Good Potluck Dinner Ideas To Make Your Party A Success

A potluck dinner party is a nice way to unwind and relax after a long weekday. As a hostess you do not have to worry about preparing a full course meal for the dinner party. In a potluck dinner party each guest brings one dish of their choice to the party to be served and shared with friends. If you are the one hosting the party, make sure that you inform your guests well in advance the theme of your party or the kind of food that they are expected to bring along. Plan well in advance or you might end up with three or four salads and no main course.

Give your guest plenty of choice and enough leeway to choose what they want to bring to the potluck party and do not force them to bring any particular dish if they are not comfortable with it. Remember that they are your guests and avoid using them like a restaurant to order food. On the other hand if you are invited to a potluck party, you must be wondering what to bring to a potluck dinner. Well, you can bring any dish that travels well and tastes good. Although hosting a potluck party might seem easy, nevertheless you should have some good potluck dinner ideas to make the party memorable and fun.
Ideas for Potluck DinnerThere are a few things that you should keep in mind when you host a potluck dinner party.

• Decide on the Menu: When you are hosting a potluck dinner, you should give some thought to the menu if you want to avoid a mismatch of too many cuisines or an abundance of similar type of dishes. This is very important as you might end up with too many casserole dishes and without any side dish or dessert.
• Decide on the Theme: Choosing a creative theme for the potluck party is also equally important. Choose a potluck theme that your guests might be excited about like a French, Italian or Spanish themed menu. Inform your guests about the theme and ask each guest to bring a dish that echoes this theme. If you are having an Italian themed potluck party your guest can bring different pizzas, pastas and antipasto platter. For more variation you can even have an oriental themed potluck dinner party where the guests can prepare one Chinese or Thai dish of their choice.
• Determine the Quantity of Food Required: Next decide how many appetizers, main course, side dishes and desserts are required. The best option is to opt for four to six appetizers, three to four main courses, four to five side dishes and two good desserts for a party of twelve to sixteen people.
• Make Arrangement for Beverages: To wash down all the lovely food, you need some good beverages. As hosts you can arrange for the drinks with a classic holiday punch and couple of bottles of red and white wine. Make sure that you have an adequate selection of both alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks.

Shark's Fin Soup Enhances The Taste Of Anything

Shark's fin soup, shark's fin omelet and braised shark's fin soup with crab meat are the most expensive dishes to be present in a Chinese banquet. Shark's fin is nothing but a soft tissue. Its cost is proportional to its length. The length of a shark's fin can vary from an inch to a foot. The cost also depends on the amount of cartilage. Shark's fin in itself is tasteless but has a strange capability of enhancing the taste of anything that it is cooked with. In the market, shark's fin is normally available in two forms, namely; frozen and dried. Dried shark's fin needs to be tenderized before using in the food recipes.

Ingredients
To prepare shark's fin soup, the main ingredients are - 16 oz can of shark's fin, 1 chicken breast and 4 cups of water. To spice up the dish, we will need 2 tablespoons sherry, 3 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1 ginger root, some dried black mushrooms and 2 scallion stalks. Salt can be added as per taste. 3 tablespoons of oil is enough to cook the entire dish.

Procedure
The chicken breast and the mushrooms are shred first and the scallions are cut into two inch sections. The ginger pieces are then sliced to very small pieces. The sliced ginger pieces, the scallion stalks, the canned shark's fin, sherry and water are then boiled together, in a pan for around 15 minutes. The shark's fin is then drained out, while the liquid, scallions and ginger root are discarded. Then stir fry the chicken pieces in the oil for around one minute, until they lose their pinkness. The shark's fin, remaining sherry, and shredded mushroom pieces are added to the fried chicken pieces and boiled for around 30 minutes. Salt is sprinkled over during the boiling process. The amount of salt to be sprinkled, depends on the maker's taste. Cornstarch is then the preparation to thicken the soup.

Ingredients
The main ingredients are ½ a cup dried shark fin, hot chicken stock, six eggs, 2 tablespoons of scallion stock, 1 cup stock, 2 slices of ginger root and 2 tablespoons of sherry. Pepper and salt are needed to spice up the preparation. 4 tablespoons of oil is needed for the frying process.

Procedure
The shark's fin first needs to be tenderized. It is soaked in cold water for an hour and the water is then drained out. The ginger roots are then cut into very small pieces and the scallion stalks are sliced into 1 inch sections. The tenderized shark fin is then combined with the stock, sherry and salt and pepper. Salt and pepper is added as per the taste desired. Scallions and ginger root are stir fried in the oil for a few minutes. The preparation of shark fins is then added to the pan and cooked for 5 minutes on medium low heat. The remaining liquid, scallions and ginger root are then drained out from this preparation. Then beat the egg and pour it over this shark fin mixture. It is allowed to settle down on the preparation. It is repeatedly tossed and turned. The care should be taken that the omelet is moist, but not runny.

Ingredients
The main ingredients are canned shark's fin and fresh crab meat. To spice up the dish we need chicken stock, salt, sugar, pepper, 3 tablespoons of ginger juice, potato starch and 3 tablespoons of Chinese wine. 1 tablespoon of Chinese sesame oil is enough to cook the mixture.

Procedure
The crab meat is boiled along with 2 tablespoons of ginger juice and 3 tablespoons of Chinese wine. The boiled crab meat is then strained and the chicken stock is boiled. The chicken stock and shark's fin is added to the boiled chicken stock. Salt, sugar, pepper, chicken powder and the remaining ginger juice is added to the preparation and the entire mixture is again boiled at medium heat. Potato starch along with water is finally added to the soup, to thicken it.

It is the slippery and glutinous property of shark's fin that causes its soup to be extra thick. In many restaurants cornstarch or potato starch is not even added to the soup. From a health perspective, shark's fin is believed to strengthen the internal organs. Though the killing of sharks is banned all over the world, but shark's fin, till date, continues to remain one of the most relished Chinese food recipes ever.

Healthy Recipes For African Chicken Wings

This Spicy African Chicken Wings Recipe is a nice change from ordinary appetizers. Although the list of ingredients are on the long side, you'll love the end result. African Chicken Wings feature a lively jolt you get from red pepper. Now, here's a great appetizer!

Ingredients:

FOR THE WINGS-----
4 Garlic cloves
2 Shallots
1 1/2 ts Salt
1 tb Chinese 5 spice
2 ts Paprika
1 ts Dried rosemary -- crumbled
1/2 ts Cayenne -- or to taste
2 tb Vegetable oil
4 lb Chicken wings; about 20-24

Tips removedFOR THE SAUCE-----
1/3 c Natural style peanut butter
1/4 c Canned cream of coconut --
Well stirred
2 Garlic cloves -- chopped
1/4 c Water
1/4 c Red bell pepper -- chopped
1/8 ts Dried hot red pepper flakes
Or to taste
1 ts Soy sauce
Coriander sprigs -- for If Desired

Procedures:
THE WINGS: Prepare the chicken wings: Mince and mash the garlic and
shallots to a paste with the salt. In a large bowl stir the paste together
with the 5 spice powder, paprika, rosemary, cayenne, and the oil. Mix well.

Add the chicken wings. Toss and stir them until they are completely covered
with the marinade. Let them marinate, covered and chilled for 4 hours or
over night. Arrange the wings, skin side up, on the rack of a foil lined
large broiler pan and bake them in the upper third of a preheated 425F oven
for 25 to 30 minutes or until they are golden. The wings may be prepared
one day in advance, kept covered and chilled and then reheated before
serving.

THE SAUCE: In a blender, blend together the peanut butter, cream
of coconut, garlic, water, bell pepper, red pepper flakes and the soy sauce
until the mixture is smooth, season the sauce with salt, to taste.

THE PRESENTATION: Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl set on a platter.
Arrange the wings around the bowl and garnish the platter with the
coriander.

Favorite Recipe For Chicken TIkka Masala

I love Chicken TIkka Masala! No doubt is one of my many favorite recipes. Its a little hard to do and i would rather buy it in jersey city, but worth it. Indian Recipe, I tasted chicken tikka masala when I was Shooting a film of mine at his house. His mother made it and it was so spicy. It was really Hot!!. But i love it, i can't get enough of it.

Things needed:
Marinating the Chicken:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts, skins removed and cut into bite-sized pieces
250g thick natural yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Salt
Skewers, If using wooden skewers completely submerge them in water for approx. 30 minutes. This will hinder them from catching fire while grilling.

Tomato Gravy:
250g canned cocktail tomatoes
250g heavy cream
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 red chilies, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika powder
1 tablespoon ghee or clarified butter
Handful of coriander leaves/cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper

Method: Mix all of the ingredients for the marination in a large bowl. Thoroughly mix until the chicken is nicely coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight. On the next day, either prepare your charcoal grill or heat up the grill function of your oven to high. Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers, discarding the marinade.
Grill the chicken evenly on all sides, until juices run clear – approx 5-6 minutes.

To prepare the gravy, heat a large skillet to medium and melt the ghee/clarified butter. Sauté the garlic and chopped chilies until fragrant.
Sprinkle the ground cumin, paprika powder and a pinch of salt. Sauté for a further minute or two until the mixture turns into a paste-like texture. Pour in the canned tomatoes, scraping the bottom of the skillet to deglaze it and to release any bits stuck to the pan.

 Simmer uncovered for approx. 10-15 minutes on low heat until the sauces begins to thicken, then add the grilled chicken pieces and cream. Simmer for a further 10 minutes, thickening the sauce further and to heat the chicken and cream through. Serve sprinkled with fresh chopped coriander leaves and with steamed Basmati rice, fresh naans and pickles.