how to throw a low-carb party
Dan and I had our end of semester party yesterday night. It is amazing how
people love to come and eat and visit and how it can all be done very low carb.
We had a platter of baked mushrooms seasoned with lemon, chipotle pepper,
garlic, onion, and pepper stuffed with garlic herb cheese. These vanished early
and I regretted not making a double batch. We have a friend in the restaurant
business who is starting to inquire about these recipes for her restaurant.
Dan orderered venison summer sausage and speciality cheeses that were thinly
sliced and arranged on a tray. We also had a tray of Boar’s Head cheeses and
some sliced Boar’s Head speciality luncheon meats. We also made a pile of
cheese crackers out of American cheese - which were all gone by the end of the
evening.
There was the vegetable and dip tray of course - the dip being sour
cream/southwestern style. It was very popular.
Deviled eggs, of course - made with the standard mayo & mustard but also some
chipotle and cracked black pepper.
We knew our kids/grandkids were going to drop by so we caved in and got some
bread for sandwiches, which ended up being fed to the ducks because no one ate
it.
A friend contributed a bucket strawberries and melon chunks for those in the
mood. We still have quite a few after seeing just how many strawberries a 4 year
old can eat at one sitting.
We had iced tea (diet and regular) and sodas (diet and regular) and had to send
home the regular sodas because they were not used up. We had some microbrew for
the beer lovers and some dry wines for the wine lovers - but diet iced tea and
diet soda seemed to be most in demand.
The only real concession to carbing was potato chips which were eaten mostly by
the children and one carb addicted friend. We can do without them next year -
or I will just get the little ones a small bag for each of them.
The party itself was a smashing success (we do pretty well at inviting people
who have similar interests and dispositions) and we swept everyone out the door
at 10:45 p.m. (the party started at noon) and they were all laughing and
chattering and having a gay old time even then.
No big BG rises here - in fact, only nibbling on a bit here and there meant my
BG was nice and low. No weight gained from eating too much. In the future I
will eliminate the bread (since we had to send two totally untouched loaves home
with others - and one fed the local ducks).
I suppose the reason for the report is that it is possible to live a low-carb
lifestyle and have a social life. We could easily have elminated the bread and
even the chips and had no effect at all. I can season up cheese puffs quite
nicely - although the vinegar and sea salt effect is probably going to be more
difficult to attain.
So, lest we think our friends will no longer love us without cookies, cakes,
pies, and candy - t’ain’t so, McGee.
Everyone is now looking forward to next winter solstice with the hearty low-carb
seafood stew, mulled wine, hot wings, low-carb chocolate cheesecake, etc.
Cheers!
Marsha
August 19th, 2004 at 7:15 am
Sounds like a terrific party, Marsha.
No fair not including the recipe for the mushrooms, though. Pretty please?
Debbie
August 19th, 2004 at 3:16 pm
Hi Debbie,
Get a tub of Pub cheese with herb and garlic (or aloutte or something)
Get a container of stuffing mushrooms - wipe them down and destem them - you can
use the stems for a mushroom omelet the following day by dicing them finely and
frying them.
Put the mushroom caps with the stem hole facing up in a glass baking dish with a
coating of beef broth (we use minor’s bases to make the broth) The broth should
come up a little ways onto the bottom of the cap.
Inside each cap put a spinkle of lemon juice, a pinch of roasted garlic powder,
a pinch of roasted onion powder, a pinch of chipotle pepper powder and a
sprinkle of finely cracked black pepper. Mound a little cheese in the cap hole
(about a heaping tsp) and then sprinkle bacon bits on the tip.
Bake at 400 degrees until the cheese starts to brown (45 minutes - or until
brown - your oven may vary) - serve warm or they can be made a head of time and
served cool - or microwaved briefly before serving. It seems impossible to make
too many.
Dan gets his spices from Spice Barn (and sometimes Spices, etc.). We
particularly like roasted or toasted spices like garlic and onion rather than
plain old garlic and onion powder. They also have powered mesquite or other
smokey flavors.
No fair not including the recipe for the mushrooms, though. Pretty please?
August 19th, 2004 at 8:09 pm
Sounds lovely. I may make them for my next potluck — with veggie broth
instead, of course. Thanks!
August 19th, 2004 at 11:52 pm
Debbie,
You can use textured veggie protein bacon bits for the topping, I think, and
have it turn out about the same as using the regular bacon bits. It really
needs the topping to turn out with the right flavor profile or it will be
unbalanced. Really good cooking is all about spicing and flavor balances.
For non-veggie folks they also have all sorts of broths like lobster base, crab
base, beef, chicken, etc. They stopped making the lamb base, unfortunately.
Cheers!
Marsha
August 20th, 2004 at 4:45 am
Thanks for the info, Marsha. I hadn’t heard of the Minors broths before,
I’ll check them out. Believe it or not, Bacos are vegetarian (vegan even).
They’re not the absolutely most wholesome food (lots of salt and chemicals),
but they do just fine as toppings now and then, and meat eaters are willing
to eat them. Debbie
August 20th, 2004 at 8:28 am
Hi Debbie,
Yeah, I know Bacos are vegetarian. I’m old enough to
remember when they were a brand new product. They
make me about half sick and I avoid them, but they
taste pretty good, even being fake meat.
The flavor profile would work to round out the
August 20th, 2004 at 6:02 pm
I’m surprised they don’t have a better substitute for those by now
Rebecca
-
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
– Eleanor Roosevelt
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August 20th, 2004 at 9:56 pm
There are all sorts of veggie fake bacon products, those are just the most
widely available. Some are better, some aren’t worth eating.
Debbie
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I’m surprised they don’t have a better substitute for those by now