what to cook for special birthday dinner
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Anonymous
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My husband turns 60 this month. I am hosting a small birthday dinner for him at our home, and I plan to cook (I’m a fine cook not superb, but can handle myself in the kitchen and enjoy hosting).
There will be 8 of us in total, including our teen son and daughter (who will duck out after the meal). One set of friends are also bringing their younger daughter (9th person) who will eat her own mac & cheese per their request so I don’t need to have any “kid-friendly” foods. It will be the weekend before Thanksgiving, so I don’t want to make anything resembling Thanksgiving dinner, like mashed potatoes. I plan to offer a cocktail (and wine, beer, seltzer) and apps (for ease, prob a cheese/charcuterie board) before dinner. ** I’d love suggestions for the meal including salad or soup, main entree and sides. ** I will make DH’s favorite chocolate cake for dessert and buy bakery cookies or fruit tarts. Thanks for all suggestions! |
Anonymous
| In these situations I tend to default to Italian. I think when cooked from scratch using fresh ingredients Italian is the perfect combo of familiarity, simplicity, elegance. |
Anonymous
For the entree and sides, I suggest making your husbands favorite entree and sides. |
Anonymous
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Ina Garten's tenderloin with basil mayo. Great for a special occasion and pretty easy.
https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/slow-roasted-filet-of-beef-with-basil-parmesan-mayonnaise |
Anonymous
Agree that a beef tenderloin is special-occasion-appropriate and convenient for a crowd. Ina has several oven tenderloin recipes, I'd look at all of them and see which appeals the most to your family's palates - the basil mayo isn't my favourite personally - I like the one with gorgonzola sauce. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| Beef tenderloin with sherry mushroom cream sauce. Asparagus. Garlic mashed p |
Anonymous
I think a "Marry-Me Chicken" type recipe would work well here. There are many recipes, pick whichever you want or here is mine. I use chicken thighs, as they're really hard to overcook. Season well with s/p, sear each side until very colorful and remove from pan (do in batches if you have a lot). Then saute onion until soft (5ish min), add garlic and sliced sun-dried tomatoes and cook one minute. Add 1/2 cup white wine, and cook until liquid is 3/4 gone. Then add cup of chicken stock, cook until 3/4 gone. Finally add 1/3 cup of cream, add the chicken back to the pan (or transfer the whole thing to a larger casserole dish) and cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. I definitely would serve with rice or potato as the sauce is heavenly. Any green side (broccoli, asparagus, beans) would go perfectly (again, just season with s/p/olive oil and throw them in the oven with the chicken). Great, now I'm hungry. 
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Anonymous
This but instead of garlic mashed, too close to Thanksgiving mashed, do scalloped potatoes. And the cream sauce on the side. |
Anonymous
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Tenderloin is stressful for me because of trying to get the temp right.
What is special for DH? |
Anonymous
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For salad do what I do at Christmas and make it easy on yourself -- buy organic iceberg and make wedges. You can serve them individually on salad plates or on a platter, and people like the presentation. I sprinkle bacon, sliced cherry tomatoes, minced red onion, and blue cheese over the top and serve with a drizzle of blue cheese dressing. I make blue cheese dressing the day before, but bottled is fine. Easy peasy, people think it is fancy, and you can put them together in advance, even with the dressing on them -- iceburg wedges won't wilt under it.
I agree with the PP who gets stressed getting the temp on beef tenderloin right. Pork tenderloin with a fruit sauce (cherry or apricot or something) is easier, and it cooks very fast. If you can make a good lasagna, I might with that. |
Anonymous
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OP here. I’d love to make beef tenderloin - DH loves red meat and I rarely cook it.
I also love the marry me chicken idea - I’ve never made it but know it is so popular, plus I could make pasta to sop up the sauce which in my mind sets the dinner apart from the upcoming thanksgiving meal. These are all great ideas, feel free to keep them coming! |
Anonymous
| Love that wedge salad idea! - OP |
Anonymous
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Jambalaya
Chicken marbella (use thighs so it's not overcooked) Or I like the marry me chicken above too. I'll have to try that this winter. |
Anonymous
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When I was going through a country French phase I ordered this Cassoulet kit and cooked it for my family for my birthday dinner. I already owned a suitable large enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, so I didn't need to buy theirs. Yes, it was a bit of a project, but I enjoyed the results. (Duck is a favorite treat food in our house.)
https://www.dartagnan.com/cassoulet-recipe-kit/product/KCSLT001-1.html |