Remember Frasier? It aired in the 90’s, and back then I wasn’t terribly interested. Friends was more my speed. But fast forward to 2020 and we’re all stuck at home. That’s when I discovered Frasier and what a great series it was. The dialogue, the acting, the humor. I bought one season to watch, and before I knew it I ended up buying all eleven seasons. And I watched it over and over and over…
So when I heard murmurs about a Frasier reboot, I was excited. But then I heard Niles wasn’t coming back. Neither was Daphne, Roz or any of the other major characters. How good could a show be without the original cast?
I adjusted my expectations as I learned more about the show. Kelsey Grammer was very passionate about the concept, so I decided to give the series a chance. And as we got closer to the October 12 premier date, I started thinking about having a watch party.
I talked it over with a friend who is also a fan of Frasier, and our excitement grew from there. I thought about what I should serve. Then it dawned on me that the show’s theme song was about tossed salad and scrambled eggs. Why not serve that?
Then I remembered how Frasier and Niles liked to indulge in a glass of Sherry. And that Martin liked to drink Ballantine beer. So I went out to Total Wine to do some alcohol shopping. I found the Sherry, but no luck with Ballantine beer.
What to do? Make beer labels, then stick them on bottles.
As for the Sherry, I’ve never had it before and had to ask a store employee where to find it. He led me to a small shelf and I found myself reading reviews to figure out what to buy. Apparently, there is a dry sherry, and a creamy one that’s more a dessert wine. I went with the dry.
Then I tried to remember what other drinks were mentioned in the show. There was one episode where Zinfandel was mentioned. I don’t know if it was Niles or Frasier, but they said something about pairing a Chilean Sea Bass with an aggressive Zinfandel. I grabbed a bottle.
With the drink menu finalized, I shifted my focus to the food and decided to have scrambled eggs and a salad bar. If you’re looking for ideas here is what I came up with:
Greens: Romaine, Mixed Greens
Veggies: Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Artichokes
Protein: Rotisserie Chicken, Boiled Eggs, Shredded Cheese
Toppings: Mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, crispy wonton strips, croutouns
Seeds and nuts: smoked almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds
Dressing: Balsamic vinaigrette, ranch, Asian sesame
There was enough variety in my salad bar so people can make a cobb, Asian salad or Mediterranean.
Finally, I started to think about dessert. Was there a signature dessert that Frasier or Niles had? I Googled and didn’t see anything in particular. But I did remember an episode where they open a restaurant, and what happened when Roz attempted to make Cherries Jubilee.
I’ve never made that dessert before. But I remember it being a popular in restaurants. Do people even make it anymore? Youtube produced some videos, not a whole lot. I started watching it to learn more. The idea of lighting something on fire scared me. But I really wanted to make this happen.
I also looked up recipes. The New York Times had a good one, but it called for items that I didn’t have like cardamom. Allrecipes also had a good one, but I didn’t want to use cornstarch or cherry extract. In the end I used a combination of the two recipes. My version is below.
Cherries Jubilee
1/3 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons butter
zest from one mandarin orange and juice squeezed from it
1 pound frozen cherries
2 Tablespoons brandy
1/4 teaspoon Tahitian vanilla
Container of vanilla ice cream
Instructions: Thaw out cherries. Then in a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in sugar, zest and orange juice. The cherries will release juice as it thaws, go ahead and stir everything into the saucepan and mix to combine everything. Bring to a simmer.
Now for the exciting part. Some tips I learned from YouTube is to turn the heat up high. The brandy won’t flame if the heat isn’t high enough. And measure the brandy into a container. Do NOT pour directly from the bottle.
Have your fire starter ready. Then turn up the heat to high. Add the brandy, then quickly light it up. You can use a long matchstick. Or in my case I used one of those grill lighters.
I’m happy to say I was able to flame my cherries! And I didn’t end up looking like Roz haha. The flames last less than a minute, it goes quickly. Then you want to move the saucepan off the burner so it doesn’t over cook.
Get out your vanilla and gently mix it into the saucepan. If you are using a Tahitian vanilla a little goes a long way! I just used 1/4 teaspoon. If you are using a milder brand, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon will do.
Once that’s done, get your ice cream ready. Scoop into bowls, then pour the cherries and sauce over. The combination of warm cherries and cold ice cream is just heavenly.
Party Favors
Party favors. I didn’t plan to give anything. But then the wheels started turning in my head. I thought it would be fun to give out a bath item with “jasmine, lavender, rose hips and a little Tahitian vanilla”. It’s from an episode where Frasier reveals these items are added to his bath water. I contacted a local candle and soap maker, and she initially thought it was a great idea. But I never heard from her again.
Then I thought about the episode where they go to the Spa: La Porte D’Argent (The Silver Door). It’s a hilarious episode where Frasier and Niles are told to remain in the relaxation grotto.
With these two episodes in mind, I present to you these bath salts.
I just added a small drop of Tahitian vanilla, and that was plenty! It ended up being a pleasing scent combined with the lavender. I couldn’t really smell the rose or jasmine unfortunately; the dried flowers didn’t give off much scent.
If you’d like to make your own, I got the dried herbs and flowers from Amazon. They sell them in sets so you don’t have to buy separately. And you don’t need a whole lot either.
As for the Epsom salts, I got mine from Target. I don’t have a specific recipe, but I did measure out what I needed for the salts using upcycled jars. Then I added it to a bowl and mixed in the herbs and flowers. Once that was done I scooped the mixture into jars. I then added one drop of vanilla to each jar and stirred it in with a stick.
I wasn’t sure if all our friends would understand the references, so I added more information on the lid.
It turned out to be a really fun evening! And we enjoyed watching the first two episodes of the new Frasier. I won’t give out any spoilers, but I highly recommend checking it out on Paramount Plus. There will be a total of ten episodes airing every Thursday, and I’m really looking forward to watching the whole season.
As for this blog post, I hope it gives you some good ideas if you are planning a Frasier themed party!
Have you seen the new Frasier? Comment below and let me know what you think.