HELP! This is my first time hosting a big family meal and I want to get it right.
Here are the facts:
1. There will be 8 people attending dinner and 12 people attending dessert.
2. 1 of the 8 dinner guests is a vegetarian.
3. I can't change the main dish because my mother-in-law has volunteered to bring it.
4. Since it's going to be pretty warm, we were thinking of eating outside.
Appetizers
Bleu cheese, chopped walnuts and tawny port spread (my husband's grandmom will be bringing this)
Hummus with crackers, carrots and cucumbers
Salad
Chickpea Salad from Kalyn's Kitchen
Main Course
Heavenly Ham (from mother in law)
One Portabello mushroom for the vegetarian
Grilled Pineapple
Asparagus with a balsamic glaze
Corn
Potatoes
Dessert
My husband's grandma is bringing a cake
My mom is bringing an ice cream cake
Coffee
Tea
So, now that you've seen the menu, here are my questions:
1. What kind of potatoes would you make? mashed, baked, those little red roasted potatoes with rosemary?
2. I've never cooked a portobello before because I'm not really a fan of mushrooms. Have you made one and how did it come out? Do you think I'd be better off grilling it? I found a few recipes that say to grill it instead of bake it.
3. Am I missing anything?
Showing posts with label party menu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label party menu. Show all posts
Friday, April 2, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday Brunch Menu
Last Sunday I hosted a brunch for 13 of our closest friends. I've always loved breakfast food, and hate that I can never serve it when we have a party because we always have them at night. So this Sunday, I got my chance to cook up a fabulous brunch for some even more fabulous people.
Now, before I get to the menu, I need to apologize for not having any pictures. Even though I prepared almost everything the night before, the morning was a little hectic and I didn't have time to snap any before it was all devoured. At least there were no leftovers - that's a good thing, right?
Sunday Brunch Menu
Food
Cherry Poppy Seed Muffins from Tyler Florence - These muffins were to die for. We actually had a few left over and I was so happy to be able to eat them for the next few days as a quick breakfast on the way to work.
Blueberry Muffins from Alton Brown - I thought these were a little greasy and they didn't really rise. I think the next time I want to make blueberry muffins I'll use the base recipe from the muffins above and substitute in blueberries.
Scrambled Eggs - always a favorite of mine. I'll sneak in a picture from a few months ago when I posted about a small scrambled egg breakfast.
Overnight French Toast - Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, Bridal Edition - this was the closest recipe I could find online to match the one from the book.
Yogurt - no one really ate the yogurt but I had to include something healthy. If I had to do it again, I'd mix in some almonds and blueberries to make it look more appetizing.
Fresh Fruit
Bacon - I only made one pack of bacon, and it was barely enough. I was the last one to make up my plate and there was only one lonely piece left when I got to it.
Apple Harvest Oatmeal - this was really delicious too. I don't normally like Oatmeal, but with all the different spices in it, this tastes lovely. It wasn't that hard to make, either.
Beverages
Coffee
Tea
Orange Juice - with fresh sliced oranges - I only bought 1 gallon of juice and it went quickly. I think next year I am going to try making mimosas.
Now, before I get to the menu, I need to apologize for not having any pictures. Even though I prepared almost everything the night before, the morning was a little hectic and I didn't have time to snap any before it was all devoured. At least there were no leftovers - that's a good thing, right?
Sunday Brunch Menu
Food
Cherry Poppy Seed Muffins from Tyler Florence - These muffins were to die for. We actually had a few left over and I was so happy to be able to eat them for the next few days as a quick breakfast on the way to work.
Blueberry Muffins from Alton Brown - I thought these were a little greasy and they didn't really rise. I think the next time I want to make blueberry muffins I'll use the base recipe from the muffins above and substitute in blueberries.
Scrambled Eggs - always a favorite of mine. I'll sneak in a picture from a few months ago when I posted about a small scrambled egg breakfast.
Overnight French Toast - Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, Bridal Edition - this was the closest recipe I could find online to match the one from the book.
Yogurt - no one really ate the yogurt but I had to include something healthy. If I had to do it again, I'd mix in some almonds and blueberries to make it look more appetizing.
Fresh Fruit
Bacon - I only made one pack of bacon, and it was barely enough. I was the last one to make up my plate and there was only one lonely piece left when I got to it.
Apple Harvest Oatmeal - this was really delicious too. I don't normally like Oatmeal, but with all the different spices in it, this tastes lovely. It wasn't that hard to make, either.
Beverages
Coffee
Tea
Orange Juice - with fresh sliced oranges - I only bought 1 gallon of juice and it went quickly. I think next year I am going to try making mimosas.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Cappuccino Squares
As mentioned in a previous post, I made these squares for a New Year's Eve party we attended. Everyone loved them. The butter wasn't melting into the cakes when I was mixing it, so I was a little worried that they weren't going to turn out well. While it was in the oven, it melted in nicely, so they turned out okay.
Cappuccino Squares
adapted from Perfect Chocolate, a collection of over 100 essential recipes
Ingredients:
8 oz butter, softened
generous 1 1/2 cups of self rising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa, plus extra for dusting
generous 1 cup golden superfine sugar (I just used regular sugar)
4 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp instant coffee powder, dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water (I used regular coffee because I didn't have any instant on hand)
White Chocolate Frosting
4 oz white chocolate, broken into pieces
2 oz butter, softened
3 tbsp milk
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
Directions
Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa into a bowl and add the butter, sugar, eggs and coffee. Beat well, by hand or with an electric whisk, until smooth, then spoon into a greased and base lined shallow 11 x 7 inch pan and smooth the top.
Bake in a preheated oven, 350 degrees F, for 35-40 minutes, or until risen and firm, then turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the lining paper. Let cool completely.
To make the frosting, place the chocolate, butter and milk in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted.
Remove the bowl from the pan and sift in the confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth, then spread over the cake. Dust the top of the cake with sifted cocoa, then cut into squares. (NOTE: I cut the cake into squares before icing it. I thought it would be less messy that way)
Servings: about 15 squares
Review:
These went over really well. The cake was very moist and the icing was a perfect compliment. I was skeptic as to whether they would actually taste like cappuccino, but they sort of did.
Cappuccino Squares
adapted from Perfect Chocolate, a collection of over 100 essential recipes
Ingredients:
8 oz butter, softened
generous 1 1/2 cups of self rising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa, plus extra for dusting
generous 1 cup golden superfine sugar (I just used regular sugar)
4 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp instant coffee powder, dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water (I used regular coffee because I didn't have any instant on hand)
White Chocolate Frosting
4 oz white chocolate, broken into pieces
2 oz butter, softened
3 tbsp milk
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
Directions
Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa into a bowl and add the butter, sugar, eggs and coffee. Beat well, by hand or with an electric whisk, until smooth, then spoon into a greased and base lined shallow 11 x 7 inch pan and smooth the top.
Bake in a preheated oven, 350 degrees F, for 35-40 minutes, or until risen and firm, then turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the lining paper. Let cool completely.
To make the frosting, place the chocolate, butter and milk in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted.
Remove the bowl from the pan and sift in the confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth, then spread over the cake. Dust the top of the cake with sifted cocoa, then cut into squares. (NOTE: I cut the cake into squares before icing it. I thought it would be less messy that way)
Servings: about 15 squares
Review:
These went over really well. The cake was very moist and the icing was a perfect compliment. I was skeptic as to whether they would actually taste like cappuccino, but they sort of did.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
New Year's Eve
One of our close friends purchased a house this year, and after a couple months of fixing it up, it was finally ready for its debut on New Year's Eve. The party was a pot luck of sorts, and I was volunteered by the hostess to bring the following items:
Black Bean Hummus
Asparagus Roll Ups
A Dessert of my choosing - I chose Cappuccino Cakes out of my new Chocolate cookbook.
You can view the hummus recipe in an earlier post here. Check out my next post for the Cappuccino Cakes.
Asparagus Roll Ups
A couple months ago, I was looking for a really simple appetizer recipe that I could whip up in a couple minutes to take to a bridal shower. The bridesmaids, me included, decided we could cut costs a little bit if we all made one appetizer and one dessert. Since it was for about 60 people, you might understand why I wanted something relatively easy. These roll ups fit the bill perfectly.
Ingredients
One can of Pillsbury breadsticks
24 asparagus stalks
ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese, shredded
Directions
Open the can of breadsticks and cut each in half (so you end up with 24 pieces of dough, instead of 12).
Snap the white part of the asparagus off of the stalks and twist a piece of dough around each of the 24.
Sprinkle with black pepper and Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 375 F for about 12 minutes, or until breadsticks start to turn golden brown.
Black Bean Hummus
Asparagus Roll Ups
A Dessert of my choosing - I chose Cappuccino Cakes out of my new Chocolate cookbook.
You can view the hummus recipe in an earlier post here. Check out my next post for the Cappuccino Cakes.
Asparagus Roll Ups
A couple months ago, I was looking for a really simple appetizer recipe that I could whip up in a couple minutes to take to a bridal shower. The bridesmaids, me included, decided we could cut costs a little bit if we all made one appetizer and one dessert. Since it was for about 60 people, you might understand why I wanted something relatively easy. These roll ups fit the bill perfectly.
Ingredients
One can of Pillsbury breadsticks
24 asparagus stalks
ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese, shredded
Directions
Open the can of breadsticks and cut each in half (so you end up with 24 pieces of dough, instead of 12).
Snap the white part of the asparagus off of the stalks and twist a piece of dough around each of the 24.
Sprinkle with black pepper and Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 375 F for about 12 minutes, or until breadsticks start to turn golden brown.
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