Need a creative recipe to wow the inlaws?!
Answers: Help! my inlaws are coming for the weekend and i need an awesome recipe that will knock their socks off...no fish and something that isnt going to take all day to prepare...thanks
I could give you a million yummy recipes to impress your in-laws but first, how much can you spend? How much do you know about cooking? What sort of ingredients do you have? Do you need a whole menu or just a main course.
O.K. For starters if you are in the Northern hemisphere, it is cold outside and French onion soup is easy to make and never fails to please.
You can find lots of recipes on the net. Just google "french onion soup recipe".
Now you need an entree and side. Try potatoes dauphinoise; easy to do and really yummy but pretty fattening. A green salad and lamb chops would be perfect.
If you have a stovetop grill or just a cast iron skillet they will love them. brush your lamb chops with a little olive oil, sprinkle a little kosher salt and fresh ground pepper and some herbes de provence over them. Massage them a little to make sure the oil and seasoning are well distributed over the chops.
Get your pan pretty hot and be sure to turn on the fan. Sear the chops on each side so that they take on a deep brown color.
If you have planned your dinner right. Your guests will be finishing their soup when you throw the chops in the pan. It is o.k. to have them already seasoned and ready to go. The potatoes will be cooked and hanging out in a warm oven and your salad only needs to be tossed with a simple dressing.
It is a perfect dinner.
Do what French housewives do for dessert; buy it at the best bakery you know.
OOH i have this problem all the time sweety!! I'll tell you what works- and its super easy to prepare. Get a rack of pork or lamb (with the ribs on- see link to photo!!) or beef. Get carrots and other roasty vegetable and scatter around the rack on a roasting tray. (i would sear the rack first and season with garlic, salt and pepper) and then scatter long sprigs of rosemary around the whole tray (maybe 3?) Drizzle olive oil and roast until just pink in the center- do NOT overcook! Make a nice gravy from the juices, and make some kick **** mashed potatoes (if you can get no lumps, i swear this will make ALL the difference!!!). Make a sophisticated cheeseboard for them to snack on until the food is ready. All together it would take you maybe, 20 min? yay!
ALSO - for dessert I would make a tiramisu or trifle- it can be prepared in a hurry- just take a bit of extra time making a proper decoration for the top- like shaved curls of chocolate or stencils to put powdered chocolate through.
This will make you look like a star ...
2 pork tenderloins
6 oz. goat cheese
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries
Lay each tenderloin out on a cutting board, and run a knife through it lengthwise, but not all the way through (leave about a 1/2 inch or so in tact). This is called a butterfly cut. Spread the tenderloin open, and repeat the almost all the way through lengthwise cut on each side of your original cut. This is called a double butterfly cut.
Cover with plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin until you have a nice large flat piece of meat.
Sprinkle the ingredients evenly on each tenderlion. Season with salt and pepper, then roll-up the tenderloins as tightly as possible. Tie off with cooking string. Sprinkle outside with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Cook in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees.
Remove from oven and let rest for about 20 minutes before slicing. Slice crosswise into beautiful fancy spirals. Serve with oven-roasted asparagus and a grain or potato dish (mashed sweet potatoes go especially well with this).
stuffed chicken breast.
take a boneless skinless chicken breast, butterfly it (cut it in half through its side, but not all the way through, so you have a pocket in it)
Then stuff it with your choice of stuffings.
In the past I've used:
-Spinach and feta cheese
-Spinach, artichokes and soft herbed cheese (boursin is good)
-Bacon and Cheddar cheese
-Ham and White cheddar cheese
-capers, roasted peppers and eggplant
Anything really.. but cheese is a must.. it gets all gooey and melted..
Then, after you stuff the raw chicken, put them in a casserole dish, brush with olive oil, cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes.
Add some sauteed veggies, a rice or potato dish, and you're set.
It depends on what your tastes are. I have several recipes that are wow...
When I made this my husband went nuts, he thought it was so good.
White Bean Chicken Chili
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound diced, cooked chicken meat
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (18.75 ounce) can tomatillos, drained and chopped (can use diced tomatoes if you cannot find tomatillos, and if you use diced tomatoes, still add the 16 ounce can listed below)
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chiles
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15 ounce) can white beans
2 ears fresh corn
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 lime, sliced
Heat oil, and cook onion and garlic until soft. Stir in broth, tomatillos, tomatoes, chilies, and spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Add corn, chicken, and beans; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with these toppings for people to choose from: limes, cilantro, cheese, avocado, sour cream, and tortilla chips.
and this one:
Dijon-Tarragon Cream Chicken
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup sliced mushrooms
? onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white wine
Melt the butter and heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and coat the chicken with lightly seasoned flour prior to browning them, and place in the skillet. Brown on both sides. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and continue cooking 15 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. Set aside and keep warm.
Sautee garlic, onion, and sliced mushrooms until the onion is soft and the mushrooms are mostly cooked. Splash about 1 tablespoon cup of white wine in the pan to deglaze. Then add the cream, mustard and tarragon with the garlic, onions, and mushrooms. Cook and stir 5 minutes, or until thickened. Return chicken to skillet to coat with sauce. Drizzle chicken with remaining sauce to serve.
Chicken Cordon Bleu
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves (8oz each)
8 thin slices deli ham
8 slices Swiss cheese
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups crushed cornflakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Flatten chicken to 1/4 inch thickness. Top each with a slice of ham and cheese. Roll up and tuck in ends, secure with toothpicks.
In a small bowl, whisk eggs and milk. In another bowl, combine cornflakes and seasoning. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then roll in crumbs.
Place on greased beaking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Discard toothpicks before serving. Yields 8 Servings.
Sweet Milk Dinner Rolls
1 pkg (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
2 cups warm milk (110 - 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 5 cups all purpose flour
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add sugar, butter, salt, and 3 cups flour, beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about six to eight minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to greased top. Cover and let rise in a warm palce until doubled, about one hour.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface, divide into sixteen pieces. Shape each into a ball. palce two inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about thirty minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. Serve warm. Yields 16 rolls.
Hope this helps!
Here is a link to my Mentors site. She is the ultimate! Try to get her book too if you can. It is easy to follow and has the best recipes in it.
Since we're between holidays, here's something a little different:
Swedish Meatballs and Egg Noodles:
2 lbs extra lean ground beef
2 eggs
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup bread crumbs
2 pkgs. Liptons Herb and Garlic Soup mix (or 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp celery salt, 1/2 tsp onion salt, 1/2 tsp Bon Appetit, 2 T parsley)
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup white wine
1 T mustard
Mix first 7 ingrediants and make into 1 1/2 inch meat balls. In separate dish mix soup with sour cream, white wine, and mustard. Pour over meatballs in baking dish and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. During last 15 minutes, remove cover and sprinkle with parmesan or asiago cheese (opt.) Prepare wide egg noodles according to directions and toss with butter and parsley. Place on serving platter and top with meatballs and sauce. Serve with green salad and hot Rosemary/Potato bread. For dessert: gingerbread pear trifle.
SIMPLE AND EASY, BROIL CHICKEN BREAST, AND MAKE A SAUCE WITH OLIVE OIL SAUTE,2 GARLIC MINCED,SALT, PEPPER,1 CUP OF DICED MUSHROOM,AND 1 ONION CHOPPED,1/2 CUP OF WINE,AND A JUICE OF 1 LEMON,,,,A SIMPLE SPINACH SALAD WITHA COUPLE OF PECANS AND SLICED APPLE,WITH A LITTLE CHEESE IT COULD BE GOAT CHEESE OR FETA,DRIZZLE A LTTLE OLIVE OIL,FOR DESERT TAKE FOUR APPLES PEEL,AND TAKE SEEDS OUT CUT IN HALF, MELTED BUTTER IN PAN ADD APPLES,1/2 CUP OF CRANBERRIES CINNAMON,SUGAR,A DASH OF RED PEPPER FLAKES, 2 TABLESPOON OF SOUR CREAM, AND A LITTLE APPLE JUICE AND SIMMER FOR 12 MINUTES TILL APPLES ARE SOFT BUT A LITTLE FIRM, NAMASTE
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