Need ideas for prom menu!

[klwmsrd]

I'm not sure if this is now a trend everywhere or just in my area, but for prom everyone now goes to someone's home for dinner instead of a restaurant. My sister has asked me to host the prom dinner for her and 7 friends. I am looking forward to this, but I'm having trouble with the menu. I need something that - first of all - picky teenagers will eat, something that isn't too messy so the girls won't get it on their dresses yet something that is a little fancier. I first thought of cornish hens but after trying the recipe and eating one myself (the recipe was very good and from a Fine Cooking supplement) I think it will be too messy for the girls. My sister loves the raspberry balsamic chicken from CL and I think this is teenager friendly but I was hoping that some of you may have ideas - including dessert!:)

[sneezles]

Is there a theme for their prom that you could play off of?

[pambrack]

I would suggest just for fun that you serve them tuxedo strawberries for dessert. They are strawberries dipped first in white chocolate and then dark and you add buttons and the bowtie afterwards. They are very cute and easy to make ahead.

[klwmsrd]

No, there is not a theme although I'm open to one if someone already has a menu centered around one.

[Kingwell]

Well I think raspberry balsamic chicken sounds great!

One thing that could make the whole dinner feel really classy, without costing more, is by serving everything in courses, rather than buffet style. I don't know how much you want to be seen as a 'server' in this scenario, versus just the nice sisterly cook, but there will be less potential for spillage, and a more fancy feel if you serve the courses separately.

You could do an appetizer either casual (dips at one table they all sit around), or make an appetizer one of the 'courses.' Then do salad, which is easy to make, but can be really wonderful with fresh, colorful greens and vegies. Another way to make it more formal is by offering two salad dressings, and have them each in nice serving pieces, rather than in plastic containers. Then you could have the main course with vegies and a starch (rice doesn't spill or stick, and is less likely to create bad breath as opposed to something like garlic mashed potatoes) on the same plate (plus bread--an easy do-ahead or use store bought).

The one specific idea that comes to mind for dessert is cheesecake. People always seem to be so impressed by cheesecake, and then you could do two simple sauces with it (raspberry and chocolate, for example) or just have something like Oreo cheesecake and decorate the plates. There's also a minimum of spillage with cheesecake and you can do it far ahead of time, so it has the potential to be low-maintenance from a prep standpoint as well.

Hope that helps a tad...

[gertdog]

My prom was, well, a long time ago, but my date and 3 of his friends got together and made dinner for us at one of the guys' homes. It was so memorable. I can't remember what restaurant we ate at for other high school dances, but I remember so many of the details of our pre-prom dinner because it was different and special. :)

When we got there, we had sparkling cider in champagne flutes, and there were cheeses and crackers waiting.

Dinner was served in 3 courses- salad, then grilled filet mignon with twice-baked potatoes and grilled vegetables, then this wonderful chocolate tart for dessert (I am guessing somebody's mom helped with that, but if so, the guys never told).

The food was very good, but what I remember most was the decor and the little touches. It was so elegant! They used a white linen tablecloth and Pat's mom's china and silver. Each of the girls had a little bud vase at her place setting with a single rose, and a place card. There were candles on the table, little dishes of mints, nice background music, you name it. As you can tell by my blathering on, to a 17-year-old it was just, well, very cool.

I think the raspberry balsamic chicken sounds wonderful (and not too hard on the chef ;) ), and I agree with Kingwell that serving in courses makes it seem more fancy. A spinach salad might be a nice first course. With the chicken, maybe some scalloped potatoes or if you want to get fancy, Gail posted a recipe for mashed potato cheese puffs from Joy of Cooking that could be piped into mounds for a pretty presentation. The Parmesan Smashed Potatoes posted by LauraB are also excellent. Some steamed green beans or broccoli and carrots tossed with lemon butter would also be pretty on the plate.

I love the chocolate-dipped strawberries as a dessert, too. :)

You are a very nice sister to host dinner for your younger sister and her friends!