Party Time The Best Dishes Ever

Today, it's party time,

and all our chefs are helping us get into the mood

with a selection of dishes

that will guarantee your guests have a really good time.

We've got white chocolate lollipops from Lorraine Pascale...

I've got a posh take on a childhood favourite.

..Rachel Khoo cooks coq au vin on a stick...

Coq au vin - French classic,

everybody knows about it, but I'm doing it a bit differently -

I'm going to do a summery version.

..and we'll be finishing with one truly impressive cake

-that will wow all your friends.

-At the end of the day,

if it looks like that it's worth the effort.

But let's get things started with James Martin,

who is serving up some fantastic seafood.

Some of the best party food is bite-sized,

and my first recipe is no exception.

Sourdough crusted cod cheeks with a pea salsa.

Now, one of my favourite meals at home has to be fish and chips,

and it's quite difficult to do that for a dinner party

because we've all got sort of smallish deep-fat fryers.

But you CAN do amazing dishes, like goujons and scampi.

Now, scampi are one of those things I was kind of brought up with

as a kid, but rather than strips of fish or prawns or

lovely langoustines, what I'm going to use are these.

Now, these are cod cheeks,

these are amazing nuggets of gold which sit right here.

Fantastic pieces of meat.

Now, the French prize these, and they're really sought-after.

They're about a tenth of the price of cod loin,

but they're just delicious.

If you can't get hold of them, try fish fillet chunks instead.

Now, I'm going to deep-fry these, and for this, I'm going

to create a lovely little coating with it.

Now, normally, scampi's just done with breadcrumbs,

but this is the best bread in the world in my opinion -

this is sourdough.

You'll need to slice the bread and then blitz it into crumbs.

You get this amazing, almost, like, treacle sort of taste to the bread.

It really is a unique flavour, really - one that lends itself

so well to make crumbs out of.

Now, just to complement the flavour nicely, you can

put a touch of lemon zest in.

This is kind of very different to the scampi and chips

I used to have as a kid in a basket together with chicken in a basket.

Do you remember that? How cool was that?

Blitz the mix a little longer to spread that zesty flavour

into the crumbs, and get prepped to bread your cod.

You'll need a bowl of plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper,

and a bowl of three beaten eggs.

The French call this to "pane."

It's just a basic coating, really, to coat these little nuggets.

And what you end up with is this fantastic crumb.

This makes an amazing stuffing as well.

So into flour first...

Dust off any excess, and then into the egg.

Now, the great thing about doing this for a party

is that you can prepare these in advance. Cos one of the

things you don't want to be doing is rushing around at the last minute.

Everything, really, with this is prepared and in the fridge.

Then at the last minute,

all you've got to do is drop them in the fryer.

You can serve them with whatever you want -

I'm going to create a lovely little pea salsa with this.

For the salsa, first chuck some defrosted frozen peas into

the blender, along with some roughly chopped mint and two green chillies.

As much or as little as you dare, really, with the chilli.

And chop this up quite fine first of all,

because I'm not going to puree this too much,

I'm just going to pulse it. So if the chilli's too chunky,

you won't get that through the whole mix.

So a good pinch of salt.

Bit of black pepper.

Always with salsa you need some form of acid - vinegar,

that kind of stuff. I'm going to use some lime.

And then all I'm going to do is just blend this with

some thick creme fraiche - you need the thick creme fraiche,

none of that low-fat stuff.

Cos the minute you put it in here and blitz it, it'll split.

So pop the lid on and just pulse it, just a little bit.

Pretty good to me!

And what you end up with is this delicious salsa.

Whenever my mum comes down, she says,

"Are you doing that cold mushy peas again?"

But it is kind of like that, really, I suppose,

but it does taste pretty good.

Now, just before your party guests arrive,

get the deep fryer on, and fill 90% of it with vegetable oil.

Then top it up with the secret ingredient - beef dripping.

Now, it sounds really unusual, deep-frying in beef dripping,

but the reason being that if you deep-fry fish in fresh oil,

you don't get the colour,

and you certainly don't get the flavour with it.

Now, the oil is set quite high,

so you just want to pop these straight into hot oil.

They'll only take about sort of one, maybe two minutes to cook.

And cook them in batches as well, cos otherwise

they'll all stick together and you won't get them lovely and crisp.

Almost the waiting's the hardest bit, really.

Cos you know that these are going to taste fabulous!

When they're golden, shake off the excess oil,

tip out onto some kitchen paper, and do your next batch.

And then just as they come out of the fryer,

a good pinch of salt over the top.

And then to serve them, you can just chuck 'em on the plate.

Little bit of lemon...

And then of course you've got some pea salsa with this.

Particularly in hotels you have these canape parties,

where you've got this poor girl who's got a tray about

three foot long, carrying these

sort of random bits of dried-up bits of salmon

and bits of dried bread.

I just wish they'd serve stuff like this.

In a basket!

The simple, succulent taste alone will impress.

There's no need for fussy presentation.

Thanks, James, that looks delicious.

Now it's time for something sweet.

Some high-class treats that are deceptively simple to put together.

Here's Lorraine Pascale with two different things to do

with white chocolate.

You can find a little bit of luxury in the simplest of flavours.

I love cherries, bursting with juice -

they're gorgeous on their own,

but I'm going to show you an easy and elegant way of making

the ordinary extraordinary, with my white chocolate dipped cherries.

And I've got a posh take on a childhood favourite,

with my white chocolate lollipops with dried cranberries.

# I try to keep my heartbeat

# But I can't get it right... #

You'll need a big bar of cheap white chocolate, melted.

I like to use a microwave. 30-second blasts, stir between each blast.

# Oh, heaven, oh, heaven

# I wake with good intentions... #

White chocolate's not as easy to melt as other chocolate -

it can go lumpy or grainy if it gets too hot.

It should be smooth, runny and shiny.

# Oh, heaven, oh, heaven... #

But now for the really fun bit.

Holding a cherry by the stalk,

pull it slowly through the melted chocolate.

# Oh, heaven, oh, heaven

# I wake with good intentions

# Oh, heaven, oh, heaven

# I wake with good intentions... #

Then, put your cherries in the fridge for 15 minutes,

or until the chocolate hardens.

So pretty for the end of a dinner party.

# Oh, heaven, oh, heaven

# I wake with good intentions... #

For my white chocolate lollipops with dried cranberries,

lay some lolly sticks on baking parchment,

and then drop a spoonful of chocolate on each of the sticks.

# Oh, heaven, oh, heaven

# I wake with good intentions... #

Scatter finely chopped dried cranberries over the chocolate...

# Then I'm gone, then I'm gone... #

..put them in the fridge to set, then carefully peel off the paper.

Simply heaven. A delicious posh nibble.

Now, here's another finger food favourite from the Hairy Bikers.

It's their minced beef pinwheels, which as you can see from this,

are a real crowd pleaser - in every sense of the word.

We're going to do minced beef pinwheels.

It's one of those wonderful things you can do

with a slab of puff pastry.

These are really easy, and once you've got the method,

you can be as creative with the filling as you like.

Now, the pinwheel - it was one of those things

when you were a kid, you used to pin a whirligig to a stick. A pinwheel.

This is the same, but with mince and pastry and without the stick.

LAUGHTER

It's basically a savoury mince you're making -

finely chopped onions, and sweated down garlic.

-That'll do us, I think.

-Beautiful.

-Take that off, and let it cool.

Minced beef!

Little bit of fat in it - you need that.

What we're going to do is we're going to add some flour.

All the juices that come out of the meat,

the flour will absorb that. We'll add some mixed herbs -

plain, common or garden, dried mixed herbs,

a big dollop of tomato puree for a bit of richness...

Now, season it well - salt, pepper.

Lots of pepper, cos it's great with the beef.

What we do is then we just massage the meat...

Now, meanwhile, I have a pack of puff pastry,

and I'm going to roll it out.

And bought puff pastry is OK - there's not much wrong with it.

Once your mince is well mixed,

it needs to be pressed out onto the pastry.

This isn't one for the vegetarians - a sheet of beef flesh!

-What would a vegan put in a pinwheel?

-Nuts.

-Nuts!

-Nuts?

I'd rather eat me own feet!

LAUGHTER

Now, this, we're topping that with cheese.

But if you don't like cheese, don't put cheese in.

You could put horseradish in, or a spread of mustard would be nice.

Eggy wash the edges,

and roll it up into a sausage.

I reckon we'll get a dozen out of this.

Cut them up evenly into about one-inch-thick discs,

and lay them out on greaseproof paper.

It doesn't matter if they puff up and touch each other.

You can do this if you want. Do brushing with egg!

-I like this bit!

-LAUGHTER

I just love the formality of this.

But you could do really posh ones.

You know, like, chicken and wild mushroom ones -

just make a duxelle of mushrooms, you know, like you would do

for a beef Wellington.

And chicken - it'd be gorgeous, you know?

Haggis would be good, haggis pinwheels!

LAUGHTER

Will you stop watching us? You're putting us off!

Just pop those into a moderate hot oven,

about 170 degrees Celsius, for about 15 minutes,

and honestly, they'll be puffed up, they'll be golden, tasty and brill.

Doesn't 15 minutes go quick when you're having fun(?)

-There we are.

-AUDIENCE:

-Ooh!

Ooh! And I'll just take these outside with a nice glass of wine or

-a pint of beer - I think job's a good 'un.

-Sit in your garden.

Ladies and gentlemen, minced beef pinwheels.

APPLAUSE

Now it's over to Rachel Khoo in her little Parisian kitchen, with

a version of one of the all-time great dishes of French cuisine.

Coq au vin dates back centuries,

to as far back as ancient Gaul and Julius Caesar.

But Rachel's got a totally modern twist

that transforms it into a perfect party fare.

By night, my modest home is transformed into a magical

little restaurant for two.

-So good!

-Thanks!

It's juicy, it's...

People would come from all over the world,

and there were always really surprised

that A, an English girl can cook, B, she can cook French food,

and C, she can cook French food which is delicious on a little stove

with a little oven like that.

Even though I love serving home-cooked French classics,

I always enjoy giving them my own twist.

Just like my next recipe.

Coq au vin - French classic, everybody knows about it.

I'm doing a coq au vin, but I'm doing it a bit differently -

I'm going to do a summery version.

So we're going to put the coq au vin all on a barbecue stick,

make a lovely little red wine marinade, and turn that into

a beautiful sauce to go with that.

We're going to start off by cutting our chicken into large chunks -

I've got chicken thigh here, which has been taken off the bone.

I would definitely recommend not using chicken breast.

There's a lot more flavour in chicken thigh,

and also it's cheaper than chicken breast.

Next ingredient is the lardons, which is a smoked bacon.

The lardons have a lovely smoky taste,

and that's essential to a coq au vin.

So, to start the marinade,

soften one chopped onion in some butter,

then add garlic,

some thyme and a couple of bay leaves.

You want to cook this until it gets a lovely golden brown colour.

My take on coq au vin might have some French foodies in a stew!

Most people will say it's not a coq au vin.

But it has all the ingredients in it.

It IS a coq au vin, but just different presentation.

Now we can add our red wine...

500ml, which is like a bottle, minus a glass for yourself.

And we're going to let that simmer for ten minutes.

And if you've got a minuscule kitchen like mine,

you can use the time to tidy up the mess you've just made!

TIMER RINGS

That's simmered for ten minutes.

Leave the sauce to cool off, then pour all over the meat

so the flavours can infuse into the chicken.

Clingfilm...

Goes in the fridge for at least four hours, or even better, overnight.

You can see the meat has started taking on

the red, purply colour from the wine,

that's exactly what we want...

and now we're ready to assemble our skewers.

We need a few other ingredients -

I have some mushrooms, potatoes, carrots and onions.

Before you start, make sure you parboil your root veg,

otherwise they won't cook properly.

Then load the skewers in whatever order you want.

OK, the chicken is on the skewers,

I've got my leftover red wine marinade - we're not going to

throw it away, we're actually going to make a sauce out of it.

You need 300ml of the marinade...

Let that reduce by half.

This will intensify the flavour.

Then add a tablespoon of cornflour mixed with a little water.

And a teaspoon of sugar...

A splash of red wine vinegar...

..then salt and pepper to taste.

Let's have a taste.

Mmm. That's good.

That's your sauce done.

Rub some olive oil into the skewers,

and they're ready for the blistering hot griddle.

SIZZLING

You want that sizzling noise when you put them down.

It's sizzling and smoking.

So about five minutes on each side.

Mmm!

Look...

When it starts cooking, you get all these smells,

and it's really mouthwatering.

Done!

And that is pretty much ready to eat.

That's your coq au vin on a stick.

Now, we're going out in style with a gorgeous dessert that

originated in France, and will bring a real touch of sophistication

to any friendly gathering - the opera cake.

It's a really big production -

hitting all the high notes are Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.

I think it's perhaps the most glamorous cake that I've ever made.

It's a matter of getting all the layers right.

First of all you have a joconde sponge, which has almonds in it,

and then it has chocolate ganache, creme au beurre,

and you build up the layers, and on top

I put a layer of raspberry jam and lots of raspberries over the top.

It's ticking all the boxes. I love chocolate, love raspberries.

Well, I'm going to start off - I soak the sponge with syrup.

To make the syrup, pour 200ml of water into a saucepan,

and add 100g of caster sugar.

Dissolve the sugar first of all,

and then we'll boil it rapidly until it's a thin syrup.

This should take four to five minutes,

while you start on the meringue base for the joconde sponge.

Could I have three egg whites?

Reserve the egg yolks in a separate bowl.

-I'm going to use those for the creme au beurre later.

-OK.

So this is a whisked sponge, but it has the addition of almonds.

It's full of flavour, and it's a lovely, close texture.

There's your egg whites, Mary.

So, you make a meringue first of all...

Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks,

then gradually add in 15g of caster sugar.

When the meringue is glossy, cover and set aside.

Now we come to the main part of the sponge,

and I need 100g of ground almonds.

OK.

On top of the almonds, add 100g of icing sugar.

No need to sift the icing sugar.

And in with the sugar and the almonds go three eggs.

I'm just going to check over here that the syrup is thick now,

and I'm going to add the kirsch and let it get cold.

It's supposed to be three tablespoons, and we'd better be

-fairly accurate.

-Oof!

Put the syrup aside to cool, and continue with the sponge.

Add the three eggs to the ground almonds and icing sugar.

And you whisk that mixture until it is thick.

That looks as though it's doubled its volume -

it's still runny, but it's much thicker.

Weigh out 30g of plain flour.

I'll sieve it in, just to make quite sure it's absolutely smooth.

When the flour is combined, gently fold the meringue into the mix.

And in order to get it in quite smoothly,

you want to do this in three batches.

And the first third you can be quite rough with, almost beating.

And then when you get it slackened down,

you can add the rest a little more quickly.

There it is. Looks a bit like snow!

-That is your raising agent, because we've used plain flour.

-Yeah.

The final ingredient for the sponge is 30g of butter, melted and cooled.

Pour it down the side of the bowl, and then fold in.

Why do you put it round the outside?

You can bring it in gradually from the outside.

If it's all in the middle, then it doesn't go in so easily.

Again, very carefully -

if you go on beating this, it will lose all its volume.

When the butter is incorporated,

pour the mix into a greased and lined Swiss roll tin.

Just gently tip it in,

push it into the corners...

And that is very important -

it must be one level all the way over,

because I am going to split it.

It's ready to go into the oven at 200 degrees,

and that's a fan oven, and it will take between five and seven minutes.

It needs to be very carefully watched.

The sponge is ready when it's a pale golden brown

and springy to touch.

Yes, that looks right.

Lovely.

So, this is how it should look.

Shrinking away, as it is there, from the side.

Turn the sponge onto a sheet of baking parchment.

Don't do it straight onto the rack, because it'll stick to the rack.

And tip it straight onto the paper.

Like that. Lift it away...

Peel the paper off the sponge.

So just pull that back, gently, all the way,

and leave that to get cool.

When it IS cold, I've got to put a sharp knife through that,

and then I'll cut the strips in half,

-and build up four layers.

-OK.

So I'll just pop that to one side.

To make the chocolate ganache filling,

pour 100ml of double cream into a pan and heat until just bubbling.

Now, that double cream should be pouring cream.

Remove from the heat, and add 100g of plain chocolate.

Stir until all the chocolate has melted,

and the ganache is smooth and glossy.

One of the most useful icings, and so simple. That's it...

Pour the ganache into a bowl to cool.

Then we come to the posh creme au beurre -

very French and very traditional.

-You remember we had three egg yolks?

-Yes.

I need those to put into the mixing bowl.

There you go, what would you like with that?

Creme au beurre is a buttercream filling enriched with egg yolks,

and sweetened with a sugar syrup.

I need 75g of caster sugar.

Dissolve in three tablespoons of water, then boil steadily

until the syrup reaches 110 degrees centigrade, and thickens.

Now, I've got a thermometer here, and I'm going to test it,

but you don't really need one, I can just show you the consistency.

That's exactly 110.

Now, I've got the egg yolks in here, and I can start whisking those.

MIXER WHIRS

With the food mixer running, pour the syrup over the egg yolks.

So, it's sort of like a very runny golden syrup.

Continue to whisk until the mixture is thick and mousse-like.

That's just the consistency that I want, sort of soft whipped cream.

-It's gone pale in colour, and it's ready to have the buttering.

-OK.

Is that softened butter that you're putting in?

It's softened butter, and while it's beating,

you put it in little by little.

So, full speed ahead...

Add 225g of unsalted butter, a little at a time.

Now the machine's done all the work...

To finish, add two teaspoons of vanilla paste.

You may have at home vanilla extract,

or you can scoop out the beans from a whole vanilla pod.

Continue to mix until well combined.

We have achieved our creme au beurre.

It looks incredible. And it's got that lovely shine to it as well.

Now we've got to start assembling our cake.

Using a bread knife, carefully slice the cooled sponge in half.

Doing a good job there, Mary.

-How about that, then?

-That's good.

-I'm out the other side.

Now cut in half lengthways, so you have four layers.

-That's it.

-To assemble the cake,

brush one of the sponges with one quarter of the kirsch syrup.

And you just dab it over...

Then, spread on half of the creme au beurre.

Traditionally, each of the opera cake's thin layers

should be exactly the same height.

Do it to the edges, remember that we ARE going to trim the edges...

Right, we're on to the next layer.

Place another sponge on top -

again, brush with one quarter of the kirsch syrup,

then spread over the chocolate ganache.

You know, if there's a birthday in the family, it would make

a wonderful dessert, and you could put candles all across the top.

The next two layers are kirsch-soaked sponge,

and the rest of the creme au beurre.

Then we come to our final layer here.

Flatten it down...

Even if the mixture is oozing out, that's good.

Spread over the remaining kirsch syrup.

I'm going to brush over some sieved raspberry jam.

-Smells good!

-It's lovely.

And then, on top of that,

fresh raspberries.

Arrange the raspberries close together,

and remember to leave space to trim down the edges.

It works out very well, this,

because each person gets

a double row of the raspberries.

And finally, brush over a little of the sieved jam to glaze.

So if that goes into the fridge for two or three hours, really,

-just to firm up, and then we'll sharply cut it up.

-Right.

Into the fridge it goes.

When the cake is thoroughly chilled,

trim to reveal sharp, clean edges

and clearly defined layers.

Because we've chilled it really well,

it means that you get

a nice, clear cut.

We're getting the distinct layers there...

Well, I'm quite proud of that.

It IS tricky, it does take time,

but if you do it stage by stage,

you will achieve something exactly like that.

At the end of the day,

if it looks like that, it's well worth the effort.

Are you ready?

Looks lovely, that, Mary.

I love to see the stripes all the way down.

Now. Let's see what it tastes like.

First thing I get is the kirsch, and I like that!

Wow! You get a BIG kick from the kirsch, don't you?

-You do.

-I like that!

That's really nice.

And the creme au beurre is so creamy and soft,

and then you come down to the chocolate ganache,

and the whole thing is sharpened up by the raspberries on the top.

You can taste that beautiful sponge as well.

That all goes well as a package - it's a beautiful opera cake.

-Well done, Mary. That's delish!

-Quite impressive.

"Quite impressive", Mary?

I think we can do better than that -

amazing!

And there's no topping that, so let's call it a day, shall we?

Thanks to all of today's chefs, and thank you for joining.

See you again soon. Bye-bye.