Big dinners: family style or buffet line?
sushipup1
4 years ago
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Silver Tree for Buffet Dinner Table
Comments (28)So, how many guests are you having for this buffet? The reason I ask is this... If it's for 20 or less people? You only need them to be able to go down a single line of the buffet-wouldn't need to have a food line, using BOTH sides of each table. That being said...and if you have room to do this-you could make a "U" shape using the 3 tables and bump the ends of the 2 long sides-up against the wall. Then place a round table in the enclosed area in the middle of the "U"-and place the tree there. You could skirt the tree table & use the same color tablecovering for the 3 tables. In their day..the aluminum trees were most 'showy' by using red on them. Maybe buy small red ball ornaments or the shiny red apple ornaments, cluster 3 together & hang them clusters here & there, on the tree. I'd add a string of white lights as well and drape red material around the tree base. Tree top could be a simple red bow with long streamers. You could place little wrapped red packages under the tree-adorned with white & silver ribbons. Then on the 3 red covered tables-use boughs of real evergreen as a runner & center a large glass bowl on each of the 3 tables...with a small candlestick sitting in the center of each bowl w/a red taper candle. Fill the bowl with red apples & cinnamon sticks & a few sprigs of evergreen. If there's an outlet on the wall where the 2 table ends are bumped up against? You could run white lights woven into the evergreen boughs as well....See MoreFamily Dinner.......uuugh!
Comments (36)oops - forgot that I was going to throw this one at you too. It's so delicious and the wine and pesto in it make it just a bit "special". It's one of our favorite meals! And everyone who's had it. And I use purchased pesto and marinara - so it's easy! Baked Pasta with Sausage and Tomato Pesto (Sol) 1 pound hot italian sausage, casings removed (i use half hot, half sweet) 1 onion, finely chopped 3-4 garlic cloves, minced ½ cup dry red wine 26 ounces of your favorite marinara sauce 6 Tablespoons of Pesto Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 pound penne or rotini pasta, cooked al dente 1 pound mozzarella, shredded 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese 6 oz. bag baby spinach leaves Cook the sausage until no longer pink. Add the chopped onion and sauté about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic, marinara sauce and wine. Simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce thickens. Stir in the pesto, salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9"x13" dish. Spread a thin layer of the sauce over the bottom of the pan. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, mozzarella and 1/3 cup of the Pecorino cheese. Add the spinach leaves, mixing to combine. Mix in the rest of sauce. Spoon mixture in prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining pecorino cheese on top. Bake about 30 minutes, or until cheese is lightly golden. This recipe makes 6-8 servings. Enjoy it....See MoreRaviloi bad for buffet dinner?
Comments (9)Thank you for your suggestions. I'm thinking I would like to give them the option of a meatless pasta dish. All cheese or cheese and spinach were what I had in mind. I will need to be able to prepare ahead since it's on a week night and I will be working at least half day. I will make the meatballs ahead but I am hoping to have the pasta ready to bake or just about ready to bake. My only concern is it drying out on the buffet. I am not familiar with cavatelli and I only know that fusilli is a type of pasta. Can these be made as baked dishes?...See MoreWeek 74: What's for dinner....or planning your kitchen to your style
Comments (45)My kitchen remodel was absolutely designed around how I cook & how we use the kitchen. Three things I wanted were: 1. Lots of natural light - I cook from-scratch meals almost every day and spend a lot of time here. In addition to prep/cooking, this is where most casual entertaining happens, where I fold laundry, work on the computer, and where DH & I eat most meals. I used to have one small window and we looked at walls of upper cabinet boxes (depressing). We eliminated many uppers, added storage in the island, put the range in the corner so that this is now what I see when I'm working there. 2. Induction range - I also chose my stove for how I cook. I prefer the look of a pro-style gas stove but chose induction because the perfect stovetop temp control works best for my style of cooking. I don't do wok or high sear frying, but for 9 months of the year you'll likely see a pot on my stovetop. I do lots of stocks, soups, stews & chowders. Induction was made for simmering! Here's the pot of chicken stock I have going on this rainy day. 3. Big stone (no prep sink) island -I chose to have a big, uninterrupted island top that, in addition to being our preferred everyday eating spot, also works as a serving table for buffets (has the plugs for crockpots/warming trays). It also allows for a number of people to work around it with room to spare. Like when the grands come over for the annual Christmas cookie bake ;) There are SO many elements I just love in other kitchens posted here but some just wouldn't have worked as well for me. I've used this kitchen for almost a year now, though, and still appreciate it every day. Great thread to get people in the planning stages to really consider their priorities for use over just looks. ETA - Happy Birthday, Texas_Gem!...See Morearcy_gw
4 years agomarymd7
4 years agoZalco/bring back Sophie!
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agosushipup1 thanked Zalco/bring back Sophie!Zalco/bring back Sophie!
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agosushipup1 thanked Zalco/bring back Sophie!Zalco/bring back Sophie!
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4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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