I've got the in laws round for dinner ... what can i cook ?!
I've got the in laws round for dinner ... what can i cook ?
Answers:
Something simple yet very effective - my favourite is either a curry or chilli. They are dead easy to make, cheap to buy and always get good results. And it is definately not too hot to try this in the summer - I'm sure Mexicans and Indians would agree.
This will cost about ￡10, (more if you choose the wine/beer route!) so ￡2.50 per head. Considering how stuffed you feel afterwards, this is incredible value!
The Kit
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Get down to Adsa and pickup some chicken or beef (about 500g), bag of rice, and either nachos or naans. Never-ever use supermarket value (Tesco Value or Asda Smartprice) meat. Aim a little higher, it will pay off. Try the organic range, it's not that much more expensive, but it is so much better.
The side dish is very important because people often forget that bit and so it looks pretty impressive when you do have it! Also if you're really trying to impress, get some sour cream and refried bean dip if doing the chilli.
Maybe a bottle of wine or pack of beer? Some treacle sponge and ice-cream for afters?
Its also important to get a good cooking sauce - but something fairly mild so everyone can enjoy it: a korma or a medium chilli will do great. I like Pataks Korma or Uncle Ben's Medium Chilli. Asda's 'Be Good To Yourself' Korma is very low fat (<5%/100g) so is fantastic for anyone dieting and tastes very good too.
Cooking:
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To cook it, it's important to get the rice going first, because you can always turn it off when its cooked. There's nothing worse than having your curry/chilli ready and having to wait for the rice to cook!
Use half a mug of rice per person, that makes a really good portion. Then a trick here is to use either a knob of butter or a dribble of oil into the rice, and stir. This will stop the rice from sticking to the pan and burning. Then add a mug of cold water per person into the rice mix. Bring to the boil for a minute then allow to simmer until cooked. Only stir once or twice - doing more so will break the rice and release starch, which causes sticking and burning! Easy cook rice generally takes about 10 minutes. Use a pan with a lid, or use a plate to sit on top of the pan. The steam is important when cooking rice; it speeds up the process loads.
If the thought of cooking rice is too hard, then use a couple of packets of Uncle Ben's microwave rice. It takes about 30 secs and is actually really nice, but just a little pricey for a student like myself.
Take your meat and put it in the hot frying pan. I always use a deep one or even a wok. If your cooking a chilli, plonk in the mince brick upside-down so you can remove the paper. If using chicken, cut it into small chunks then throw them in.
After the rice has been simmering a few minutes start frying the meat in a little olive oil until its cooked. Frying chicken is really easy, takes only a few minutes to do, but don't go poisoning people! I like to cook it until it looks a little sun-tanned - but cut a chunk in two to see if its cooked all the way through. It should be hot and white.
Add the sauce and stir it in, covering all of the meat, and reduce the heat to allow a gentle simmer. The heat is about right if the sauce starts to bubble like a mud pool. Leave that for about 10 minutes but stir it now and then. I always like to add roughly 50ml's of water to create more sauce and throw in sultanas for that extra touch. If you add too much water, just leave to simmer a little longer and it will evaporate - this method actually has the benefit of intensifying the flavour!
Remember to cook the naans about 5 minutes before the curry is ready. All they take is a little grilling, most can be microwaved.
If doing a chilli then grate plenty of cheese over the nachos and put them in the oven to melt. Refried bean dip is also really nice, despite the name.
Serving
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Now most people just plonk the meat on top of the rice, but the best way to serve it to impress people is to put the rice and meat side-by-side. I think it looks much better.
Evenly spoon the rice onto each plate (plates should be warmed in the oven) until you think enough is served or until you've served the whole lot. Only then serve the meat, because it stays hotter that way.
Next plate up the sides - I usually have a single plate in the middle for naans when having a curry. For a chilli just place the cheesy nachos in the midddle.
Serve with white wine or beer or whatever. But make sure it's been in the fridge.
If you want a pud, try something simple like ice-cream with chopped fruit. I really like sponge puddings and think they always go down well with parents.
Remember
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It is only dinner afterall! Hope it goes well.
Source(s):
I've been cooking currys and chillis every week for the last two years as a student. The recipe is a personalised combination of the jar's labels, Delia Smith and Ainsley Harriet.
food
Anything with an arsenic sauce!
If you can grill a good steak, but don't if you can't.
Get one of those ready made things from costco. They'll never know.
lasagna...tacos MmMmm..ribs...those good
Something disgusting.
save them calling again.
we call them the outlaws where i come from
Takeout...... , buddy you can't go wrong, but make sure you pay or they might think their daughter made the wrong choice.
No offence. Are you a good cook?
I have cooked roast lamb dinners in the past, spaghetti bolognese, curry etc.
But in warmer summer weather, I've prepared a salad, stirred pesto through cooked pasta and grilled some meat like pork supremes, chicken legs, pepper steaks etc. How easy is that?
It depends how much you want to impress.
The most extravagant I've probably done, was spinach and ricotta canneloni with home made creamy chicken pie and couscous.
As a rule for myself I never go too complicated, cause if it all goes wrong everyone is having sausage egg beans and chips. Ha
Serious though, how about a summer barbecue with a few beers and some wine?
This answer depends on if you like them. So I'm assuming that you do!
A nice soup, like a pumpkin and potato would probably go down well.
Make sure that you use both cream and milk when cooking soup as the consistency will be more than edible.
Chopped fresh chives may also enhance the overall appearence of the dish.
Happy eating.
What can You cook? Give your best you may have them for a long time.
Do something easy but classy .. something with 5 ingredients or less .. I don't know how much experience you have in the kitchen but these are pretty much no brainers ..lol
This elegant salad is perfect for entertaining at a luncheon. Serve it with some crisp bread sticks and a selection of warm muffins and scones. Use Lime Ginger Salad Dressing or purchase a premade brand.
INGREDIENTS:
* 3 cups gemelli pasta
* 1/2 pound cooked lump crab meat
* 2 mangoes, peeled and cubed
* 2 cups grape tomatoes
* 1/2 cup Lime Ginger Salad Dressing
PREPARATION:
Cook pasta according to package directions and drain well. Drizzle with Lime Ginger Salad Dressing and toss with remaining ingredients. Cover and chill for 2-3 hours to blend flavors before serving.
Good Luck with the In Laws
a nice shepherd pie will go down a treat! give you time to perpare and pop into the oven for a good while before it's served...
This will show you can do basic cooking in the eyes of the in- laws!!
best of luck
In this weather, you do not want anything really hot. How about this:-
Boil up some rice, stir in some mixed vegetables, wash the starch off so that it is fluffy
Get some slices of ham, spread cream cheese on one side and roll them up swiss roll style. Secure them with cocktail sticks.
Get a large portion of Humous and other dips. Get some French Stick or mini baguettes and slice them into wedges. Place them in a hot oven for a short time to crisp them up.
Make a fruit punch with slices of orange and lemon in it. A simple delicious one would be with a base of red grape juice, some diluted strawberry and blackcurrant, and add some mulled wine herbs
Make some iced Earl Grey tea. Be sure to add plenty of sugar.
Make instant sorbet by chopping up frozen fruit with sugar using a multichop. Serve in dishes with a twist of mint leaf.
Something simple yet delicious perhaps:
Champagne cocktail to start.
Shrimp cocktail appetizer
Cabernet Sauvignon v1969 with dinner
Garlic and Rosemary rubbed Prime Rib
rare to medium rare au jus
Horseradish sauce
Shitake Mushrooms sauteed in wine and butter
Mashed Potatoes w/gravy or
Baked Potato w/sour cream and chives
Creamed Spinach
Hot Rolls/butter
Blueberry Pie ala mode
Coffee/Brandy
BON APPITITE
something you eat.
lobster,cake(and lots of it !!!!!mmmmm......cake),and if u still do not now eat allot of fat foods then u will be sick and they will not come over and wait till you have found out what to cook
if you want something easy, maybe pasta with sauce. you could do fajitas for something more fun.
Make something you and the in-laws will like that will keep you busy in the kitchen for a while.
I usually make something that keeps me in the kitchen so that my husband is the one to entertain and chat with them before dinner. I look at it from two ways, either I'm being nice by giving them time alone with there son to catch up and chat or I'm being selfish by keeping myself busy in the kitchen doing something I enjoy while my husband has to entertain his family alone. All the same they enjoy what I make so in the end it all evens out. Good luck.
Cook them a traditional meal (depending on your ethinicity). So if you are British cook a roast meal with veg. Try to do a three course meal and serve with a nice wine or a non alcoholic drink if they don't drink. Prepare and set the table as nicely as possible and buy mum in law some flowers. Good Luck!
why not try a vegetable dinner with a Bernard Matthews turkey joint, there only small but taste delicious and are SO easy to cook. Also the vegetables are so easy too, try putting sweetcorn on too, it just brightens up the plate and tastes really nice.... Good Luck ;-)
Something easy to serve, and heat up so it's ready exactly when they arrive and are ready to sit. Try making a pasta dish, or a lasagna, and serve it with salad, dinner rolls and a great dessert.
What can you cook? If is good food will be good!
Them
geordies Mexican Stuffed Chicken
"My boyfriend made me the best stuffed chicken last evening. It was so good that I crowned him a better cook than me. Serve with a small side of salsa and sour cream on the side."
Prep Time:30 MinutesCook Time:40 MinutesReady In:1 Hour 10 MinutesServings:4
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INGREDIENTS:
2 cups crushed corn flakes
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 (1.27 ounce) packet dry fajita seasoning
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped orange bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1/2 medium red onion, diced
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup salsa
toothpicks
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DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish.
In a shallow bowl, mix the corn flakes, chili powder, and fajita seasoning. In a separate bowl, mix the red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, orange bell pepper, mushrooms, and onion.
Dredge the chicken in the corn flakes mixture to evenly coat. Sprinkle one side of each breast with 2 tablespoons Cheddar cheese, and layer with 1/4 the vegetable mixture. Top with equal amounts salsa. Carefully roll the breast halves over the filling. Seal seams with toothpicks, then dredge again in the corn flakes mixture.
Arrange the rolled chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Top with remaining cheese, and continue baking 10 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear and cheese is melted.