Business Dinner LOCKED
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This Saturday night, I am making dinner for a couple I've never met before. It is someone that is interested in possibly investing in Austin's business.
I have the feeling already that it's going to be quite uncomfortable, but I want the dinner to be perfect and sophisticated.
I was thinking lamb possibly because not many people have tried it, but then they might have something against eating lamb. So maybe a leg of lamb and a roast chicken?
I don't know what I should do for an appetizer, sides or dessert. I don't want to do things that are terribly difficult, because I'm sure I'll be stressed enough.
And should I do cocktails or just wine?
What do you guys think?
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so, the dinner has been postponed....grrr.
hahah. i can't help but laugh. you worked and prepared so hard and now it's moved. aww,,,well at least now you know what to do for next time. but that's like the anti-climax
So, since we can't arrange our schedules for a couple months out....Austin and the guy are just meeting for lunch one day this week. haha
I'm so aggitated! But all the suggestions...I'm going to use for my parents this wednesday night...they visiting from NC.
i can't wait to hear the outcome
i can't wait to hear the outcome
okay it's real name mille-feuille de franboises (something raspberries)
these bake at 400 degrees
for the cookies:
7 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup confectioner sugar
7 tablespoons orange juice
combine all above ingredients with wooden spooon. then add
1/3 cup flour
2 cups crushed almonds
zest of 1 orange
drop onto pan like cookies. but they are gonna spread a lot! so don't put them that close together. i've never baked em on anything but the silicone baking sheets. they're done when they look cripsy. but they're extremely thin. take a spatula to scoop underneath them to place on rack to cool
creme chantilly
whip 2 cups heavy cream and whip til it reaches soft peaks
and 1/4 cup confectioner sugar and 2 teaspoon vanilla and beat til it forms stiff peaks.
then to put together put cookie, cream (you're supposed to pipe it on, use a ziploc bag or just scoop by the teaspoon. whatev) and raspberry, cookie, cream and raspberry, cookie.
here's another picture: http://helenecuisine.canalblog.com/images/millefeuille_framboise.jpg
they do theirs with phyllo but these cookies make the dessert i feel. the oranges and raspberries.
i know it might sound hard or long but it's really so simple. and plus you can make everything the night before and then just plate it the day of. but advice: dont stack the cookies on top of eachother. they'll meld together and you'll never get them apart. put them in a long container with parchment inbetween the layers. lemme know how they come out!!
thanks so much! these sound great!
i have simple dessert recipe that's really easy. its got a mad hard french name though. but of first order, do you have a silt pat? (or is is silk mat? i'm not quite sure. but the silicone stuff that you bake with.)
no I don't. what is it, a silicone baking sheet or something?
Yea, you can get em at BB&B now. But buttered wax paper acts in just about the same way, unless you're actually making sugar candy.
so what's the recipe?
so the basic idea is these orange lace cookies with layers of chantilly cream and raspberrys (or whatever fruit you want). each one generally has three layers and its sooo pretty. basically looks like this
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_26316,00.html?rsrc=search
the above recipe is a little wack so i gotta go dig out mine but it's the same basic idea. and the only ingredients are like: oranges (the juice and the rind), heavy cream, powdered sugar, butter and eggs and then whatever fruit you use. makes a beautiful presentation though.
wow, you're right, it's so pretty. i was thinking of doing creme brule cuz that looks fancy. Maybe I'll do these too.
hey i'll invest in Austin's business, i have a dollar or two, can you make dinner for me?!?!
sweeeeet, i'll get on that. haha
i love creme brule.
I'm always worried that I'm not going to have enough food. (I have my mom's & the Italian syndrome) i always wind up making way to much.
How about a 5-6lb chicken, roasted veggies, red skin mashed potatos, bread.
And for starters a meat & cheese plattter. (So I don't have to do anything, just arrange it)
And dessert.
Does this sound like enough food for 4 people??? Enough chicken particularly.
Haha - me too! We had 2 couples over, I served like 3 apps, salad and garlic bread, and by the time we got to dinner, everyone had like 3 bites and then groaned. But like a good italian lady, I sent them home with the leftovers. :)
I'm sure they don't really care about your food. Just you and Austie as people, confidence, the numbers, etc. I'd say Diane's on the right track. Make it simple, but REALLY nice. Presentation is important. Get a couple GREAT wines. Fruit and/or vedgies are a good snacker. The chicken sounds great. Maybe stuffed peppers would go good with it. Rice. Patatos. Spinach. Whatever. A NICE dessert. If you're worrying and stressin' out over the food, it'll be hard for them to get to know you. Just ask yourself, are you Mary or Martha? lol
DianA with an "A", buddy. Or we'll fight...
I forgot.
Oh, isn't that convenient? :P
yea, you're right, but making a fantastic dinner wouldn't HURT. haha
so do you have a wine suggestion for me? In my house we always had Carlo Rossi. Just a nice mid-grade italian wine.
My absolute favorite wine is "Hess", Napa, CA. (I'm drinking some right now)! But it's a little hard to find in PA, sometimes it's in the "high end" section of the "Wine & liquor shoppes". Their cabernet actually needs a little aging to be great, but out of the bottle, their 2004 is very soft, with some sweet undertones. Their chardonnay has a vanilla and peach notes; great for fish and chicken. My brother and sister in law just gave us a bottle of "Amarone", which is italian and was AMAZING. It's about $45/bottle, though, so you might be better off getting a less expensive wine and wowing them with a good champagne with dessert, like veuve cliquo. I swear, people see that orange label and always go "Ooooh..."
I also always had Carlo Rossi in my house... must be an Italian thing haha
haha, yea. I really like it. Thats what I usually have in my house now too.
haha... Jahanna, nice job on carrying along the Italian tradition haha
russian river valley pinor noir. yum.
r = t
There's like 80 different wineries in that valley. More specific info?
i'll try to track down the one i had. i forget the name.
I made a call! MacMurray Ranch and Toad Hollow. Great stuff.
Oh... someone actually gave us a bottle of that, but we haven't drunk it yet. Maybe we'll break it out.
"I also would kindly prefer not to be eaten"
"Please don't eat me"
Actually, I don't think I want to do roasted chicken. It always stresses me out when I have to carve meat off a bone with people watching/waiting. I feel like I take forever.
Maybe I'll do chicken francese. That's really yummy and easy, but looks fancy.
but that is weird to serve with lamb.....
Roast chicken is probably your best bet. 90% of people like it and it's pretty much guaranteed not to hurt temperamental stomachs. The biggest mistake I've made with "adult" (are we adults? I don't consider myself one!) dinner parties is making too many things. It's too stressful and there's always too many last minute details - I already feel stressed about people judging my home, I don't need to worry about burning the quiche at the same time.
The last time we had people over, however, I served 2 bottles of wine (1 red, 1 white, paired with the meal in my opinion), salad as an appetizer (to avoid awkward cocktail conversation), chicken I'd made the day before and 2 simple sides: steamed green beans tossed with garlic and olive oil, and roasted potatoes I'd made the day before. I bought a cake and pre-cut fruit for dessert. I think the simpler the better. Don't give your guests a plethora of options, just give them one really good one.
Good tips, so I'll scratch the lamb. (Austin wanted me to make it, but I think some people have a problem with it....:::Cough cough:: juicymango::
so, I'll stick with the chicken.
How did you make the chicken the day before?? And how did you reheat it?
It was chicken cacciatore. I kept the chicken pieces really thick, browned them on a really high heat for only a minute or so, then did the wine/peppers/onions/mushrooms tomatoes. I cooled it all off, refrigerated it, then put warmed it all in a big dutch oven while everyone was eating salad. I think it worked out pretty well. Red potatoes re-roasted are great too; everyone said they couldn't tell I'd made them the day before.