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Conference turris::cooks

Title:How to Make them Goodies
Notice:Please Don't Start New Notes for Old Topics! Check 5.*
Moderator:FUTURE::DDESMAISONSec.com::winalski
Created:Tue Feb 18 1986
Last Modified:Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:4127
Total number of notes:31160

688.0. "MENU: Eleven Guests for Dinner" by 11810::MGORDON () Mon Aug 24 1987 17:38

    I'm having 11 people over for a sit-down dinner.  It's my Mom's
    70th birthday.  People will probably be arriving at different
    times (could be as much as 2 hour's difference) so I'd like to
    be able to greet and talk with the guests yet serve a nice meal.
    
    I'm thinking that a good casserole dish might be the answer.  
    Do any of you have any suggestions?  (The whole crowd will be
    there for two nights--I was thinking of doing lasagne for one
    of those nights.)
    
    I'm open to hearing everything--- from soup to nuts.
    
    Thanks in advance
    
    
    Maureen
    
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688.1More details pleaseFDCV01::FPSJANWed Aug 26 1987 11:4011
    I don't quite understand the logistics.  Will everyone be sitting
    down to dinner at the same time? (Where is the two hour's difference).
    
    Lasagne sounds good, but can be hard to reheat successfully without
    a microwave.  My lasagne recipe cooks for 1 hour, but takes alot
    of work just before the 1 hour.
    
    What is your budget?  Have you thought about a turkey, it will cook
    for a long time and the fixings can be made ahead of time.
    
    
688.2Here's the details....USMRW1::MGORDONFri Aug 28 1987 12:2021
    Everyone will be sitting down to dinner at the same time.  The two
    hour's difference had to do with people arriving at the house at
    different times.  My point was that if dinner is for 6 pm, some
    people might arrive at 3:30pm or 4:00, because they are travelling
    from N.Y.   I want to be able to spend some time with the early
    arrivers, so I need to be able to do a fair amount of preparation
    ahead of time.  
    
    I have a microwave....I'd be interested in having your lasagne recipe.
    
    
    Money is no problem.  I'm not concerned with keeping to any budget.
    
    
    I had thought about a turkey also.  I've never cooked one for a
    large group before so I'd appreciate any advice you may have.  Also,
    what else do you suggest I serve with it that could be prepared
    ahead of time??
    
    Thanks.
    
688.3Try some cold dishesCIVIC::ROSENlinda rosen**aug babyFri Aug 28 1987 13:1610
    You could try some marinated vegetable salads (green beens, beets).
     The longer they sit around the better!! A cold rice salad could
    also do the trick as you could make it ahead of time and it looks
    and tastes fancy.
    I figure that its easier to keep things cold rather than hot when
    planning a dinner that you don't want to babysit!!
    
    
    Linda

688.4Cross referenceSUPER::KENAHMythical Conversation FragmentsFri Aug 28 1987 15:431
    For turkey advice, see Note 5.* of this conference...
688.5USMRW2::JTRAVERSJeanne TraversMon Aug 31 1987 14:1626
    I just entertained 11 people at dinner.  I made steak and chicken
    shish kabobs and pasta salad in advance.  We had fresh corn on the
    cob and a garden salad.  It was very easy because the shish kabobs
    don't take long to cook (and it seems you can always solicit help at the
    grill).                              
                            
    The meats were marinaded in a great teriyaki sauce (I'll post the
    recipe in a later note).  The kabobs were made up separately (I
    didn't mix the steak and chicken on the same skewer as I had some
    non-red meat eating guests.)  The kabobs had meat, small onions,
    green pepper, mushrooms.
         
    When the kabobs went on the grill, I started the water boiling for
    the corn on the cob.  Everything came out at the same time, with
    very little effort!
    
    Another suggestion re: turkey...
    
    Last Easter my sister had a houseful for Easter dinner.  She cooked a
    hugh turkey and a ham the day before the get together.  She cut up half
    the turkey to serve on a platter with the sliced ham (so folks could
    make sandwiches, etc.)  The other half turkey was cut into smaller
    chunks and served hot with gravy out of a crockpot.  The dinner
    was served with a salads (garden, potato, pasta, etc.)