Dinner party for 10 - need a menu!

[Anonymous]

Please help me come up with a menu. We are hosting 4 couples. Restrictions are no dairy and sufficient food for a vegetarian.

I am at a loss. Will be doing ALL my shopping and cooking on Saturday because this week has been so hectic.

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

How fancy does it need to be?
How about ratatouille, sausages, and salad.
Or you could do some kind of risotto like mushroom, baked chicken, and a nice soup (lentil, roasted squash) or composed salad.

[Anonymous]

Is this going to a formal sitdown dinnet?

[Anonymous]

Salad (can have little separate bowls with Nuts and feta (if anyone will eat cheese), Simple baked Salmon, a warm quinoa or risotto side dish that can be a main meal for veggie, along with a vegetable side (green beans, Brussels sprouts, whatever they will like). Other sides you could consider instead of a grain would be a chick pea or bean salad, mashed sweet potato, with coconut milk and cinnamon.

[Anonymous]

If casual, do a taco bar.

[Anonymous]

Upscale or casual?

Casual - Mexican

Shredded Spicy Chicken -buy a big value pack of chicken thighs (breasts work too if you only want white meat) at the grocery store or costco. Cook in a dutch oven. Coat with chipotle chili powder and season with salt. Sear. Add a large jat of high quality hot Salsa, a jalapeno pepper, a cup or so of concentrated chicken broth and can of diced tomatoes and cook covered in the oven until done. Shred with a fork.

Grilled lime shrimp -buy shrimp and any spicy citrus or combine lime, chipotle chili powder and oil for a marinade. Skewer and grill or broil before serving.

Sides - Cilantro rice, spanish rice, black beans with cilantro and diced tomatoes, roasted corn salsa

Avocodas, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, black olives, diced onions, jalapenos etc.

Buy fancy salsas, good tortillia chips ans good tortillas.

[Anonymous]

Butternut squash chili for a vegetarian main
https://cookieandkate.com/2012/butternut-squash-chipotle-chili-with-avocado/

[Anonymous]

Fajitas

A few big chicken breasts, a few flank steaks (marinate in lime juice and olive oil; add your favorite seasoning before cooking)
A big dish of grilled peppers and onions
Rice
A veggie side dish with beans
Refried beans (get vegetarian ones)
Serve guac, sour cream, cheese on the side
Flour and corn tortillas
A big green salad too

Serve some nice tequila and Mexican beer

[Anonymous]

chicken shawarma with all the fixings -- include falafel, hummus, baba ghanoush for the vegetarian

[Anonymous]

I'd do a big spinach lasagna with salad and garlic bread. You can make everything in advance and just bake the lasagna.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd do a big spinach lasagna with salad and garlic bread. You can make everything in advance and just bake the lasagna.

Hard to do with no dairy

[Anonymous]

Costco has marinated wild salmon filets individually packaged in the freezer section. All you have to do is unwrap place on a piece of alum foil on a cookie sheet and bake for the time on the box. I hate frozen food but these are delicious and look very nice. Serve with green beans quick sauted with shallots, garlic olive oil, or roasted asparagus. For the vegans have a large serving bowl with a good quality pasta with something hearty like roasted mushrooms and maybe a second dish with veggie spirals like zuccini. Have crusty bread and get a few of those salad in bags and just dump them into a nice large salad bowl.

White wine would all these foods.

[Anonymous]

No salmon unless you know that all guests like fish.

Yuck and super smelly.

[Anonymous]

You shouldn't try a new recipe if you don't have a lot of time and are already stressed. Always a recipe for disaster.

Get it catered- google for which restaurants near you do catering.

Pick something that you know how to make and increase the serving portions.

[Anonymous]

Fajitas are a good idea. Another idea is lemo garlic shrimp
Linguine. Easy to scale up and really good. Do a big simple salad and some bread on the side.