I would take the carving station and use one of the vegetable pasta dishes as one of your hot items...Vegetable lasagna is always good on a buffet, and since the eggplant rollatini is grouped with the pastas, it's probably served on a bed of angel hair or something which would also be good. This way, there's something substantial for vegetarians or those who simply don't care for the meat selections. For chicken on a buffet,it's always good to make sure it has enough sauce, so the Chicken Forestiere would probably be my choice...Chicken Marsala is good, but there are those who don't care for wine or who won't drink it. Anyway, the Forestiere has the spinach as well. Salmon is popular, and ordered so frequently that most places will know how to prepare it properly. I'm with Kathleen regarding the veggies. You've got salad and veggie crudite as it is...and many of the choices have some sort of veggie. I would get the Potatoes Au Gratin though, because people like it on it's own and so it can pair with the meat at the carving station...which you can't go wrong with Roast Beef & horseradish sauce.

dotmom, the beauty of chowmein is how you diy'it...here's one from "net"...enjoy...btw, cut your veggies and lightly blanch them...they cook faster and still have a bit of crunch...sesame oil is great but don't over use!!a little goes along way...if you buy, get the smallest bottle you can find..spoils quickly... Home > Recipes > Chicken > Chicken Chow Mein Recipe.Chicken Chow Mein From Food Network Kitchens Recipe categories: Pasta, Noodles, Poultry, Chicken, Vegetables, more Cuisine : Asian , Chinese Technique : Stir Frying Season : Fall , Spring , Summer ..recipe ratings & reviews(17) .Rated 4 stars out of 5 Rate This Recipe Read 17 Reviews Total Time: 35 min. Prep15 min. Cook20 min. Yield:4 main course servings . 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Ingredients3 ounces dried chuka soba noodles, or other Chinese egg noodles 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons peanut oil Kosher salt 1/2 cup chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned 3 tablespoons oyster sauce 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, plus more for the table 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon sugar 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 6 ounces), cut into thin 2-inch-long strips 1 teaspoon dark Asian sesame oil 1 heaping tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 scallion, white and green minced Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal 10 dried shittake mushrooms, rehydrated, drained, and thinly sliced 1/3 cup thinly sliced canned water chestnuts 6 ounces fresh mung bean sprouts 3 cups cooked white rice, hotDirectionsBoil the noodles according to package instructions. Drain in a colander in the sink and rinse under cold running water. Shake the colander to drain off excess water and pat the noodles dry with a towel. Heat 1/4 cup of the peanut oil in a large seasoned or non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the noodles, spreading them out to evenly cover the skillet, and fry, turning once, until golden brown and crispy, about 8 minutes. (Break the noodles up, by stirring, near the end of the cooking). Transfer noodles to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste. Set aside. Discard any excess oil and wipe out the pan. Whisk together the chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar in a small bowl, and set aside. Season the chicken with the dark sesame oil, salt, and pepper, and set aside. Heat the skillet over high heat. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut oil until very hot. Add the ginger, garlic, and scallion and stir-fry, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and stir-fry, until lightly browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the onion, celery, and mushrooms and stir-fry, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the water chestnuts and spread the ingredients to the outside of the pan to form a well in the center. Pour the chicken broth mixture into the well, bring to a boil, and stir to coat the chow mein mixture. Stir in the bean sprouts and remove from the heat. Season generously to taste with pepper. Transfer chicken chow mein to a warm platter and top with the fried noodles. Serve immediately with rice. Pass more soy sauce at the table. Copyright 2001 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved �Television Food Network G.P. All Rights Reserved. Ingredients 3 ounces dried chuka soba noodles, or other Chinese egg noodles 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons peanut oil Kosher salt 1/2 cup chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned 3 tablespoons oyster sauce 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, plus more for the table 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon sugar 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 6 ounces), cut into thin 2-inch-long strips 1 teaspoon dark Asian sesame oil 1 heaping tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 scallion, white and green minced Freshly ground black pepper 1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal 10 dried shittake mushrooms, rehydrated, drained, and thinly sliced 1/3 cup thinly sliced canned water chestnuts 6 ounces fresh mung bean sprouts 3 cups cooked white rice, hot Directions Boil the noodles according to package instructions. Drain in a colander in the sink and rinse under cold running water. Shake the colander to drain off excess water and pat the noodles dry with a towel. Heat 1/4 cup of the peanut oil in a large seasoned or non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the noodles, spreading them out to evenly cover the skillet, and fry, turning once, until golden brown and crispy, about 8 minutes. (Break the noodles up, by stirring, near the end of the cooking). Transfer noodles to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste. Set aside. Discard any excess oil and wipe out the pan. Whisk together the chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar in a small bowl, and set aside. Season the chicken with the dark sesame oil, salt, and pepper, and set aside. Heat the skillet over high heat. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut oil until very hot. Add the ginger, garlic, and scallion and stir-fry, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and stir-fry, until lightly browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the onion, celery, and mushrooms and stir-fry, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the water chestnuts and spread the ingredients to the outside of the pan to form a well in the center. Pour the chicken broth mixture into the well, bring to a boil, and stir to coat the chow mein mixture. Stir in the bean sprouts and remove from the heat. Season generously to taste with pepper. Transfer chicken chow mein to a warm platter and top with the fried noodles. Serve immediately with rice. Pass more soy sauce at the table. Copyright 2001 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved

I would have made a sauce with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, red pepper chili paste in sesame oil, and some cornstarch in water. I keep ginger paste in a jar in my fridge for when I need to add a bit of ginger to a dish, but I also have ginger in the freezer. We went to a "Thai" restaurant yesterday that was more like a Chinese restaurant, which is always a disappointment. I took most of my food home in a to-go box and will spice it the way I like it today. The dish was one of their daily specials (they had three of them), and it had a bunch of vegetables (carrot coins, tiny corn, mushrooms, etc) with shrimp and chicken in a very bland sauce. I had ordered medium spicy, but it had no spice in it whatsoever and was cold. I also ordered it with brown rice and got white rice instead, which is not a huge problem, but I felt like they had prepared this dish for someone else and just happened to have it sitting around. Kevin ordered Pad Thai, which was one of the few Thai dishes on the menu, and he said it was bland as well. Nothing on the menu mentioned lemongrass, Kaffir lime, or galangal. We are used to getting great Thai food in L.A., and so this was a disappointment, but there is a somewhat better Thai restaurant in downtown Palm Springs - this one was in downtown Cathedral City.

I have my favorite restaurants and my favorite dishes at those restaurants. I don't really eat out at place where I dont LOVE the food, or places that I don't check the menu online to see if I want to eat there. That said, I usually default to something on their menus that I cannot or will not cook at home. Like I would never order steak or a fish filet, but I might order fish and chips because I don't really fry things at home. I used to always order scallops but our fish market has two kinds of really fresh scallops, so I've learned to cook them at home and never order them when I go out anymore. I might order prime rib because I don't make that at home. If I find Geoduck or Calamari steak on a menu, I would order that without a second glance at the menu. I have my favorite dishes at Thai and Vietnamese restaurants here and don't really vary when I order. I do try different things at Mexican restaurants, but once I find something really delicious, I have a hard time ordering something different on the menu. Altho I love pasta and we have a few really great Italian restaurants here that make their own pasta, I only order something that I wouldn't fix at home....no red sauce or clam sauce for me because I can and do make those at home. I'd choose something like a lobster ravioli or a pumpkin/squash ravioli, or some other filling that sounds good - I never make fresh ravioli any more, tho I used to. I always order the same pizza, regardless of the restaurant, take out or delivery only, I never go to a restaurant for pizza. A vegetarian pizza with extra veggies and cashews and Italian sausage, lol. No longer vegetarian!