Okay, get this. I have been remiss on the teacher's luncheons this year.

dawn_mo

dawn_mo

Well-known member
There has been so much going on, and I have missed a few. I asked the treasurer (who is no longer me, yahoo!) and I have almost $500 left in my budget. I want to do a whamo last luncheon for these fantastic teachers. My grandson's teacher arranged for a pro-soccer player to come in and visit him in ICU. It was a great spirit lifter for him. I want to do a blow-out last luncheon.

I want to have some fun with this. I will be feeding about 30 people. Ideas people? These people are wonderful, mostly women, that I have been around for the last 8 years.

For instance, my infamous dog, Bandit, was recently bounding around on the playground with the kids (5 miles from my house), and Chris, the secretary kept him in the office for me until I coould pick him up. There was mud all over the floor and Bandy did his "thank you very much" shake and covered many surfaces and people with swamp mud bits. My life. smileys/smile.gif Anyway, I would really like to do a great Last Luncheon. Thanks!

 
I think the dessert should be the infamous 'dirt cake' with a Bandit facsimile on top smileys/smile.gif

 
Hire a food delivery truck? Ask a manicurist to come in and do nails? Hire a group

that specializes in those 20 minute back rubs on those backwards chairs? The ones that are in the airports / malls? Have them picked up in the am in a long stretch limo? You can have fun w/ the $500.00.

Take a look at the innovAsian truck on page 2. I would imagine it is for Fla, but you get the idea. Never know what is in MO that would create good will and a lovely story on supporting teachers.

http://www.thesuburbanmom.com/page/2/

 
I like those ideas, but I don't think they would work. This is the last

week of school, so it is very hectic. We have hospitatlity and teacher appreciation both. The ta did manicures and massages for the teachers recently. I like the idea of hiring someone else to do the cooking though! smileys/smile.gif

 
Dawn, this is a wonderful and special luncheon REC Spicy Shrimp Salad with Mango and Grapes, etc.

It is not spicy enough to offend anyone even though it looks like it has a lot of chili paste in it. It is unusual enough that nobody will have had it before, exotic, special, delicious, fun. A great group dish. I've made it many times and always have raves. You could serve with freshly-baked Naan bread or puff pastry breadsticks and add some other dishes as well.

SPICY SHRIMP SALAD WITH MANGO AND GRAPES, SWEET AND SOUR COCONUT VINAIGRETTE
(serves 20-25)

Sweet and Sour Coconut Vinaigrette:
2 cups coconut milk
8 tbsp oriental chili paste
4 tbsp brown sugar (packed)
8 tbsp fish sauce
8 tbsp lime juice

Bring coconut milk to a boil in a saucepan. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir for a few minutes to dissolve the sugar. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.

Garlic and shallots:
8 tbsp sliced garlic
8 tbsp sliced shallots
3/4 c vegetable oil

Saute the garlic and shallots in the oil until crispy. Remove from oil and set aside to dry.

Shrimp Salad:

4 Hayden or any other ripe Mangoes, peeled and sliced into chunks
12 cups halved green and black grapes (I used small whole grapes)
4 red chilies, finely diced (I used Thai peppers but any hot pepper will do)
about 70 cooked, shelled and deveined shrimp (I used 10-12/lb large shrimp)
1 cup chopped cilantro

Mix together all the salad ingredients and the sweet and sour coconut vinaigrette then toss with garlic, shallots and cilantro.

For serving: lettuce leaves and extra chopped Cilantro

 
Here is another crowd-pleaser T&T REC Easy stuffed Chicken Breasts

This I think was originally a Martha Stewart recipe from way back in her catering days. Way back in my catering days I made it a lot and it is very good. The slices look lovely on a platter, the recipe is good and you do not need to serve hot. These are good any temp and can be made up ahead of time.

EASY STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS (serves 8 or makes a bunch for the freezer)
2 onions, chopped
2 T butter
2 10-oz packages frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 lbs Ricotta cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 T oregano, summer savory, basil, thyme, or mixture
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp nutmeg (or more)
16 halves of chicken breasts, skin on, boned
Sauté onions in butter until soft. Combine with the other ingredients, except chicken. Season.
Place each breast half skin-side-up on a board. Trim excess fat. Loosen skin from one side, making a pocket. Stuff approximately 1/3 cup of mix under skin. Tuck skin and meat under breast, forming an even, round dome shape. Put on buttered baking dish. (You can freeze them at this point.)
Preheat oven to 350°. Bake breasts until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. (If frozen, thaw for 30-45 minutes first -- it may take longer to bake these, too.)
Slice and serve!

 
Here's another T&T REC Grilled Seafood Salad Nicoise

Gorgeous presentation, special, fun, delicious. The teachers would love this one......

GRILLED SEAFOOD SALAD NICOISE)
serves 6

For the dressing:
3 tbsp red wine vinegar (actually I use raspberry vinegar)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp anchovy paste
1/2 tsp dried thyme, crumbled (or 1 tsp chopped fresh)
1/4 tsp sugar
1/3 c good olive oil

for the salad:
1 lb 1" thick tuna steak cut in 6 pieces
1 large yellow crookneck squash cut into 1/4" slices
9 jumbo shrimp, shelled and halved lengthwise
12 large sea scallops
1 lb green or wax beans (or tiny hericort verte if you are lucky enough to be able to find them), cut to 2" length
red leaf lettuce for lining the plates
1 red bell pepper, roasted and cut into 2" pieces
1 pint red or yellow cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 cup Nicoise olives, drained

Make the dressing: In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, mustard, anchovy paste, thyme, sugar and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the oi in a stream, whisking and whisk until emulsified.

In a Zip lock bag, toss the tuna, shrimp, scallops and squash with 4 Tbsp of the dressing. Blanch the beans in boiling water, drain, refresh under cold water, pat dry and toss with 2 Tbsp of the dressing along with the roasted red pepper in a bowl.

Place rack or grilling basket on grill, grill tuna 2-1/2 min each side, shrimp for 4 minutes each side, scallops and squash for 6 minutes on each side, transferring to a platter as it is finished.

Line 6 plates with the red lettuce leaves. On each plate arrange 2 scallops, halved horizontally, 3 shrimp halves and 1 pc of tuna, sliced diagonally and divide the squash, beans, roasted pepper, tomatoes and olives among the plates. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the salads.

My note: I usually include a quartered hardboiled egg on each plate as well.

 
Here's a link from a thread on appetizers.

And a copied message from another thread:

Up to several days in advance roll thin slices of white bread even thinner with a rolling pin, cut small circles and line mini muffin cups. Bake until lightly toasted. Store in an air-tight container until filling. For my derby party I make a take on hot browns by filling then with a turkey salad with a Parmesan dressing topped with a slice of cherry tomato and a small piece of bacon. You could also line the cup with a piece of lettuce then fill with a bacon and tomato salad. Someone more imaginative than I could probably think of more non-dairy fillings. The cups stay crisp quite a while after filling. I assume it depends on the filling but my mini cold browns are filled a couple hours in advance and even leftovers refrigerated filled are still pretty good the next day.

I also really like Machengo cheese crackers, Rooster's firecrackers, and Joanne Weir's crostini with fennel sausage. All have been bit hits every time they are served. All have dairy. I would be glad to post recipes if you want them.

http://www.eat.at/swap/forum1/201853

 
Dawn - this is so nice of you to do. Big hits in our staff room for this type of thing are

a nice variety of finger sandwiches, veggie/green or pasta salads with a protein, warm pasta dishes, or brunch foods that can be eaten warm or room temp. Stuff that can be eaten standing or taken back and sit on a desk for a bit before eating are also very welcome.

This week is teacher appreciation week at our school, and yesterday the PTA did a dessert bar for us in the afternoon - they served a variety of cheesecakes, cookies and pastries with coffee and tea. A big hit!

 
Uggggggggg!!! I made this recipe and used frozen mango and pineapple.

This is what I get for tweaking a recipe without ever having made it the original way. I used frozen mango and pineapple for the mango. I kept out a portion for bub for dinner tonight, and the acid from the pineapple cooked the shrimp to a disgusting state. They will have to toss all the leftovers tomorrow. It was so good and definitely would make a great summer dish, but I won't be making it again soon, only because it will remind me of my horrific blunder. It was delicious when freshly made. Uggggggggggggggg!!!

 
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