Platinum Celebrations
Murder Mystery Party
By Jeanne Benedict
8 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine
8 large Russet potatoes, washed, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 400F (205C).
Cut garlic lengthwise into quarters. Place garlic, oil, and wine into a small baking dish and cook until garlic is deep golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Add potatoes to a stockpot and cover in water and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander.
Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and mash until smooth. Add butter, salt, and pepper to potatoes and mash until butter is melted. Add garlic and any wine left in the baking dish and mash until incorporated. Mash in cream until blended. Spoon into large bowl or on individual plates and serve warm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Makes 10 to 12 servings
2 (10-oz.) packages chopped frozen spinach, thawed
1/4 cup butter
2 large brown onions, minced
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup heavy cream
8 eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 red peppers, seeded, minced
1/2 cup Spiced Brandy
Squeeze all excess water from spinach place in a large bowl.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 - 5 minutes. Add onions to spinach and stir until combined. Stir in cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper.
Preheat oven to 325F (165C). Line 18 cups of muffin pans with foil cups. Spray cups with nonstick cooking spray. Beat cream and eggs in a large bowl until just blended. Pour egg mixture into spinach and stir until combined.
Pour mixture into prepared foil cups. Fill 2 large baking pans halfway with hot water. Set the each muffin pan inside a pan of water and place pans on lower rack of oven. Bake 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted off-center of timbale comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add brandy and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes more. Reserve 1/3 cup peppers and place additional peppers and liquid in blender. Puree until smooth.
Remove timbales from muffin pan and gently peel away foil cups. Place upside down on a serving platter or individual plates. Spoon 2 teaspoons red pepper puree over top of timbale and garnish with pinch of reserved minced red pepper. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Makes about 18 timbales
Note: These timbales can be made 1 day in advance and reheated when ready to serve. After timbales have fully cooled, remove them from pan, keeping timbales in their foil cups. Place timbales on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready to serve, gently peel foil cups away from timbales and place upside down on a baking sheet. Warm timbales in a 350F oven for 10 minutes. Or, place timbales upside down on a plate and microwave until warm. Place timbales upside down on serving plate and garnish top with red pepper puree and minced peppers.
Invite guests to a night of intrigue and suspense by hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner Theme Party! Guess “whodunit” while dining on a full-course menu of delicious cuisine and solving clues with each serving. Ask guests to come dressed to kill and ready to enjoy a dinner party to die for.
What Is A Murder Mystery Party?
A Murder Mystery Party is a party where guests assume a character for the evening based on a brief prewritten mystery.
Throughout the evening, guests solve clues and act out their roles, similar to a play, in order to discover the murderer.
Ways to implement the ultimate Murder Mystery Party:
- Sit-down dinner: clues are typically given with each food course and a lively discussion ensues with the culprit revealed at dessert.
- Buffet or cocktail party: guests graze on cuisine as clues are revealed during the evening.
Getting Started: Choosing Your Mystery
5 Popular Murder Mystery Themes
Costumes and décor will be easy with these themes:
The easiest way to host a Murder Mystery Party is to purchase a downloadable or mail order kit. These kits have the mystery all planned out for you from invitations with a character description for each guest to plot points that coordinate with your party schedule.
Check out these Murder Mystery Party websites to find the perfect theme:
Murder Mystery Host-Party
Perhaps the largest Murder Mystery Party website online, this company only offers downloadable kits. This means , the party host has to print out booklets, clues, or game materials for each guest from their computer.
Site Offerings:
- Mysteries tailored to your guests, such as teen and adult categories.
- A wide variety of party themes within the categories.
- “Try a Msytery” functionality – allows you to read a story synopsis and see character descriptions and photos.
- Online party planning tools, easy email invitations, dinner menus with recipes, comments from user, and much more.
If you want a mystery-party-in-a-box shipped to your door, check out Dinner and a Murder.
Site offerings:
- Kits include printed booklets, invitations, a host guide, nametags, and more. You can read brief descriptions about their mysteries online.
- RSVP online event management system and forums where people who have hosted their parties have shared comments and tips.
- Extensive website links give you plenty of information to max out your theme from costumes to décor.
An Atmosphere of Suspense
Once you’ve chosen your mystery, pick a location. Who says this whodunit affair has to be at home?
Add to the suspense by hosting your party in an interesting place like:
- A private room in a restaurant with dramatic decor
- On a Yacht
- In a Theater
Whether your party takes place at home or on location, decorate to enhance your mystery’s theme.
Dressed to Kill
Request that guests dress like the characters you assign them. Cast the roles in your mystery according to the personalities of your friends.
You can certainly invite additional guests after the character roles are filled. These innocent bystanders should dress in theme and play along, “gasping” when appropriate.
A Dinner to Die For
Tantalize guests by giving food courses clever titles and announcing them with every serving:
- First Course: Accomplice Appetizers
- Second Course Salad: Sleuth Salad
- Main Entré: The Last Supper (recipes below)
- Dessert: Death by Chocolate
You’ll find main entrée recipes below and your interpretation of the other courses can be inspired by your theme or chosen from favorite recipes in your repertoire.
Get more Dinner Party ideas or post a question in my Forum if you need a suggestion for your event.
Peppercorn Crusted Beef Tenderloin in a Cabernet Sauvignon Sauce
Recipes from Sophisticated Entertaining by Jeanne Benedict
1 cup whole peppercorns
1/4 cup salt
5 lb. whole beef tenderloin or filet mignon
2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon
5 medium shallots, cut into slivers
6 tablespoons butter
Preheat oven to 375F (205C). Lay a sheet of wax paper on a flat surface. Scatter peppercorns on wax paper. Lay another sheet of wax paper on top of peppercorns. Place a heavy frying pan on top of wax paper and press down cracking peppercorns into coarse bits.
Rub salt over surface of beef. Roll beef in cracked pepper until outer surface in coated. Place beef in a large roasting pan and insert a meat thermometer into beef. Roast for 45 – 60 minutes or until desired doneness. The meat thermometer will register 140F (60C) for rare meat and for 170F (75C) well done meat. Remove beef from oven and transfer to plate. Tent with foil to keep warm.
Meanwhile, add broth, wine, and shallots to a large skillet and cook over high heat until mixture boils and reduces to half, about 15 - 20 minutes. Remove from heat and swirl in butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Pour drippings from roasting pan into mixture and stir until combined.
Cut beef into thick slices and arrange on a serving platter or individual plates. Spoon sauce over beef and serve hot.
Makes 10 servings
Note: A whole beef tenderloin weighing 5 lbs. may be hard to find. When I prepared this dish, I used 2 (2.5 lb) tenderloins. Figure your cooking time at approximately 20 minutes per lb. in a 375F oven and insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the largest piece of beef.
While most sauces start with the drippings from the pan, this recipe instructs to add the drippings at the end of the cooking process. The Cabernet Sauvignon sauce takes about 20 minutes to prepare and you don’t want perfectly cooked tenderloin to cool just because you needed the drippings.
Roasted Garlic Wine Mashed Potatoes
Recipes from Sophisticated Entertaining by Jeanne Benedict8 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine
8 large Russet potatoes, washed, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 400F (205C).
Cut garlic lengthwise into quarters. Place garlic, oil, and wine into a small baking dish and cook until garlic is deep golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Add potatoes to a stockpot and cover in water and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander.
Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and mash until smooth. Add butter, salt, and pepper to potatoes and mash until butter is melted. Add garlic and any wine left in the baking dish and mash until incorporated. Mash in cream until blended. Spoon into large bowl or on individual plates and serve warm. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Makes 10 to 12 servings
Spinach and Brandied Red Pepper Timbale
Recipes from Sophisticated Entertaining by Jeanne Benedict2 (10-oz.) packages chopped frozen spinach, thawed
1/4 cup butter
2 large brown onions, minced
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup heavy cream
8 eggs
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 red peppers, seeded, minced
1/2 cup Spiced Brandy
Squeeze all excess water from spinach place in a large bowl.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 - 5 minutes. Add onions to spinach and stir until combined. Stir in cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper.
Preheat oven to 325F (165C). Line 18 cups of muffin pans with foil cups. Spray cups with nonstick cooking spray. Beat cream and eggs in a large bowl until just blended. Pour egg mixture into spinach and stir until combined.
Pour mixture into prepared foil cups. Fill 2 large baking pans halfway with hot water. Set the each muffin pan inside a pan of water and place pans on lower rack of oven. Bake 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted off-center of timbale comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add brandy and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes more. Reserve 1/3 cup peppers and place additional peppers and liquid in blender. Puree until smooth.
Remove timbales from muffin pan and gently peel away foil cups. Place upside down on a serving platter or individual plates. Spoon 2 teaspoons red pepper puree over top of timbale and garnish with pinch of reserved minced red pepper. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Makes about 18 timbales
Note: These timbales can be made 1 day in advance and reheated when ready to serve. After timbales have fully cooled, remove them from pan, keeping timbales in their foil cups. Place timbales on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. When ready to serve, gently peel foil cups away from timbales and place upside down on a baking sheet. Warm timbales in a 350F oven for 10 minutes. Or, place timbales upside down on a plate and microwave until warm. Place timbales upside down on serving plate and garnish top with red pepper puree and minced peppers.
Flower Delivery
Gourmet Cookies
Gourmet Popcorn
Outdoor Living
Chocolate Gifts
Gourmet Chocolate
Doll Play
Children's Toys
California Wine
Unique Gifts
Household Gifts
Gourmet Food
Gift Baskets
Party Ideas
