Me too...with a question on menu. I tend to go a llittle overboard on the need for lipitor with my

M

Marg CDN

Well-known member
dinners. Maybe I need to have some control. If you have a moment to comment on 6 old women eating this menu, one of whom has a dairy and egg allergy:

(the corrected version)

1...Carrot and lime soup (I may skip the soup as this is seeming a bit too much for some people)

2...Stacked beet (2 colours) and goat cheese salads with pistachios on watercress NO ALTERING THIS ONE

3...Pork tenderloin with mustard tarragon sauce (the allergic one gets no sauce since it has cream in it). This is just easy for me serving 6 people from my tiny kitchen. NO ALTERING THIS ONE

...Baby carmellized endive on puff pastry squares

... or plain oven-roasted potatoes with rosemary and Brussels sprouts leaves sauteed with pine nuts and onion

4....Pear and lots-of-rum and lots-of-fresh-nutmeg bundt cake with non-dairy ice cream. This is not my usual elaborate dessert but I think it works with this meal, and most of my elaborate recipes don't exist without butter/milk/eggs. This one uses oil.

Les hors d'oeuvre are a bit difficult too as cheeses and butters are out, so maybe just Penelope Casa's green olive tapenade. I actually need to get more creative than this but also get discouraged with major restrictions. I enjoy doing fancy hors d'oeuvre.

It's not really important but just wondering if anyone thinks this is too heavy. I do tend to overdo the weight of some meals.

 
NOT IMPORTANT?! Every menu is important. I would only make one or two suggestions.

Poached pears in syrup are easier and lighter than non-dairy bundt cake and/or non-dairy ice cream. I would not do the Brussels sprouts if you are also doing the puff pastry endive. (I vote for potato and Brussels sprouts.)

 
I actually don't see anything wrong with your menu....

... I must say that the only thing that bothers me in this type of get together is if the hostess or host insists that I should try every single item and stuff myself with food so that they feel good about it.

I prefer when people respect my limits, because I hate the feeling of being stuffed. Hate it. Never liked it, and the older I get, the less well I deal with it.

 
I know how you feel Sally. I watched Giada de Laurentis last week at a gathering and she said

if everything looks good to you, go ahead and try all you want. Just take a spoonful of each item and then only take one bite if you want. Loved that idea. As for me, I usually connect with the looks of the dish or not. I only go for the dishes I connect with.

 
For many, many reasons I always serve "family style" at large gatherings.

I'd rather people take responsibility for taking however much or little of whichever dishes they prefer.

 
Exactly! If I eat very little of something it should not be taken as a criticism of the food!

 
I always do that too....

and I never re-fill someone's plate or insist that they take more of anything.

I prefer that my guests serve themselves - some people like to load on veggies, others like to concentrate on meat, or the main starch. How would I know?

unless it is a very sophisticated type of meal, in which presentation is valued as much as the food, I rather go family style. Come to think of it, I don't think I ever made a dinner for guests in which I plated the food for them. I sometimes will make small plates with salad, in individual servings, but that's as far as I go.

 
Me too. I like dressing up a big platter instead of individual plates, and I hate wasted food!

 
The carrot lime soup does sound unnecessary. For the pork, there are great

non-dairy alternatives. You could do half the sauce with cream and half with almond or soy milk, even coconut milk. Cream is usually added at the end so it should be easy to divide it out. I'd vote for the potatoes/Brussels sprouts too smileys/smile.gif

 
Thanks all. Soup eliminated. See, it didn't seem like much. Used to doing 6-7 courses

I need to get myself under control. Older friends don't want so much food, I think.

Plus, my kitchen is like a tiny kiosk now.

 
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