3 course meal timing

Here's a plan to put together a three course meal of breaded mushrooms, stuffed chicken breasts and vanilla panna cotta for a dinner party.  Its a great menu to use as everything can be prepared in advance so you can sit down and enjoy the company!

I started the menu around 12:00 and was finished by 15:00, but you may want to start a little earlier.

• Start with the Panna Cotta and do the whole recipe up to the point you put the moulds in the fridge to set - they will take 8hrs to set so if you want to this the night before to be sure they have set then this is good as well :)
• Next put the potatoes on to boil and then start to prepare the chicken according to the recipe, follow the recipe all the way through until the chicken is ready in the pan and the potatoes are in the cooking rings, leave in a cool place until the evening.
• Prepare the breaded mushrooms according to the recipe and leave on the baking sheet ready for cooking.
• I usually plan to serve dinner at 19:30 (guests arrive at 19:00), so about 18:30 I'd put the oven on at 180 degrees and set the table ready (remember to put the garlic dip on the table), get small plates out to serve the mushrooms on and make a small salad on each plate.  Also get the green vegetable out you have chosen for the main course, and prepare in a dish or bag to go in the microwave.
• If the mushrooms haven't been in the fryer, then I would put them in the oven around 19:05, if they have then I would put them in at 19:15.  At 19:30, place around 9 mushrooms per portion on the plates.  Put the chicken dish and the potatoes in the oven.  Serve the mushrooms and enjoy your starter.
• When you clear the table from the starter, get the plates for the main meal out and put in a sink of very hot water to heat up.
• About 20:25 put the vegetables into the microwave to cook.  Get the plates out of the sink and dry then place out on the side in the kitchen.  Take the potatoes and chicken out of the oven.  Using a fish slice place each potato ring in the centre of each plate and using a tea towel pull each ring off.  Open the dish with the chicken in and using tongs or a slotted spoon remove each chicken parcel and place on top of the potatoes in an artistic fashion, I did put the chicken directly on top of the potato but it did look like a large mushroom so maybe balance the chicken against the potato.  Pour sauce over the top of the chicken.  Put the vegetables in a dish and take them to the table and then follow with the chicken.
• Once dinner is done, give everyone a rest and then when people are ready for dessert prepare the panna cotta according to the recipe.
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Vanilla Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis and Dark Chocolate

I have heart shaped moulds for this but any kind of pudding mould will work, ASDA sell small jelly moulds that would work well

• 1 vanilla pod
• 350ml double cream
• 350ml full-fat milk
• 75g caster sugar
• 5 gelatine leaves
• 1 tube raspberry coulis
• 1 bar dark chocolate (70% or 85% cocoa is the best)

Put the gelatine leaves in the milk and leave to soften.

Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds out and put them a small dish to use later and put the pod in a saucepan with the cream and bring to the boil.  Once it has boiled, remove from the head and add the sugar, vanilla seeds, milk and softened gelatine.  Stir until the sugar and gelatine have dissolved.

Fill your sink or a large bowl with cold water and place the pan in it.  Leave to cool, stirring occassionally for around 20-30mins or until the mixture has started to thicken.  

Remove the vanilla pod from the mixture and pour into the moulds.  Refrigerate for a minimum of 8hrs could even make them the night before.

Before serving, put a pan of hot water on to boil and place a bowl on top with the chocolate in and melt slowly until liquid.  Then remove the moulds from the fridge, dip in warm water for a couple of seconds, place a plate upside down on the top of the mould and flip over and tap on the bottom to release.

Then drizzle lines of coulis and dark chocolate in criss-crossing pattern across the top of the panna cotta.

Brie stuffed chicken breasts with a mushroom cream sauce and colcannon crushed new potatoes

To make this look extra posh, get cooking rings for the potatoes and have 4.  They sell them really cheaply at The Range (can also be called crumpet rings and they are hollow)

• 4 large chicken breasts
• 180g brie
• 1 packet proscuitto crudo (need 1 piece per chicken)
• 1 jar pesto
• 1 small leek, chopped
• 100g mushrooms chopped
• 250ml white wine
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp english mustard
• 200ml double cream
• 50ml dry or sweet sherry
• 1kg pack baby new potatoes
• 6 rashers pancetta
• 8-10 leaves kale or cabbage chopped finely
• small knob butter

Put the new potatoes on to boil keep an eye on them whilst carrying on with the instructions below and strain and place in a large mixing bowl once cooked through.

First you need to butterfly the chicken breasts (removing the fillets) and pound them until they are thinned out.

Then open the butterflied chicken up and spread a thin layer of pesto across.  Then on one of the sides place a piece of proscuitto crudo and fold so that it does not touch or go over any of the edges of the chicken.  place a few slices of brie on top of this.  Then fold the butterflied breast in half.  Take a piece of clingfilm and wrap the chicken breast tightly in the film so that the chicken surrounds the stuffing.  Seal both ends of the clingfilm so the chicken is very tightly sealed in a nice parcel usually about 5in by 3in.  

Next put the chicken stock and white wine in a large pan and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and add all 4 chicken breasts in their clingfilm.  The chicken should be poached for around 10-15mins just to ensure as much as possible the chicken closes around the stuffing inside to keep as much brie inside.

Remove the chicken parcels from the pan but do not throw away the stock and wine, this will be used for the sauce later.  Carefully unwrap the parcels and then put a little oil in a frying pan on the hob and gently pan fry the chicken parcels so they are brown on each side, then set aside on a plate until later.

In the frying pan add the knob of butter and allow to melt on a high-ish heat, chop the pancetta up into small pieces and add to the pan and fry until crisp then turn down to medium, then add half the chopped leeks and saute until soft, finally adding the kale or cabbage and quickly cooking until wilted.

Drain the new potatoes and lightly crush them with a potato masher, the idea is to try and keep them in large chunks rather than mash them.  Add the pancetta, leeks and kale and mix with a knife to combine all the ingredients.  Grease the inside of the four cooking rings and place them on a baking sheet.  Spoon the potato mix into the 4 rings so each one is completely full.  Cover with clingfilm and leave to one side until later.

Using the pan the pancetta was cooked in, add a little oil and saute the remaining leeks and the mushrooms until soft.  Add the sherry and allow to boil.  Then slowly add the chicken stock and wine from the chicken poaching earlier.  Stir in the spoonful of mustard and allow the sauce to boil.  Turn heat down and add the double cream and then simmer until the sauce thickens. 

Find an ovenproof dish with a lid, or use tinfoil.  The dish needs to be big enough that the chicken parcels can all be lay next to one another rather than on top of one another.  Put the chicken into the dish and cover with the sauce, put the lid on or tinfoil across and leave until 1hr prior to serving.

Prior to serving preheat oven to 180 degrees, put the chicken into the oven on a middle shelf and the potatoes on the top shelf (remove the clingfilm!).  Cook for an hour and then serve with green vegetables such as green breans or runner beans.

Breaded mushrooms with Garlic Dip

Would suggest 9 small (1 inch cap diameter) mushrooms per portion and a deep fat fryer really helps

• small closed cap mushrooms
• 100g flour
• 2 eggs
• tub breadcrumbs (I like ASDAs own) 
• mayonnaise
• 2 garlic cloves crushed or minced
• salad for garnish

If using the deep fat fryer, switch on now to heat up.

Set out a flat bowl with the flour in it and add salt and pepper to it and mix together.  Next get a rounder cereal style bowl and crack the two eggs in it and mix with a fork.  Then get a large mixing bowl and pour the breadcrumbs into this.

First put the mushrooms into the flour bowl and coat.  Then put about 6 into the egg bowl and swirl around until coated with egg.  Using a slotted spoon remove them coated mushrooms from the egg bowl and put into the breadcrumbs, toss the mushrooms in the breadcrumbs until well coated all over.  If using the deep fat fryer, cook the mushrooms until just turning golden brown in the fryer in small batches and then lay on an oven tray.

If not using a deep fat fryer, just lay the coated mushrooms once the breadcrumbs have been added on an oven tray.

To make the garlic dip mix the crushed garlic cloves with 2 or 3 large dessertspoons of mayonnaise and put in fridge until needed.

When wanting to serve for dinner, preheat oven to 180 degrees and put mushrooms in.  If cooking ones made without a deep fat fryer, I would suggest cooking for 25 minutes until they go golden brown.  For ones started with a fryer, cook for 15 minutes until hot through.

Serve on plate with salad garnish.

Healthy Lasagne

In this lasagne, I used brown pasta sheets, and then layers of spinach and cheese and meat to make a lighter and healthier style dish.

1kg mince (or mince your own from steak)

3 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic

olive oil

4 sticks celery, chopped

3 peppers (red and green), chopped

200g mushrooms, chopped

1 Knorr beef stock gel packet (or 3 oxo cubes)

3 jars tomato sauce (I like Dress Italian slow cooked)

250ml red wine

Salt and pepper

2 tubs Quark non-fat soft cheese

400g natural low-fat cottage cheese

1 bag (200g) baby spinach

1/2 whole nutmeg grated

Brown lasagne sheets

2 fresh mozzarella balls

Preheat oven at 180 degrees.


Grease a lasagne dish, mine is pottery and 12 inches by 24 inches and 3 inches deep so fairly big, if you have a smaller one make 2 lasagnes or half the recipe.


Fry the onions and garlic in a deep frying pan until soft, add the mince and cook until brown.


Add the peppers, celery and mushrooms and cook off.


Melt down the beef stock and then add the tomato sauces and wine and simmer for 20 minutes, finishing off with salt and pepper.


Whilst the meat is simmering, put the Quark, cottage cheese and spinach into a large bowl or electric mixer and mix together until combined.  Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.


Take the lasagne dish, put a layer of brown pasta along the bottom and cover with a thick layer of meat (about 1/2), then cover with lasagne sheets.  Next put a layer of spinach and cheese (again about 1/2), then cover with lasagne sheets again.  Another layer of meat is next, then sheets, then finally the rest of the spinach and cheese mix.  Then tear down to mozzarella into thin pieces and lay across the top of the lasagne.


Cook for 30-40 mins until bubbling and golden brown on top,