Sunday dinner a success!

A

amanda_pennsylvania

Well-known member
Everyone raved about the food (or at least put on a good show). The kitchen looked like a cyclone hit it, but everything was done at the same time and tasted good.

Here was the final menu:

Herb-Roasted Chicken

Roasted carrots and onions (tucked in with the chicken)

Mashed potatoes

Roasted broccoli

Acorn Squash

Dessert:

Jamaican Gingerbread

Roasted Pears with Almond Crumble

Maple Whipped Cream

I used almond meal in the gingerbread, but I think it had too much oil or something because the cake totally fell flat. I couldn't even get it out of the Bundt pan. However, we just scooped it out of the pan with a spoon and put it in the bowls. Very elegant, huh?

We liked my dad's friend; she seemed very warm and engaging. She brought us a big grocery bag of treats from Trader Joe's, and left an open bottle of a very good cream-based liqueur. She insisted on seeing my failed gingerbread, tasted it, and said that was perfectly fine and that we should definitely use it. Too funny.

I'm SO GLAD this weekend is over and it went well. Phew.

 
Herb-Roasted Chicken Breasts

This is a great recipe and really easy.

I used bone-in thighs and drumsticks. (The breasts these days are so huge, they take up half the pan.) I removed the skin and mixed the herbs and olive oil into a paste, which I then spread on the chicken. I tucked onions and carrots in between the chicken pieces (and also did a separate dish of them).

Using Joe's advice, I basted the chicken a couple of times. According to the recipe, cooking time is 30 minutes, but cooked it for about 50 minutes.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Herb-Roasted-Chicken-Breasts-4038

 
Roasted Pears with Almond Crunch

This was *wonderful.* I had to deviate from the recipe because I needed to use what I had on hand, but it turned out great.

Some notes:

I roasted the pears as we ate dinner, which worked out really well.

I used Bartlett pears instead of Bosc and I used Poire liqueur instead of Amaretto.

For the maple whipped cream, I just added a tablespoon of maple syrup to the cream and whipped it. A very delicate flavor.

I served the pears in a bowl with the gingerbread, maple whipped cream, and sprinkled the almond crunch on top--sort of an autumn trifle.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Pears-with-Almond-Crunch-107773

 
Yes, Well done. You had pressures on all sides, including memories.

You handled it with aplomb.

(Thank you. I've never gotten to use that word before.)

 
Congratulations! This should go in the Menus section. It's greatl that you liked your dad's friend

and that she was so appreciative.

 
Thanks, Joe. I will put it in the menu section.

Let's see--what shall we call it?

"Gluten-free-Dinner-for-Meeting-Dad's-New-Girlfriend"

Hmm. That's a bit clunky. Perhaps I'll just go with "Autumn Dinner."

smileys/smile.gif

 
How about "Gluten-Free Autumn Dinner, for the Autumn years...."

"Gluten Free Senior Citizen Date Night" doesn't really work.

 
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