great dinner – great party

Halla Bára Gestsdóttir and Gunnar Sverrisson / Home and Delicious

Now is the time people start coming together more often and enjoy having some sweet moments. Something delicious never spoils when that happens but things don’t have to be formal to have a good time together. Following are simple recipes that combined are great dinner served.

Stuffed chicken

with cottage cheese, mascarpone and basil

Salad with roasted pears and blue cheese

White sponge cake with balsamic berries and cream

See the recipes down below

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Chicken with cottage cheese, mascarpone and basil stuffing

Slowly cooked chicken is perfect for the party. The stuffing makes it super moist, flows all around and leaves a delicious gravy.

1 whole chicken

½ lemon

2 dl cottage cheese

2 dl mascarpone cheese

1 dl fresh basil

1 dl fresh parsley

1 dl toasted pine nuts

salt and pepper

2 dl chicken stock

Preheat oven to 220° Celcius. Rinse the chicken, put it on a casserole. Put half a lemon into the chicken’s cavity. Make a tiny cut in the skin of each breast, as well as on the legs. Put a finger under the skin to make a space for the filling.

Mix cottage cheese, mascarpone and pine nuts in a blender, some salt and pepper. Push some stuffing carefully through each cut  and place it under the skin. You don’t need to use it sparely. Spread the reast of the stuffing over the chicken, some salt and pepper. Pour the stock into the casserole.

Put the chicken into the preheated oven and turn the heat down to 200° Celcius. Cook for 80-90 minutes. Chicken is ready when the meat practically fall off the bones. Serve with salad.

Salad with roasted pears and blue cheese

Salad that goes with a variety of dishes - once tried often used.

3 pears, deseeded and cut into thin slices

25 g butter

2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

2 tbsp honey

¼ teaspoon dried chili flakes

200 g salad of your choice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

200 g blue cheese

salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a pan, soften the pears for 3-5 minutes. Add the pine nuts, honey and chili flakes. Fry together until the honey is melted and translucent.

Put the salad on a plate. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, taste with salt and pepper. Lay the pears on the salad, pour over the honey mixture and crumble the blue cheese over. The salad can be served with the pears both warm or cold.

White sponge with balsamic berries and cream

White sponge is a true classic and this recipe is failproof. The sponge can be used with varied toppings.

Sponge:

75 g sugar

75 g butter

2 eggs

130 g flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

a little salt

1 dl milk

Preheat oven to 180° Celcius. Stir together sugar and butter. Add the eggs and stir until light and fluffy. Put in the dry ingredients. Stir. Add the milk. Pour into a 20 cm baking tin. Bake for 12-15 minutes, not more as the sponge goes back into the oven.

Berries:

10-12 strawberries, cut in half or into smaller pieces

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

¼ tsp vanilla seeds

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

fresh mint to garnish

Place the strawberries in a bowl, stir in the vanilla seeds and sugar. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over and stir until combined.

Cream:

1 egg, separate the white and yolk

2 dl cream

1 tablespoon flour

Whisk the egg white until soft peaks form. Whisk together the cream and the yolk. Add the flour and the egg white and stir gently but mix well.

Put the cream mixture on the middle of the cake. Insert to the oven for 5 more minutes or until the cream has melted into the berries and the sponge and has gotten some golden tops. Serve hot.

*Note, you can skip the melted cream mixture and serve the cake with the warm balsamic berries and freshly whipped cream.