Went to see Bride and…

Went to see Bride and Prejudice yesterday -- review here.

Other than that, yesterday was a quiet, puttering sort of day. I got the second galleys of BiM from HC -- they don't normally send those to authors, but there were a few line break questions they had for me, so I get to look at them again. Whee! I think I've now proofread this book approximately eighty-seven times, and I predict that there will remain exactly eighty-seven errors in the final version nonetheless. Because books are perverse that way.

Kevin asked last night if I'd be willing to make tea for his math department on March 11th, for about 40 people. He had to ask? Apparently, this is a weekly duty that rotates among the faculty and grad students; some people just buy food, others cook, often with an ethnic theme. I'm trying to come up with Sri Lankan finger food, and having a bit of a tough time, because most Sri Lankan appetizers are deep-fried, which is not ideal for a bunch of reasons -- primarily because there's no oven on-site to reheat in, only a microwave. So I'm trying to think about how I can adapt our food to a tea-style spread. Here's what I have so far -- any thoughts from those of you who do fancy food (Meriko, help?) would be very welcome:

  • mango-passionfruit punch
  • spiced chai
  • tea sandwiches (mango chutney and cream cheese, curried mushrooms, spicy potato, curried lamb)
  • spicy shrimp toast
  • chili eggs
  • chicken biryani
  • milk toffee
  • coconut toffee
The chicken biryani isn't really finger food; they will have paper plates and forks available to eat with. And the chili eggs are slightly messy for finger food, but probably acceptable. The tea sandwiches aren't exactly anything Sri Lankans would eat, but we can justify them as a remnant of colonialism, I think. :-) But I'm still trying to think of ways that I could adapt some of my other curries to turn them into finger food -- if I did that, then I might ditch the biryani, or even the chili eggs. Hmm...

Today, we go and look at another house, and then there's a dinner with the math folks. Tomorrow, I start working again. Kevin's going to be away all day with visiting math people who are coming in for job interviews, so we aren't doing much of anything for V-day this year. But he brought me chocolate-covered strawberries last night. :-)

7 thoughts on “Went to see Bride and…”

  1. I’ll ponder this today and see if i have any other ideas – one thing i did for a wedding reception when i wanted to serve scallop and shrimp etouffe, but it was a cocktail reception might be adaptable. …

    I made a bunch of tiny thumb sized savory tart shells the night before. It’s time consuming, but the tiny tart shell pans come by the 25 pack, and are pretty cheap. (Look at sur la table). When it comes time for service, reheat your curry/etouffe/whatnot and spoon it into the shells. Serve.

    I also did ceviche as finger food by punching tortillas down to 2-inch rounds, laying them on a plate next to the bowl of ceviche and a bowl of mango salsa. Maybe pick a sri lankan bread, make them tiny…?

  2. oooh, two more – endive leaves make a great carrier for a saladey thing that would normally need a fork. I’ve done a crab and mango salad int hem, but I bet any of your drier curries would be marvellous tucked into the cup end of an endive leaf. Pick something that would benefit from a touch of bitter next to it.

    I’ve served ahi tartare on cucumber rounds – they make a good base for a finger food too. might be cute take on “served with raita” to layer a touch of yogurt on the cuke (just for sticking), a piece or two of a spicy meat or fish curry, and a touch of chutny and a dab of yogurt on top.

    I’ll post some photos later …

  3. Mary Anne Mohanraj

    Thanks for the suggestions, guys. My current list is too long; I’ll have to narrow it down…

    • mango-passionfruit punch
    • spiced chai
    • tea sandwiches (mango chutney and cream cheese, curried mushrooms)
    • chili eggs
    • potato curry and naan
    • chicken curry in tart shells
    • beef curry buns
    • spicy shrimp toast
    • milk toffee
    • coconut toffee
  4. Hi
    Would it be ok to copy your menu for a little cocktail party we are having this weekend..Everything sounds so yummy ..If yes, can i have the recipe for the potato curry?? Also what sort of booze would you use to spike the punch ?? Rum or vodka ??

  5. Mary Anne Mohanraj

    Feel free. 🙂 The potato curry recipe is on my cookbook web page. And for punch, I usually use vodka when making a mango martini, so I think that’d work best. Floating small pieces of mango in the punch would be pretty.

    Two notes — I tried food-processing a chicken curry, but that turned it an unappetizing brown. I think a better option would be to cut the chicken small before cooking it, so that it can then go directly into the mini-tart shells. Another idea I remembered was green mango salad — tart and yummy. I’m not sure what to serve it in, though — I think I’m going to experiment with tart shells, crackers, and baked papadum; see what works best. I suspect the papadum.

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