"Rosemary's Baby" Full Dinner Party

THE COCKTAIL AND MENU                                                                                                                                                                                                    

• 6 oz of good vodka
• 1/2 oz Grenadine
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
• Fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish

Chill four glasses. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the vodka, Grenadine, and fresh lime juice. Shake very well. Strain and pour into the chilled glasses. Garnish with rosemary sprigs.

Serves 4

• 2 steamed lobsters
• 3 TBS of butter
• 3TBS of flour
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 cube of vegetable or chicken bouillon
• 2 carrots finely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery finely chopped
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
• 1 TBS of tomato paste
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3/4 of a cup of dry white wine
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 2 TBS of salt

Remove the meat from the lobsters and set aside. 

Put the shells and 2 TBS of salt in a large pot and cover it with eight cups of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for an hour. Put through a strainer and reserve the stock.

Add 2 TBS of olive oil and 3 TBS of butter to a large pot. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and four sprigs of fresh thyme. Cook over medium heat stirring often until the mixture softens. Add the tomato paste, cayenne pepper, and flour to the mixture and stir for a minute.

Add the wine and let it reduce until the mixture thickens.

Add 5 cups of the lobster stock and the bouillon and let simmer for 30 minutes. (Keep the reserved stock if you'd like a thinner bisque.)

While the bisque is simmering cut the lobster meat into small bite-sized pieces. ( I put a full claw in each bowl and it looked really fancy!)

Remove the pot from the heat and remove the thyme sprigs. 

Blend until smooth with either an immersion blender or a regular blender. (If using a regular blender let the mixture cool a bit first.)

After the bisque is blended add the cream and heat through on low. 

Add the chopped lobster meat to the hot bisque right before serving. Pull the leaves off the last sprig of thyme and sprinkle them onto each bowl.

Taste for seasoning adding salt and pepper as needed.

Serves 4

• Four 2-inch thick steaks at room temperature
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 TBS of fresh rosemary
• 1 TBS of Kosher salt
• Olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 TBS of butter
• 1/2 cup red wine

Finely chop the garlic and rosemary. Add the salt to the garlic and rosemary mixture and with the side of your knife grind the ingredients together.  Lightly coat the steaks with olive oil and add the rosemary and garlic rub to both sides of the steaks. 

Heat your frying pan with some olive oil for a minute or so on medium-high heat. The pan should be very hot.  Gently place your steaks in the frying pan.  Let the steak cook for three minutes on one side, (don't move or push on the steak), then flip for an additional three minutes on the other side. Lower the heat and cook for one minute more. 

This will cook your steak medium rare.  (3-4 minutes per side for medium and 4-5 minutes per side for well done.)

Place the steaks on a platter and let them rest.

Add a nice splash of red wine to the pan and let it reduce. 

Add the butter and after it melts pour the mixture over the steaks.

Serves 4

• 1 pound of baby carrots
• Olive Oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry the baby carrots. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the carrots on the baking sheet and coat them in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for 30 minutes or until they are fork tender.  

• 6 ounces of dark chocolate
• 4 ounces of milk chocolate
• 1  and 1/2 pints of heavy cream or whipping cream
• 4 eggs separated
• 2 TBS room temperature butter
• 1 TBS vanilla plus 1 tsp for the whipped cream topping
• 2 TBS sugar plus 1 tsp for the whipped cream topping
• 4 TBS espresso
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 
  

Add 2 TBS of the sugar to the hot espresso and let it cool.

Melt the chocolate in a pot over very low heat on the stove, or use a double boiler. When it is melted, take it off the heat and add 2 TBS of room-temperature butter.  Let the chocolate cool.

Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks until they are light yellow and thick. (Approximately 2 minutes.)

Add the cooled espresso, vanilla, and melted chocolate to the egg yolks and beat for 1 minute more, until combined.

Beat the egg whites and salt until stiff peaks form.

Whip 1 pint of the cream until stiff peaks form, but are still light and fluffy. 

Alternate folding half the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, then half of the egg whites, then the second half of the whipped cream, and the second half of the egg whites. 

Place into dessert cups and chill for a couple of hours.

Whip the 1/2 pint of whipping cream with 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp vanilla for the top of your "Mouse". 

This recipe makes 4 large or 8 smaller servings of mousse.

I went with a fresh white tablecloth and white plates. I have some vintage salad plates that have big yellow daisies, so I put those on top for some dimension. I found some yellow fabric at Joanne's Fabric that reminded me of the wallpaper in Rosemary's apartment,  and I made my napkins with that material. The silver vase was a Goodwill find and it was perfect for a sweet little flower arrangement. I used daisies and yellow ranunculus which I adore. The thick yellow tapered candles were a fantastic find at Joanne's as well!