Dinner Party Planning

categories: Posts

We’re having some friends over Saturday night. I love entertaining whether it’s a family brunch, dinner party, or post-dinner dessert and coffee – sign me up! For dinner parties, I prefer to schedule those on the weekend. However, I can make some sacrifices in the name of good friends.

Usually, a dinner party means I’m spending practically the whole day in the kitchen prepping, cooking, and organizing. Because I work full time, That means dinner parties are strictly weekend events, unless I want to use up PTO to cook.

Although we’ll be having them over this weekend – it happens to be one of the busiest weekends I have planned – oh and did I mention I’m recovering from being sick? Thankfully we’re only having one couple – but that doesn’t mean we won’t lay out the red carpet for them. In the name of time management, I should give myself enough time to prep, cook and set up for the day. First things first – set a menu and make a plan.

I’ll need an easy to assemble appetizer, a simple salad that only requires tossing, a main dish that takes no more than 1 ½ hours to cook, and an easy side dish. For dinner parties, I don’t think it’s necessary to make the dessert as well, especially when I’m a little short on time. We’ll just buy a tart or something. Although this can be mixed up if desserts are easy for you, make the dessert and buy a ready-made appetizer. Either way, using ready-to-eat items is not frowned upon.

After much indecisiveness, I have settled on a menu and made my grocery list. Luckily I’m only in need of a few items. Once my menu is set, I mentally pick out which serving dishes I’ll be using for each menu item. It’s not unlikely that I’ll jot it down on my list.

I have learned a few things from my last few dinner parties that I must share…

 

Check with your guests for dietary restrictions

You’ve spent the day slaving away in the kitchen making this amazing lamb and yogurt dish, which your only serving with salad. You’re your guests sit down for dinner and you find out that 1/3 don’t eat lamb, and another 1/3 is lactose intolerant. What a nightmare. Let’s face it, you don’t want to have this happen to you. So check ahead of time with your guests for any allergies or dietary restrictions.

 

Grocery shop the weekend before the event

Get your dinner party shopping in with your weekly shopping. Be sure to write down what you need, and how much you need. I failed to do this last time and ended up with way too much butternut squash. If you don’t have time to do it the weekend before, do it the night before. It gives me peace of mind to know that I have what I need before I start prepping.

 

Know ahead of time which serving dishes your using

Knowing which serving dishes your using can save you a setting up headache. I usually pull them out in advance and label each with a sticky note so I don’t have to think about what goes where.

 

Set the table ahead of time

I usually set the table several hours before the guests arrive. That way, even if the food isn’t ready on time, you’re table looks presentable.

 

Don’t wait until the last minute to take a shower

The host should always be ready to receive guests on time. If you’re afraid you’ll smell like food, do all the smell-heavy cooking earlier in the day or the night before. As a rule of thumb, I try be fully dressed (that means, hair and makeup) 30 minutes before guests arrive. Keep your perfume handy so that you can spritz it on when the doorbell rings, and your shoes by the door so you can slip them on before you open the door.

 

Plan a Low-Maintenance Meal

The Nest suggests planning for a “no-fuss” meal. Trust me, they know what they’re talking about. One dish that must be served hot is more than enough to keep you busy. Lukewarm side dishes, and simple salads go perfectly with right-off-the stove rice or just-out-of-the-oven chicken.

 

 Have a clean-up plan

If you have a dishwasher, I recommend clearing it out before guests arrive. When dinner is finished, one of you can entertain your guests while the other rinses the dishes and places them in the dishwasher. Not only are the dirty dishes out of sight; cleanup has been reduced to the press of a button. Remember, never run the dishwasher while guests are still there.

 

 

Have fool-proof tips? Share them in the comments.

 

Stay tuned for post-dinner party photos and recipes.

 

Chicken Noodle Soup for the Sick of Being Sick Soul

categories: Posts, Recipes, Soups

All year, I work to try to avoid this very thing – getting sick. And I’m not talking cough, sniffle, sneeze sick, I’m talking shivers, trouble swallowing, ear aching, nose won’t stop running even though you blew it dry, sick.  Let me tell you, it sucks.

I felt it coming on late Monday, after I spent my whole day (starting at 6:45am) on site at a client conference.  Then, bam! Tuesday morning I woke up with half a sore throat, an aching ear and an inability to swallow anything with a consistency more solid than mashed potatoes.

Blame it on the change in weather – which by the way, is amazing at the moment but I can’t enjoy it because I’m home, sick as a dog, working while laying on the couch with the TV off. What frustrates me is that I can’t do anything about it. After seeing my doctor. Pure luck that I scheduled an appointment for yesterday. She broke the news to me. “It looks like you have a virus.” Dum dum dum. My world came crashing down. A virus? How in the world did that happen? I wash my hands, eat well, make sure I stay away from sick people, and yet … I have been diagnosed by the professional. The only good news is that she put me on a Z-Pak, a five-day antibiotic treatment whose powers are so great that hopefully it will have me feeling better before the long weekend rolls around.

Between email and projects, I’ve managed to create a giant pile of Kleenex and also make myself some really easy chicken noodle soup.

Why chicken noodle soup? You might ask. Well, a handful of scientific studies show that chicken soup really could have medicinal value. A study published in 2000 in the medical journal Chest by Dr. Stephen Rennard of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha found that chicken noodle soup helps reduce upper respiratory cold symptoms by inhibiting the migration neutrophils, infection-fighting cells.

Dr. Rennard conducted lab tests to determine why chicken soup might help colds, starting with his wife’s homemade recipe. The recipe was handed down by her Lithuanian grandmother. Using blood samples from volunteers, he showed that the soup inhibited the movement of neutrophils, the most common type of white blood cell that defends against infection.  To find out more about Dr. Rennard’s findings, visit http://www.unmc.edu/chickensoup/index.htm

So here’s my chicken noodle soup recipe. Mostly made of food I had in my fridge (not much really).

 

 

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breasts
2 large Carrots
1 Medium Onion, chopped
2 Red Potatoes, chopped
1 box Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1  ½ cups Thin Spaghetti, broken in half
Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Oregano to taste
 
 

Directions

Boil chicken breasts for 20 minutes, drain water.
Cut chicken into small squares, or shreds
Sauté onion with 1 tablespoon (I used 2 swirls) olive oil until translucent
Add carrots and potatoes, sauté for 2 minutes.
Add chicken broth
Add noodles
Add chicken
Stir carefully as not to break the noodles.
Let boil once it boils, add salt and oregano to taste
Allow the soup to continue boiling on low-medium for another 20 minutes.
 

Serve with a box of Kleenex and a warm blanket.

Happy One Month Birthday!

categories: Posts

One month ago, on this very day, Measuring Cups, Optional was born. You all caught a glimpse of my measuring cups  and got to know me, Mrs. Measurement, and my blog in its early stages. So here we are one month later, and we’ve done a little bit of growing up:

 So let’s celebrate with chocolate and a birthday song.

 

 

 

Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts Recipe

 Ingredients

 1 stick Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Cocoa
3 Eggs
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 cup chopped Walnuts
1 teaspoon Vanilla
 
 

Directions

Grease and flour a baking pan.
In a small saucepan, melt butter with cocoa.
Beat eggs until foamy, then gradually beat in sugar.
Add cocoa-butter mixture to egg mixture.
Sift flour and baking powder then sift half of it into batter.
Mix walnuts into the remaining flour; add to batter; stir to blend.
Add vanilla. Spread batter into the pan
Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes
Ice cooled brownies with icing
 
 
 

Chocolate Icing Recipe

 Ingredients

2 cups Powdered Sugar
4 tablespoons Cocoa
Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla
 

Directions

Sift powdered sugar and cocoa into a mixing bowl.
Add vanilla and enough cream to be of desired spreading consistency.

 

 

Long Day Lentil Soup

categories: Posts, Recipes, Soups

Staffing a 6:45am conference on a Monday, preceded by staffing the first night of the conference on Sunday night, is not my idea of a perfect start to the week. That’s not to say I’m not a positive person. However, leaving before the sun rises puts a little bit of a damper on even my positive attitude.

For those who care to know, the conference went well. There were lots of attendees, I helped promote my firm (the one I work for – you know, my day job), and I met some very interesting professionals. As the afternoon came to a close, the only thing I wanted to do was get home, get into my sweats and have warm soup. Once I turned on Bravo and watched 10 minutes of The Real Housewives of New Jersey – don’t judge me, you secretly watch mindless, trashy television too – I was ready to get my soup on. Long Day Lentil Soup, or at least that’s what I’m calling it today. Disclaimer I might not have gotten it 100% right the way she does it, I made a few modifications. The Long Day Lentil Soup, however, hit the spot. It was just what I needed to unwind. I squeezed some lemon juice, and sprinkled some Stacy’s Pita Chips on top. Yum.

 

 

 

Long Day Lentil Soup Recipe 

Ingredients

1 Onion, chopped
2 cups Red Lentils
1-2 teaspoons Cumin
1/4 teaspoons Turmeric
Diced Baby Carrots
Salt to taste
Vegetable Oil
 
 

Directions

Check lentils for stones, removing the stones.
Wash the lentils in water 3-4 times (add water, drain, add water, drain, etc.)
Fry 1 onion in vegetable oil until golden
Add lentils, stir
Add water covering the lentils over an inch
Add 1-2 teaspoons cumin and 1/4 tsp turmeric
Add diced carrots baby and Salt
Once it boils, turn to medium heat- keep stirring. If the mixture is thick, add water.
After simmering for 15 minutes,  remove from heat and puree in blender. To keep the thickness of the soup, only puree for a couple seconds. 
 

Serve with squeezed lemon juice.

Mini Mana’eesh

categories: Breakfast, Posts, Recipes

When I think Mana’eesh, I think long summer vacations in Amman, Jordan. Before my summers became obsolete – starting in college with summer courses and then in the “real world” where PTO means barely a week away from email – there was a time when my family, would leave for Amman at the end of June and return right before Labor Day weekend. We spent endless hours with family and friends, attending lunches, dinners, and weddings, staying out late at the local cafes and best of all waking up late-morning to go to my favorite place for mana’eesh – Kan Zaman.

If you haven’t been to Kan Zaman, you’re in for a treat. It’s a hilltop medieval castle turned restaurant where low tables and chairs are met with traditional Jordanian décor. The whole place feels like you just zapped back into “the old days.” Outside this family-friendly restaurant, an Arabian horse and carriage await – tips are highly recommended. And if you didn’t get enough of the old-time feel, walk toward the back of the restaurant and it’s there that most Jordanian-Americans dress up in traditional Jordanian garb and take photos in a very traditional Arabic setting. I guarantee if you’ve seen those photos hanging at someone’s house, they’re from Kan Zaman. My parents still have those family photos hanging up in their home.

 

If you’re in Jordan and interested in visiting, Kan Zaman is located at Airport Road, about 15kms from 7th circle in Amman

 

Let’s talk Mana’eesh. Traditionally, a breakfast item, you can find two varieties – za’atar and cheese. My personal favorite is the za’atar. It looks like a pizza and consists of flatbread topped with a mixture of olive oil and za’atar, baked to delicious goodness. I’ve been known to eat more than one.

I can’t recreate Kan Zaman’s Mana’eesh, but I can definitely try. While large mana’eesh are easy enough to make, I’ve taken the idea to the next level and found an even easier way to make this nostalgic breakfast item.

 

 

Best Served with Labaneh and Olives

 

 

Mini Mana’eesh Recipe

Ingredients
1  can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® refrigerated biscuits 
3 tablespoons Olive oil
1/4 cup Za’atar
 
 

Directions

Place biscuits on a baking tray
Using your fingers, flatten the biscuits
In a small bowl, mix olive oil and zaatar together (add more oil and zaatar as needed. It should be a runny consistency)
Spoon zaatar mixture onto each biscuit
Bake at 350 degrees for 14-17 minutes
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Filet Mignon with Rosemary and Mushroom Gravy

categories: Beef, Posts, Recipes

Filet-Mignon

I made this recipe for the first time back in May. I found this on Epicurious. I was drooling at my desk just reading the recipe. I couldn’t wait to buy the ingredients and get busy cooking it. Needless to say it was a success and it’s now one of my favorite dishes. When I made the filets and gravy last time – I incurred some collateral damage. Somehow, when I was taking the steaks out of the oven, a seemingly easy task, I burned my left arm. I medermaed the heck out of it but I still have a scar. However, if you don’t burn yourself like I did, you’ll end up with a delicious meal.

Print
Filet Mignon with Rosemary and Mushroom Gravy

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • Filet Mignon with Rosemary and Mushroom Gravy Recipe
  • Ingredients
    • For the Steaks
  • Vegetable oil cooking spray
  • 2 (8-ounce) filet mignon steaks
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • For the Gravy
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large or 4 small shallots, minced
  • 2 cups (about 5 ounces) assorted mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake and button, coarsely chopped
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
  • 1 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Instructions

    For the Steak
  1. Put an oven rack in the center of the oven.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  3. Spray a small baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray.
  4. Season the steaks with salt and pepper, to taste.
  5. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
  6. Add the steaks and brown on all sides, about 4 minutes.
  7. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes for medium-rare doneness.
  8. Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes on a cutting board.
    9. For the Gravy
  9. In the same skillet used for the steak, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat.
  10. Add the shallots and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  11. Cook until the shallots are soft, about 5 minutes.
  12. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits that stick to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
  13. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes.
  14. Stir in the beef broth and rosemary.
  15. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil.
  16. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until half of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
  17. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
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