ISO: ISO Menu ideas for an Open House on Sunday afternoon (in two weeks) for about...

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Hi, Marianne. Sorry for the delay...

The recipes I mentioned are below. I should note that the most helpful thing I did (besides prepping as much as I could/getting out dishes/ setting the table the day before) was making a list of everything I meant to serve and a timeline for what needed to be done when (with any oven temps) on the actual day of the open house. This saved me from feeling totally crazed and from leaving something off the table, only to find it after the party.

Recipes:

Tomato Company Cups

9 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated flaky biscuits

Preheat oven to 375º. Combine first 6 ingredients. Separate each biscuit into 2 or 3 thinner ones. Press biscuit pieces into miniature muffin pan cups. Fill biscuit shells evenly with tomato mixture. Bake at 375º for 10 to 12 minutes or until bubbly.

(Note: I assembled the filling the day before, and filled and baked the cups the day of.)

From The Junior League at Home


Pork Tenderloin:

I love this recipe from the Augusta Chronicle.

The morning (or the night before) you plan to serve your meal, prepare the marinade for the pork and place it in a gallon-size, zip-top, plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins and refrigerate. (I marinated two days before & cooked the pork the day before the party. I put it out on the table chilled, letting it come to room temperature while guests began to fill plates.)

Prepare the sour cream mustard sauce to accompany the pork and store it in the refrigerator in an air-tight, plastic container. Feel free to substitute low-fat or fat-free sour cream and mayonnaise in this sauce.

The tenderloin can be grilled or oven-roasted. Serve it sliced on a platter with the sauce in a pretty bowl in the middle. The tenderloin is great served hot or cold. It is also good sliced and placed on sliced rolls, topped with the sauce.



Bourbon Pork Tenderloin with Sour Cream Mustard Sauce

Pork:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup bourbon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 pork tenderloins

Sauce:

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

2-3 green onions, chopped

Combine soy sauce, bourbon and brown sugar in a small bowl. Place marinade in a zip-top, plastic bag and add pork tenderloins. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Combine sauce ingredients and chill for several hours or overnight.

To cook, place the pork tenderloins on a baking pan, reserving marinade. Roast in a 325-degree oven for 45 minutes, basting several times with the reserved marinade. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing.

Serve the sauce on the side.



Cranberry Raisin Couscous Salad

Serves 8

2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. butter
1/2 Cup onion, diced
One 10-oz box instant couscous
2 1/4 Cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 Cup dried cranberries
1/4 Cup Raisins
1/2 Cup broken cashews
1/2 Cup cilantro, washed and finely chopped
1/4 Cup green onions, very finely chopped
salt and pepper
1/4 cup carrots, diced, optional

Heat oil and butter in a non-stick saute saucepan, then saute onions with a pinch of salt until onions are translucent.

Add couscous and vegetable broth, bring to a boil, stir once, cover and remove from heat.

Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous and add cranberries, raisins, cashews, cilantro, and green onions and carrots.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover for a few minutes, then serve.

From Pastrywiz.net



Chicken and Tarragon Pesto Pasta

10 oz. dried penne pasta
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pan toasted pine nuts
large bunch of tarragon, leaves stripped from the stem and chopped
grated zest and juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove crushed and chopped
3 cooked chicken breasts, sliced
2 packages fresh arugula, about 4 oz.
salt & pepper

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the pasta, stir and cook for 8-9 minutes, until al dente. When cooked, drain and refresh the pasta in cold water, then drain thoroughly and toss in half the olive oil.

Put the Parmesan, pine nuts, tarragon, lemon zest and juice, garlic and remaining oil on a bowl and work until smooth with a stick blender.

Put the pasta, pesto, chicken and arugula in a serving bowl, season and toss well, coating the pasta and chicken evenly with the pesto.

(Note: I doubled or tripled this. I made the pesto and chicken ahead and assembled the salad the day of.)

From Fran Warde's Simply Delicious Food

Good luck!

 
Rec. Cranberry Apple Stuffed Pork Loin

Cranberry Apple Stuffed Pork Loin

FROM SIMPLY RECIPES


September has arrived and with it, hints of fall, ripening apples, and kids everywhere going back to school. We found this recipe in a local grocery circular and just happened to have a pork roast in the freezer longing to be eaten. The stuffing ingredients - croutons, apple, walnuts, cranberries, shallots, maple syrup and rosemary - worked well together, as one would expect looking at that list, and added a lovely fall dimension to the roast.

1 boneless pork loin (about 3 pounds)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup seasoned croutons
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup peeled, chopped green apples
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon minced rosemary

1 Preheat oven to 325°F.



2 Rinse the pork and pat it dry. Butterfly the roast by first cutting lengthwise about halfway through the roast. Then angle the knife and cut horizontally almost all of the way through, on both sides. Unfold the pork and cut tiny slits in the surface of the meat. Cover with 2 layers of of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet to flatten as much as possible. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.



3 Place croutons and stock in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes, until the croutons have absorbed the stock and have softened. Mash up the croutons a bit with a fork. Stir in the apples, walnuts, shallots, maple syrup and rosemary. Spread mixture over surface of the pork. Starting with the smallest side of the meat (which should be in the shape of a rectangle), roll up tightly and secure with kitchen string. At this point you can wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate if you are making ahead.

4 Coat the bottom of a roasting pan with cooking spray or a little olive oil. Place the roast in the pan and cook at 325°F, uncovered, for about 1 hour ten minutes, or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 140-145°F. Start checking the internal temperature of the roast at about one hour. Let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the kitchen string and slice into 1/2-inch thick slices.

Serves 6.

This is a beautiful dish and worth serving to guests who will eat pork.

 
Rec:Beef or Pork Satay from Sunset Oriental Cookbook. You could use chicken also>>>

I have used this recipe many times and it is also good. Honestly, it's really about the Peanut Sauce. I also prefer my satay to be "threaded" onto bamboo skewers so I cut thin 1/4" slices of the meat, pound thin and then slice into long strips about 1 1/2" wide and then just thread them onto the skewers. They look pretty on a tray but you can also cube the meat. I also love Sambal which is basically a chili sauce so I've included a recipe for that. Soaking the bamboo skewers in water for an hour or more before skewering meat keeps them from burning

Beef or Pork Satay
1 1/2 pounds lean boneless beef (sirloin or top round) or pork butt or leg
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. salad oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander

Basting Sauce:
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander

Cut meat into 3/4" cubes. In a bowl, stir together garlic, soy, oil, cumin and coriander. Add meat and stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Mix all basting sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Thread about 4 cubes of meat on each of about 18 small bamboo skewers. Place on a lightly greased grill on medium heat or place on a rack in a broiler pan about 4 to 6" below heat. Cook, turning often, until meat is done to your liking. Baste with the basting sauce in the last minutes of cooking time. Serve with Peanut Sauce

Sambal (Chili Paste)
1/2 cup small dried whole hot red chilis, stemmed and seeded
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt

In a blender or food processor, combine chilis, garlic, onion, sugar, lemon juice, water and salt; whirl until onions are finely minced. Pour mixture into a 1 to 2 qt. pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1/2 cup (about 10 minutes). Serve at room temperature.
Makes about 1/2 cup.

 
The author says you can prepare early & bake later; I don't see why you couldn't bake ahead too >

pork is good at room temp too!

 
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