It’s almost time for the King’s Coronation, and many Brits will undoubtedly be preparing for parties to celebrate the occasion with friends and family. However, it may be a struggle searching for the perfect party food and drinks to serve that will fit with a royal theme.
Fortunately, Event Management Company MGN events have highlighted King Charles’ favourite food and drinks along with recipes to ensure that your Coronation party is one to remember.
Cheesy baked eggs
Known to be one of the King’s favourite brunch recipes, this is a must-have dish to serve at your party, or perhaps for breakfast to start your day off feeling like a royal. Back in 2020, Charles even shared his recipe – you’ll need:
- 100g wilted spinach
- 1 cherry tomato
- 35g of strong soft cheese
- 1 egg
- 80ml double cream
- 15g grated hard cheese
- Fresh basil leaves
To start, you’ll need to line a small dish with some butter followed by the spinach, and then make a well in the bottom. Afterwards, split the cherry tomato into four equal sizes and place them on top of the spinach before adding the soft cheese. Next, add the basil leaves and crack the egg where the well was made, and then pour the double cream on top. Finish off by sprinkling the grated hard cheese on top and placing in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 180C.
Sauteed wild mushrooms
Charles particularly likes organic food, and wild mushrooms are his favourite vegetable; he even enjoys mushroom-picking, so it’s an essential dish to prepare for the Coronation celebrations.
Ingredients:
- 300g mixed wild mushrooms
- 30g unsalted butter
- ½ juiced lemon
- ½ small pack parsley, chopped
Use a small brush to start with to ensure you clean the mushrooms of any dirt, then melt the butter in a pan until it starts to foam. Next, add in the mushrooms and fry for around 1-2 minutes. Simply finish off by seasoning the mushrooms with salt and pepper and then add the lemon juice and parsley.
Pheasant crumble pie
Although the King doesn’t eat meat two days a week, pheasant crumble pie is one of his favourite dishes.
For the stock:
- 1 pheasant
- 1 diced medium onion
- 1 large diced carrot
- 4 sticks of celery, cut into quarters
- 2 bay leaves
- Large sprig of thyme
- 6 juniper berries
- 4 peppercorns
- Splash of sherry
For the roux sauce:
- 40g butter
- 40g plain flour
- 300ml pheasant stock
- 100ml double cream
- Chopped parsley and thyme
For the crumble:
- 170g butter
- 50g white breadcrumbs
- 30g finely grated Parmesan
- 2 smoked streaky-bacon rashers
Start by making the stock and placing the pheasant in a large saucepan and covering with water. Add the remaining ingredients other than the sherry and cover with baking paper. Bring to the boil before reducing the heat for a slow simmer, allowing it to cook for around half an hour.
Next, turn the heat off completely and leave the pheasant in the water for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and covering with foil.
Bring the stock back to the boil and lower the heat until the flavour develops, then use a sieve to strain the liquid. Then, add the sherry to a clean pan and allow it to develop a syrup consistency, and finally pour in the strained stock. Around half of this will be needed for the roux sauce.
For the roux sauce, melt the butter in a pan and add the flour to create a paste. Let this cook for several minutes and slowly add in the pheasant stock – it’s important to keep stirring until the sauce is thick. Afterwards, add the cream and herbs, as well as a dash of salt and pepper. Shred the meat from the breast and legs of the pheasant and add to the sauce; keep this on a low heat to ensure it remains warm.
For the crumble topping, melt butter in a pan before adding the breadcrumbs and keep stirring until golden brown. Add the breadcrumbs to kitchen paper to soak up the butter and sprinkle on the parmesan cheese. Next, you’ll need to cook the bacon to a crispy texture and crumble this onto the breadcrumbs. Finally, place the sauce mixture with the pheasant into a pie dish and top it off with the crumble, then place in the oven at 180C for approximately 10 minutes.
Cheese and crackers
One of Charles’ favourite foods is cheese and crackers, and he particularly enjoys them as a snack after a meal. At any gathering, cheese and crackers are always a hit – it’s easy enough to prepare, and these finger foods are fantastic for guests if they’re still quite hungry after finishing your other dishes. Plus, they go well with a glass of wine if this is the alcohol of choice for your guests.
While you can serve up a variety of flavour crackers and types of cheeses, oatcakes – or oat biscuits – are a type of cracker which is known to be Charles’ favourite. As well as this, he likes his crackers best when they are served warm, so keep this in mind if you want to keep your party as royal as possible.
Dry Martini
One of King Charles’ favourite drinks is a dry martini, and it’s a simple recipe – so it won’t be anything too complicated to make for your guests. However, Charles enjoys his martini to contain equal parts of gin and vermouth. Here’s how to make it:
Pour 45ml gin, 45ml vermouth, and ice to a shaker – you can also add a dash of orange bitters for a touch of flavour, although this is optional. Shake well until it feels cold before straining into a chilled cocktail glass, and your cocktail is ready.
Scotch whisky
Another one of Charles’ favourite alcoholic drinks is scotch whisky. He typically enjoys it neat, although he will sometimes add a splash of water. If you truly want to celebrate in style, scotch whisky is best served at room temperature – but you could always try a more flavourful drink to celebrate the Coronation, such as a whisky sour.
Ingredients:
- 50ml whisky
- 25ml lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar syrup
- 1 medium egg white
- Angostura bitters
- Ice
- Lemon slice and a maraschino cherry for the garnish (optional)
In a shaker, pour in all of the ingredients except for the ice and garnish. Shake for around 30 seconds and pour in a handful of ice cubes. Shake again allowing the drink to cool and strain the liquid into a short glass with ice. For an extra touch of detail to impress your guests, add the lemon slice and cherry on a cocktail stick.
Creative Director, Matthew Strange from MGN events commented: “The King’s Coronation is an exciting time for the nation as it is a significant moment that will go down in history, so there’s no doubt that many Brits will be throwing parties to celebrate the event.
“However, planning a party can be quite hectic, especially when attempting to stick to a royal theme. Thankfully, King Charles’ favourite foods make for excellent dishes to serve up at a party, such as finger food like cheese and crackers, so it’s easy enough to please your guests while truly celebrating in style.”
This information was provided by mgnevents.co.uk, one of the UK’s leading luxury private party and corporate events management companies.
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