Dinner for Forty

The other night I got to do something I've never done before - cater a party! I made dinner/dessert for the 40 wonderful women who teach at Ben's preschool. I was worried about everything coming out at the same time, but it all worked out fine. I really enjoyed dreaming up my dinner plan and seeing it all come together. Here is the menu I served with links to all the recipes.

Christmas Dinner

Glazed Pork Tenderloin (the rub and glaze from the Island Pork Tenderloin recipe)

Crunchy Romaine Toss

Carrot Souffle

Sweet Corn Pudding

Crash Hot Potatoes

Rolls and Butter

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake (served in individual clear plastic cups)

What We're Eating - Week of 3/30/09

I've been stocking up while grocery shopping the past few weeks, so this week I'm going to try to rely mainly on what I already have. My pantry and freezer are stuffed!

Monday

Gnocchi with Ricotta and Spinach
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gratineed-Gnocchi-with-Spinach-and-Ricotta-234669

I'll make this slightly healthier with lower-fat dairy options, but let's face it: it's comfort food night.

Tuesday

***Frozen Pizza***!!!!

It's boys' night, because the night class I'm teaching is starting this night, and Jack has a baseball game. I always have a DiGiorno's pizza in the freezer for boys' night, and no one complains! Jack likes it better than homemade, to my chagrin.

Wednesday

Mongolian Beef
Broccoli
Brown rice

This recipe calls for cube steak, so I'll give it one more try: I wasn't a fan of the NYT cube steak recipe I tried a few weeks ago.

Thursday

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Artichokes, Lemon, and Cheese
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1036277

I haven't made this Cooking Light recipe in years. It calls for goat cheese, but I'll use feta, mozzarella, or a combination.
Salad
Whole-Grain Bread

Friday

The breakfast sandwich
Potatoes

What We're Eating - Week of 3/23/09

Monday
Falafel

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/My-Favorite-Falafel-231755

I've never made falafel before, but I have some chickpeas in the freezer, so I thought it would be good to try them. If I have time, I may make the pita bread also.


Tuesday


Tuesdays are game days, and I will soon be teaching a night class on Tuesdays. I need to think of some good make-ahead or portable ideas.


Chicken Salad Sandwiches


Wednesday


My dear Aunt Tina is in town, so I know she and my parents will be coming over sometime this week. When they do, I think I'll make Chinese.


Pork and Peanut Dumplings
WW Sweet and Sour Chicken
Brown Rice

Thursday

Pan-Seared Tilapia with Chili-Lime Butter

Sweet Potatoes

Salad

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pan-Seared-Tilapia-with-Chile-Lime-Butter-108343

Friday

Grilled sausages with vegetables

What We're Eating - 3/16/09

Monday

homemade macaroni and cheese

Tuesday

We're moving St. Patrick's Day to Wednesday because there is too much going on on Tuesday.

Spinach Lasagna - I made it a few weeks ago and froze half. We'll have garlic bread, too.

Wednesday

Corned beef and cabbage, of course! I also have my Girl Scout Thin Mints that I saved. I'm going to make them into crumbs in the food processor and mix them with 2-3 T. melted butter. I'll press it into a spring form pan and bake for 10 minutes. When cool, I'll fill the crust with mint chocolate chip ice cream and serve with this hot fudge on the side:

Hot Fudge


6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
5 ounces imported bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons whipping cream


Melt butter with corn syrup in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add chocolate, sugar and cream. Whisk until chocolate melts and sugar dissolves. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Cover; chill.)

Thursday

Sriracha-Glazed Chicken and Onions over Rice
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1041921

Friday

New York Strip steak on grill
Grilled Vegetables

What We're Eating - Week of 3/9/09

Monday
Bistec de Palomilla
rice
chopped salad

A while ago I bought a bulk meat package from the local butcher. Included were some cube steaks that I had no idea what to do with. Recipes I found online were basically chicken-fried steak, which I'm sure would be delicious! I held out for something more healthy, and this week the NYT ran a story on the resurgence of cube steak popularity. This recipe is from that article. Oh, and of course they also included a chicken-fried steak with country gravy version!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/dining/043srex.html?_r=1&ref=dining

Tuesday
Pizza Pouches

This "recipe" is on the Epicurious site, but it's basically taking pizza dough and lining a muffin tin, adding sauce, a meatball, and cheese. This will be good for a quick meal before baseball practice.

Wednesday
Grilled Pork Chops with Tomatillo and Green Apple Sauce
Roasted Potatoes
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Monster-Pork-Chops-with-Tomatillo-and-Green-Apple-Sauce-109529

Thursday
Baked Penne with Chicken and Sundried Tomatoes

This recipe is from MS's Everyday Food. It makes a double recipe - one to freeze. I love having meals in the freezer for later - it's like money in the bank!

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/baked-penne-with-chicken-and-sun-dried-tomatoes

Friday
Layered Greek Dip with pita chips

This is a Greek version of the popular Mexican layered dip - I'll post it if it's really good!

What We're Eating - Week of 3/2/09

This week is a busy one for me - I have to go to campus about 45 minutes away to give finals on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon/evening, so I need to leave something for dinner that will be quick and ready whenever the boys are ready to eat.

Monday
Fish tacos


Tuesday
Chicken Caesar salad wraps (deconstructed for the boys)
I can take this with me to my finals, and the boys can eat it whenever - helpful because Jack has baseball practice that night!

Wednesday
Hamburger Stroganoff
salad
Comfort food from my childhood

Thursday
Mexican lasagna

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/mexican-lasagna-recipe/index.html

Friday
Kung Pao chicken
brown rice

Make-Ahead Projects for Sunday

• Cook and freeze brown rice
• Make Caesar dressing
• Make sauce for fish tacos
• Soak and cook black beans for Mexican lasagna
• Make Kung Pao sauce

Weekly Baking
King Arthur Flour bagels - I've never made them from scratch
Cookies - giant chocolate chip

What We're Eating - Week of 2/23/09

I skipped a week with our menu planning because we were out of town last week for a long weekend. Here's what I have planned for this week.

Monday

Spaghetti Marinara

This is one of my last-minute meals. While the spaghetti is boiling, put 1-2 T. of olive oil in a 10-12 inch pan. Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and 4-5 minced garlic cloves. Stir for about a minute until garlic starts to brown. Add one 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen are my favorite). Let simmer until spaghetti is cooked; then add fresh basil to taste. Serve with Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Tuesday

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Whole Wheat Popovers

I have a lot of fresh broccoli I got on sale, and I don't want it to go to waste. I'm not sure what recipe I'll use, but if it's good, I'll post it.

Wednesday

Giant White Beans with Chipotle

We never ended up having this a few weeks ago. I soaked the beans, though, and put them in the freezer, so this should come together easily.

Thursday

Beef tenderloin, red bell pepper, and sweet onions on the grill
Crash Hot Potatoes (recipe on this site under "Sides")

Friday

Fish tacos

What We're Eating - Week of 2/9/09

Monday
Smokey [sic] Black Bean soup
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=698615
Garden Muffins
(will post both soon)

Tuesday
Mahi-Mahi with Mango Sauce
Brown Rice
Salad
I intended to make this last week, but I was sick and we ended up eating leftovers.

Wednesday
Parmesan Sage Pork Chops
http://www.recipezaar.com/Parmesan-Sage-Pork-Chops-20048
Sweet potato fries
Salad

Thursday
Leftovers or breakfast

Friday
Baked potato bar

What We're Eating - Week of 2/2/09

Monday
Tacos made from leftover nacho elements

Tuesday
Mahi Mahi with mango sauce
I haven't decided which recipe I'll make; I have several! Maybe this one:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Grilled-Mahi-Mahi-with-Mango-Habanero-Salsa-33923
Brown rice
Salad

Wednesday
Cheddar Chicken Chowder
I'll post this recipe soon - it's an old favorite of ours.

Thursday
Beef Stroganoff
Green beans with macadamia nuts

Friday
Giant Chipotle White Beans
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/giant-chipotle-white-beans-recipe.html
101 Cookbooks is a great vegetarian resource: she is so creative and seems like a lovely person. I'll be halving this recipe, since it looks like we will have quite a few leftovers from earlier in the week.

What We're Eating - Week of 1/26/09

I always plan our meals weekly, though I often switch nights around. I love knowing that I have a plan for the week and all the ingredients on hand. In general, we try to eat fish once a week and often have one vegetarian meal per week. I don't usually plan side dishes and vegetables - it depends on how busy the day is. We eat brown rice quite a bit, but it takes about an hour to make. I do freeze family-sized portions, which works really well. We also eat a lot of salad, broccoli, grilled vegetables (in the summer especially), veggies and dip, and sugar snap peas.

Monday (1/26/09)
Ellie Krieger's Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese
Chopped "Fixin's" Salad
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/sweet-and-spicy-grilled-cheese-sandwiches-recipe/index.html

Tuesday (1/27/09)
EK's Baked Shrimp with Feta and Tomatoes
w/w bread
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/baked-shrimp-with-tomatoes-and-feta-recipe/index.html

Wednesday (1/28/09)
Spinach Lasagna with meat sauce
salad

Thursday (1/29/09)
Island Pork Tenderloin (not the salad)
Brown Rice (Saveur's method is the best)
broccoli
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Island-Pork-Tenderloin-Salad-108103

Friday (1/30/09)
Italian Sausage with Tuscan Beans
salad
from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

We have a very busy weekend next weekend, so I'm holding off on planning for now.