New Year's Eve dinner menu - help!

[kellysuea]

I am hosting the main meal for a progressive dinner party on New Year's eve for 16 people! Have never attempted such a feat before. Having a hard time coming up with something elegant that can either be made ahead or not too involved. Any idea's?

[hhcowgirl]

A simple pasta (that doesn't look so simple) would be perfect. How about something with shrimp and feta cheese? There are also several good recipes for linguine with clam sauce on the CL website.

[mightyh]

I'll post the same suggestion I always seem to... what about a beef or pork tenderloin? There are lots of recipes for these stuffed or rolled (or even rolled flank steak is pretty and looks festive)on the bulletin board and in the Complete CL cookbook. You can make them ahead and serve cold/room temp or just put them in the oven a bit before the guests come. Plus, they are super easy and serve a bunch usually.

[This message has been edited by mightyh (edited 12-19-2000).]

[SusanL]

I don't have any recipes but a suggestion. Whatever you choose, be sure that it won't overcook or dryout if the guests come later than you think! Happened to me once, so something that can be heated just before they arrive is helpful. My vote is with the pork or beef tenderloin. What about the salt crusted beef recipe thread(I can't wait to make it).I guess my suggestion is obvious but it wasn't to me years ago!

[This message has been edited by SusanL (edited 12-20-2000).]

[emilycat]

I'm sorry to be antagonistic, but I must cast a dissenting vote for the pork or beef loin. If you're sure that all of your guests are beef and pork eaters, it sounds like a great idea, but there are plenty of people who prefer not to, and a chicken or seafood dish may be less risky.
I actually really like hhcowgirl's simple pasta idea; actually, I think CL's Chicken Scampi would be wonderful.
Anyway, just a thought.

[Susan]

Following the pasta theme...how about two different types of lasagna (meat and veggie)? CL has had several over the years. Oooo, I just thought of another, lindrusso posted a recipe for Chicken Florentine Casserole that sounds delightful! Here's a link to a previoue pasta thread with lindrusso's recipe and many others: http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/20000807-1-000671.html

~~Susan~~

[This message has been edited by Susan (edited 12-20-2000).]

[peg levy]

I have had success with these type of dinners twice. Once I served cornish hens with an appricot glaze and the second time quiche. The quiche is a recipe with a crust made out of saltine crackers. I made both crab and ham. You could also do a veggie quiche with a meat or seafood one. With a lettuce salad, maybe fresh aspargus and bread, everything can be done ahead of time.

[Kristi]

I personaly like the two different types of lasagna!!

[kellysuea]

You all are so helpful! You've convinced me to go the pasta route, because to Emilycats point, I do think I have a few non red meat eaters in the crowd. I'm thinking about a spicy seafood linguine type thing and a veggie type lasagna or stuffed shells. This is a big relief because the thought of that tenderloin (which is where I was originally leaning), scares me to death because I've never done one before... I'll stick to my strenghts!

[Natasha]

Hi!
We just did a dinner party that was planned for 16 and ended up being for 14 people. We had two mains, a chicken Marengo-type dish and a vegetarian pasta (penne with sundried tomatoes and roasted red peppers). The pasta was as popular as the chicken, and is easy to put together; you can also add seafood or chicken if desired. If you d like either recipe I can find or post it for you. But you know, I like that lasagna idea a lot too. Whatever you choose, enjoy the party!

[LGBurns]

The Make It Ahead supplement has a delicious recipe for 4 Cheese Manicotti that I just made on Sunday. Actually, I have to admit that I made it as a lasagna, but it was absolutely delicious. The recipe is designed to make ahead and chill. You then bring it to room temp for 30 minutes and then put in oven for 25 minutes. I wouldn't recommend making it as a lasagna for a nice dinner -- it tasted great but kind of fell apart on the plate. The filling is really designed to be in a stuffed pasta. Anyway, the recipe is for 12 but I'm sure it would be very easy to up it to 16. Let me know if you would like me to post it and I'll try to do it tonight when I get home.

[kellysuea]

Natasha, I would love your chicken marengo recipe, when you get second. Thanks!!

[Natasha]

Hi,

Here is the recipe, from Bon Appetit (found on http://www.epicurious.com ). A friend passed it on to me and it is easy and the sauce is really good! She recommended that we add garlic, and also a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce. That worked well. Note that this makes a good amount of sauce which is lovely with rice or with bread.

Some reviews from the website are posted under the recipe; you can find more by going to http://www.epicurious.com and doing a search for this recipe.

Good luck and enjoy the party!

CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES, ONIONS AND MUSHROOMS
(POLLO ALLA MARENGO)

89% would make it again
On June 14, 1800, Napoléon Bonaparte defeated the Austrians at Marengo, a village in southeast Piedmont. The town has given its name to this chicken dish, which was cooked on the battlefield by Dunand, chef to Napoléon. It is still served throughout the area-as well as in France-and is often made with veal. Serve with lots of bread to soak up the juices; uncork a velvety red Barbaresco.

1 3 3/4-pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, trimmed
2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 10-ounce container pearl onions, blanched 1 minute, peeled

Chopped fresh Italian parsley

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour; shake off excess. Melt butter with oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chicken to pot; cook until golden on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Transfer to bowl. Add mushrooms to pot; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, wine and onions. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pot. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Uncover pot and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl. Sprinkle with parsley.

Makes 4 servings.

Bon Appétit
May 1997

A Cook from Baltimore, MD on 01/18/00
I just love this dish! It's so simple but delicious. The parsley and the wine are indispensible, but I substitute chicken breast with no problems.

ana paula ( jbmarkel@masn.com ) from los angeles - ca on 09/14/99
easy and fun to make it. the whole house was smelling really good. great recipe with a great history.

Eve ( emedwards@wmt.com ) from Germantown, TN on 08/26/99
After reading all these reviews, maybe I got my hopes up too high. I thought this was OK, but there are many, better recipes on this site. I preferred the sauce with Linguine with Tomatoes and Artichokes (also on this site); the chicken part of this dish was good though (I used boneless breasts).

Laura Docter ( docterll@aol.com ) from Minneapolis, MN on 06/29/99
I love the one-pot aspect of this recipe. I serve it over a bed of rice so that none of the delicious juices go to waste. This is a good dish for entertaining because the pearl onions and wine make it elegant yet is hearty enough to be appetite satisfying.

A Cook from Jacksonville, FL on 06/22/99
Really good! I did sustitute a couple of items. Since it's Vidalia onion season, I sub'ed a chopped Vidalia for the pearl onions. Also, I used a can of Italian-style stewed tomatoes, and threw in a couple of cloves of garlic (which I sauteed up with the onions). I would gladly serve this recipe to company!

[chocomama]

I found that the site www.verybestmeals.com (http://www.verybestmeals.com) was a huge help in planning my holiday get-together. it will even customize the recipes for you depending on how many guests you need to serve.

Good luck with the planning!

[emilycat]

Arrgggh! Don't they ever stop!!!

[hhcowgirl]

Ditto!!! If it weren't for the Christmas spirit that seems to have gripped me, I would e-mail some of these people and give them a piece of my mind!!

[Susann]

I have tried very hard to ignore these posts, but I feel compelled. Forgive me...

Several advertisers have made their way onto the CL BB. While I respect your right to sell your product, please understand that this BB is a community which prefers to keep things social, not commercial.

I did go to one of the web sites which seems to be attempting to advertise on the CL BB. Interestingly enough, this web page is apparently associated with a very large food product company. To those who continue to advertise, please know that such advertisement makes me feel very strongly about NOT purchasing any products affiliated with the web site and it's parent company.

Someone (I do not recall who)once mentioned that CL carries an advertisement section at the end of each magazine. Perhaps you might consider advertising on that medium. Happy holidays and thank you for reading this.

[LGBurns]

I'm confused. How did you determine that chocomama (I assume that's who emilycat was referring to) was planting an ad. Isn't it possible the post was genuine? I ask because 1) if there is a way to tell, I'd like to know; 2) if there isn't, we need to be careful not to turn off new people just because they recommend a site. I have recommended many sites on this board, and I'm not selling anything. Not criticizing, just questioning. Hope you aren't offended. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[emilycat]

LGBurns,

I would never dream of offending a new poster intentionally if I thought they were genuine....the reason I'm fairly certain that this was a pseudo-post is because references to verybestmeals.com has come up about 5 times now; each time the post depicted a different scenario, and the author of the message was a first-time poster, never to be seen or heard from again (except of course, for the malicious wine-site characters). I think the similarities between the posts make it highly unlikely for coincidence, and gosh, I love this board so much that I would never do anything to intentionally malign it.

Emily

[LGBurns]

Thanks, Emily. I figured there was a "method to the madness" http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif -- just curious how you called it so quickly. While it is annoying when someone uses this site as a place for free advertising, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more frequently (given how many people out there are selling something). Good catch.

Linda