Organizing a dinner party for 6, help me out...

[henrikrh]

-Dinner for 6, me, 3 sisters, one w/ husband and child coming

-No vegetarians, no major allergies.

-I want to impress but I suck at cooking.


The plan so far is:

-Three course meal
i) Starters
ii) Main dish
iii) Dessert


Starters
I'm thinking salad, probably lettuce, tomatoes, grated carrots, cucumber. Anything else that goes well with this? Then I'm thinking a little vinegar and lemon juice, maybe throw some herbs or spices in there and drizzle that lightly on top. I know next to nothing about salad so tell me if this is standard or way off-base.

What else can I serve for starters that is light and preferably goes well with wine?

Main dish

Here I was planning to go with steak or lamb cutlets with a side of boiled potatoes, carrots and maybe cabbage. Also a whiskey or wine sauce. How would I make steak for 6 people and not have the first ones cool off before I finished the last ones? Is this a stupid question?

Dessert

Just gonna keep it simple, vanilla ice cream surrounded by strawberries and blue berries with some whipped cream on top.


Please help me oot, I suck at cooking, the iron chef would die and then roll over in his grave if he saw my culinary skill. I'm not set in stone on any of the dishes so suggestions are very welcome.

[Los Feliz Slim]

You want to serve meat, but suck at cooking? I suggest a roast tenderloin of beef. There are lots of recipes online. If you've got a Whole Foods near you they have excellent beef, and will give it to you ready to cook.

[guids]

BBQ a crown roast, this is really simple to do, takes a little time, but its very impressive. Google a recipe. My favorite salad is fresh tomato and mozzorela, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper.

[GambleGamble]

Starters: Salad is not much of a starter more of a salad, if you are look at appetizer type selections, look at maybe shrimp/crab cocktails...can be easily pre prepped and chilled a good 6 LARGE pieces of shrimp and some REAL crab mixed in with some cocktail will go over well...

then the salad...make a tossed salad, and offer a small selection of dressings like a vinagrette, and italian, and maybe a bleu cheese type...selection is always good

Main:
Try a prime rib for the main dish, easy to cook, all comes out the same, and can be kept in its own juices so its quite, juicy/hot...or go ahead and slice that bitch right at the table...

...you also wont have to deal with the whole bbqing aspect as it sounds like you are looking at more of a dinner party and not a casual bbq gathering...

...check to make sure you got no vegetarians or people who dont like red meat in there so everyone is happy with the food

...sides can be a nice selection of fresh veggies like asparagus, snow peas, squash....its coming into summer time so people want a lively side not a boiled potato type side (my opinion take as u will)....

Dessert:
A nice light dessert is a good idea, especially with apps/salad/main course....the ice cream is a good idea with fresh fruits.....also try maybe a strawberry shortcake or even an easy made pie (choc cream, bannana cream), go with at least 2 pies again for selection....


This makes me want to have a dinner party or BBQ though

[BretWeir]

Beef Wellington

Not that much harder than a regular roast, and definitely impressive looking.

[henrikrh]

Prime rib sounds like a good idea, thanks gg, as for slighly fancier stuff > potatoes I think i'll stay simple, potatoes, carrots etc. can all be boiled together for the same amount of time, very easy, hopefully a good sauce will cover up the plainness.

So far I don't really dig any of the appetizer ideas. Thinking of maybe geting some fresh rye-bread and serving small squares with something simple on top, garnished to look fancy.

[Mermade]

I made individual beef wellingtons for christmas this year. They turned out great. I didn't want to go too crazy so I skipped the truffles and foie gras. I just went with fillet and duxelle and wrapped them in premade puff pastry. They came out perfect golden and delicious.

Your salad idea seems a bit weak. How about a pear and gorgonzola salad with spiced pecans or walnuts. I do this all the time. What I usually do with the nuts is add them to a small frying pan on medium high flame. Shake them around and toast them a bit. Then, toss in some butter and a tablespoon and a half of brownsugar with a dash of cayenne pepper. Mix until the brown sugar incorporates with the butter toss the nuts around in the pan until they are well coated and set aside to cool. Take some mixed baby greens. I like to toss them in a quick strawberry basalmic vinaigrette (strawberries, olive oil, basalmic vinegar salt pepper). Add gorgonzola crumbles, the spiced pecans. You can either add in sliced pears now and toss them or plate the salad and place the sliced pear on top and drizzle with extra dressing for a nice presentation

[henrikrh]

My salad seems weak because this is really gonna be my first time ever cooking with no help for more than just myself. I don't think I could pull of your salad idea, but it sounds good, I might use the straberry vinigarette though, that seems simple enough.

[posnera]

A large piece of meat is the way to go. Get a meat thermometer, it takes all the guesswork out of it.

Make a red wine reduction - very easy. Saute some shallots, add some fresh thyme - then pour a whole bottle of red wine (cabernet) into the pan. Simmer until it is mostly evaporated - about 1/3 left. Then add some veal stock (1-2 cups - ask the butcher for some). Reduce that until it starts to get thick. (at some point, straining out the solids). Add some cold butter (2-3 tbsp) at the last minute andthe sauce will become silky smooth.
If you like, saute some mushrooms on the side and add to the sauce at the last minute. You can do all of this in advance, stopping before the butter goes in. Reheat the sauce before serving and add the butter.

[bravos1]

Why not serve an assortment a chesse as a starter or a baked Brie. I serve stuff mushrooms on occasion and always get rave reviews.

For the salad... how about mixed greens with mandarin oranges and candied almonds. Serve with a light vinagrette.