino cherries
- Large columnar cocktail pitcher
- Large cocktail shaker
- 8 small rocks glasses
- Large ice cubes
DIRECTIONS:
- Squeeze the lemons and strain the juice.
- Layer the ingredients in the order shown (except for the hot sauce) in a large glass cocktail pitcher, using only half the total amount of bourbon for the layers. When you add the lemon juice it will find its way to the middle, but the other ingredients should stay on top of each other as added.
- Add the drops of hot sauce; they will be suspended about midway through the layers.
- Add crushed ice to a large cocktail shaker along with the other half of the bourbon.
- Add one or two large ice cubes to each rocks glass.
- Spritz some seltzer in the bottom of each glass.
- After admiring the cool layers in the pitcher dump all of it into the cocktail shaker and shake well.
- Strain mixture into prepared rocks glasses. Top each with a maraschino cherry garnish and serve.
| Print The Recipe- Martian Sunrise Cocktail |
Next we went 'to infinity and beyond’ in search of some awesome appetizers. Kathleen and Karen depicted Jupiter with a large and impressive display involving cheese, many moons, glowing stickers, and twinkly lights. Here is their tale:
We were at a loss for a while, but finally settled on Jupiter for our planet. We chose it because it’s a giant planet with—as of January 2009—49 official, named moons and 14 more unofficial ones still under consideration. Though we wanted to make some reference to the Roman version of Zeus (talk about a master of sexual harassment!), we finally decided to settle for a simple representation of the planet itself. And, to stand for an edible Jupiter, a cheese ball. Ultimately we determined to flatten that ball on one side, presenting just the most recognizable side of the planet. We tried out two different cheese ball recipes—one using gruyère and thyme (recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit), the other smoked gouda (from Martha Stewart). We ultimately used both, but made our representation of Jupiter from the gruyère and thyme recipe. We used ground roasted and salted pepitas and ground toasted Chico almonds to create the coloring of the planet surface and some roasted red pepper slivers to create the Great Red Spot that is Jupiter’s most prominent feature.
Next we determined to make 49 moons of different sizes. They included craisins, stuffed olives, stuffed dates (stuffed with the gouda mix noted above), toasted tamari almonds, and spinach balls (no particular recipe—fresh spinach, kale, eggs, cheddar and mozzarella, panko, whatever). To place our planet and its moons in context, we added glow-in-the-dark stars and tiny lights.
Wow, what a great and tasty interpretation of the theme! Literal and precise (49 moons, no more, no less), imaginative and artistic. By Jove (the Roman god Jupiter’s aka), I do declare that Karen and Kathleen might win the space race with this one!
Ellyn’s main course had us moonstruck and loosening our asteroid belts. Saturn was her planet, and she chose to focus on the famous rings. She considered making calamari but opted instead to serve a magnificent crown roast of pork. Such a dramatic presentation, with flavors that more than lived up to the dish’s good looks! Accompanying the pork roast was a savory dressing, a retro Jell-O ring, and roasted Brussels sprouts.
A quick Google search will yield many recipes for pork roast, but exclusive to this site is Ellyn’s family recipe for Vivian’s Passover Jell-O Salad.
Tell us what it takes, Ellyn:
Tell us what it takes, Ellyn:
Grease a round Jell-O mold using canola oil. Place on the bottom of the mold, alternating them, canned Oregon sweet black cherries and walnut halves. Do not discard the cherry juice from the can. Save it for making the Jell-O.
Make 7 to 8 packages of black cherry Jell-O according to the directions on the box, EXCEPT for one of the cold cups of water use the cherry juice from the can and fill the remainder of that 1 cup with Maneschewitz Concord grape wine. (Yes...that wine!)
Stir liquid Jell-O until all dissolved.
Using a turkey baster, gently just cover the black cherries and walnuts with the liquid Jell-O. Then refrigerate until Jell-O is firm. This will keep the cherries and walnuts in place when you add more liquid Jell-O. Otherwise, they will float around. Once firm, add another shallow layer of Jell-O (maybe and inch) on top of that and refrigerate again until firm. Then gently fill the mold and refrigerate until ready.
To de-mold, carefully run a very sharp knife along edges to loosen Jell-O from sides of mold. Soak mold briefly in warm water (put mold in sink and then fill gently with warm water around the mold). Then put serving platter for mold on top of the mold (what will be the bottom once unmolded). Flip and gently lift mold off of the hello. Voila! You will see the pattern of cherries and walnuts on top! Fill middle with parsley for decoration. Serve!
Finally it was time for dessert. Surprised that we still had room after all the delicious food and drink? Well, remember, there’s less gravity in space and nature abhors a vacuum, so … I’m sure that in some way explains the stomach’s ability to accommodate just a few more bites of deliciousness. Especially when chocolate is involved, as it was for Ilise’s and my offering of Galaxy Mousse Cakes. Also served were Cinnamon Candy Apples, a nod to several myths about Venus (under her alias Aphrodite) and golden apples.
There will be a separate post detailing the creation of these colorful, decadent, space orbs but for now all you need to know is … YUM! Core elements: brownie base, rich chocolate mousse piled on top, gelatin-based glaze, and free-stylin’ fun with food coloring.
There will be a separate post detailing the creation of these colorful, decadent, space orbs but for now all you need to know is … YUM! Core elements: brownie base, rich chocolate mousse piled on top, gelatin-based glaze, and free-stylin’ fun with food coloring.
You can see that we loved this theme to the moon and back, kicking up a little space dust before we splashed down for a landing. Much fun was had, and the grub was a big improvement over Tang and Space Sticks. (Who remembers those from back in the day?) As noted, coming soon we will share another post dedicated to the Galaxy Chocolate Mousse Cakes -- they were almost as much fun to make as they were to eat. Almost. And in another month or so it'll be time for the first Foodies theme dinner of 2018. In the meantime, cheers to you and bon appétit!
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Want more Foodies write-ups? Find them here.
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