Crème de cassis is a liqueur made from blackcurrant . It is sweet and similar to blackcurrant cordial but alcoholic . Alternatives - Crème de mure - blackberries , Crème de framboise - raspberries , Crème d ’ abricots - apricots notes on timings
ser ving checklist
Starter
Warm the soup through before serving and serve in warmed soup bowls with a sprig of parsley . Serve the garnishes on a plate or board on the table for the guests to help themselves to .
Main Course
Place a small pile of parsnips in the centre of a warmed dinner plate and balance the chicken on top of them . Pour over some sauce and scatter fresh parsley or a sprig of fresh thyme on top . Serve the potatoes and broccoli in warmed bowls for guests to help themselves to .
Vegetarian - Serve the aubergine on a warmed dinner plate with some parsnips and top with lots of fresh parsley .
Dessert
Time planner
in the morning : make soup and garnishes , prep chicken but do not cook it , make mousse
6pm : prep parsnips and broccoli but do not cook
6.30pm : cook potatoes , cook aubergine for veggie option
7pm : lay table , warm plates , prepare all food garnishes
7.30pm : cook chicken
Remove the mousse from the fridge 20 minutes before serving . Stick two mikado sticks into each mousse and serve the ramekin on a side plate or saucer with a clean teaspoon alongside .
Chalet Plus - pre-dinner canapés a Pesto cheese straws * a Marinated olives *
* remember these are only suggestions but any substitutions must follow the guidelines
Chalet plus pre-dinner drink Kir Royale
SERVES 6 1 bottle chilled inexpensive sparkling wine 6 tablespoons of Crème de cassis
Why not treat your guests to a little pre-dinner extra from what you have in your fridge ?
Purée any leftover broccoli and mix with cream cheese for a fantastic topping for canapé toast – top with a toasted almond .
Made too many chocolate mousse ? It will be fine for up to 3 days in the fridge and you can use as a filling or topping for a cake .
7.45pm : warm soup , remove mousse from fridge , water on for broccoli
8pm : serve starter , cook broccoli , finish chicken sauce
8.15pm : serve main course , plate up mousse saturday
Tall wine glasses or flutes
Pour 1 tablespoon of cassis into each glass and top up when serving with sparkling wine .
Crème de cassis is a liqueur made from blackcurrant . It is sweet and similar to blackcurrant cordial but alcoholic . Alternatives - Crème de mure - blackberries , Crème de framboise - raspberries , Crème d ’ abricots - apricots notes on timings
We serve chicken on Saturday as there are few guests who do not like chicken and they have little opportunity to see the menu ahead of time .
Having soup as a starter means that if you have very late arrivals you can always offer a bowl of soup . This is also quite a light workload which means you can use Saturday to prebake lots of cakes , make dressings etc for the coming week .