DP Debut

You've heard us talk all about the core of the thirthythousanddollarmillionaire so we figured it's time to show you just what we're talking about. DPs. Dinner parties are the heart of what makes 30Km so fabulous because when it comes down to it, getting together with your favorite people, good libations and great food is worth more than millions. Trillions, even.

Last Tuesday we had our 30KM kick-off (although we've been dp-ing for almost a year, just sans blog) and it was great! We gathered at Chez Shrock-Mannies around 8 and started things off right with a few glasses of wine and some Mexican beer. For apps we had our signature goat cheese and marinara, courtesy of Down Town Marge (DTM), and sushi fresh from Kona Jack's own, Queenie (Ryan).

From there we ventured up to the top patio of the house, caught up on the weekly happenings and snapped a few photos (thanks, Haley!) so we could share them with you, our lovely readers. By the time we had our mini photo sesh and polished off ALL the sushi, it was time for the main event.

Cue: salt-crusted fish. Our main entree of the night was Salt-Crusted Walleye, which you can read all about in Wednesday morning's post. The fish was accompanied by a fresh and sassy Mexican Bean salad that Chris made and Fruit Salad via Karlie.

We would be ungracious if we didn't mention how great our photographer, Haley, was! She was a blast to be around and totally captured the fun. THANK YOU HALEY! Check her out, she is so very talented!

All in all, it was a GREAT time! We cheers'd so many times to our happiness that my arms got a workout. Now that is the sign of a good evening. We've included some photos for your enjoyment!

Welcome to the DPMags and Karz enjoying cocktail hour

DTM and the signature Goat Cheese & Marinara

Digging into the the marinara and sushi

Cocktail hour done right, Cas on the prowl

Fish preparation

Fish completion

Chris' Mexican Bean Salad goodness

Karlie prepping the fruit
Matt doing a fabulous job at what we like to call the "the 30k creep"

Mmmmmmm

Cheers, to good friends and good food!

P.S. Want to know more about the millionaires? Every week we'll feature a different thirtythou contributer and pick their brain on their favorite cheap thrills as well as their insights on love life and living each day one deal at a time!

Salt-Crusted Fish

Want an easy way to impress your friends at a DP? Try Salt-Crusted Fish. This European classic is tasty to eat and fun to serve!

Start by finding a great seafood department. This dish is typically made with a whole fish (scaled and gutted) but if you don't have a local fish monger at your fingertips you can also grab two large fillets and put them together (skin side out).

Make sure to use a non-endangered species of fish! Many seafood species have become drastically over-fished and are about to become extinct. For a great way to make sure your seafood is sustainably sound, check out the system the fine folks at Monterey Bay Aquarium are using to make these decisions easy for all of us.

Alright, now to the recipe.

This is what you'll need: A nice sized whole fish or two fillets stacked together skin side out, about 2 lbs of kosher salt (mix this with 1/3 cups water and you've got your salt mix!), 1 lemon, herbs of your choice.

• Pre-Heat oven to 475 degrees
• Line your pan with parchment paper
• Make a bed of salt 3/4 of an inch thick for your fish to lay on
• Slap your fish down on the salt
• Fill the cavities of the fish with lemon slices and your favorite herbs (for our DP I used fresh oregano, sage, and basil)
• COMPLETELY cover the fish with salt, packing it into a nice mound
• Pop it in the oven, leave it for 45 minutes or until the salt gets a nice brownish crust on it
• Use some heavy kitchen utensils to crack open the salt
• Behold the tender and juicy goodness that is your salt-crusted fish and serve

We tried this at last night's DP and it was a great success! Enjoy!

Cost: about $30 for 5 lbs of fish, $2 for the salt, herbs are free when you grow your own! $32 total. For a dozen guests, this is about $2.60 a person. Nice!

photo courtesy: haleyobrianphoto