9 people over for dinner tomorrow night...?!
9 people over for dinner tomorrow night...?
I am having 9 people over for dinner tomorrow night. I am making a lasagna, fetticcini alfredo, meatballs, sauasage and a salad. Everything is going to be home made (except the sausage and pasta noodles). Everyone is coming at 6. I always get antsy before a dinner party and start everything way too early and end up serving food that had to be microwaved to re-heat it. Can someone give me a time table to follow that will get everything hot and tasty right at 6?
Additional Details1 week ago
By time table I didnt mean a start time. I meant, like, at 4:15 do this, at 4:30 prepare this, at 4:35 start doing this....
1 week ago
and if I cook meatballs for an hour, they will be hockey pucks ball. serious cooks please!!!!!
Answers:
1 week ago
By time table I didnt mean a start time. I meant, like, at 4:15 do this, at 4:30 prepare this, at 4:35 start doing this....
1 week ago
and if I cook meatballs for an hour, they will be hockey pucks ball. serious cooks please!!!!!
You can cook all your noodles early and heat them up with hot tap water. The lasagna can be made anytime during the day and put in about 1 1/2 hours before the party. I would make the saled after everyone gets there, the meatballs can be made early and cooked about 1 hour before everyone gets there. Good luck.
no
Start at 4:30.
Start cooking at 4:15 pm that will be a great time to start everything!
Don't forget a few bottles of NV Prosecco, 1999 Barolo, 1997 Brunello and finish you dinner with some Vin Santos.
4:30-ish
OMG, never, NEVER put pasta and noodles right next to each other. 2 COMPLETELY different foods. pasta=macaroni. noodles=NOT PASTA. made with eggs.
Start the lasagna first and cook it slow.
Rinse the salad leaves well and, after shaking dry, put back in the fridge by themselves in a sealed container. Cut up all the other salad fixings and store them separately as well. Mix at the last minute.
Put the meats and sauces on slow simmer and have it ready and hot.
Start boiling the water 15 minute till six and cook all the pasta noodles. Cook with a tablespoon of olive oil and a couple teaspoons of salt. Drain and cover with sauce. Serve immediately.
Clean your place first, so that you don't have to deal with that later. Lasagna is time consuming, can be prepped and cooked first, and will keep pretty hot. Start prepping around 2/3pm - put in oven at 3:30pm. Move on to prepping the meat mix for meatballs - set aside in fridge and bake/cook 45 min. prior to 6pm. Same with the sausage - especially if you have dual/convection oven, you can cook those together. Toss salad while the meat is cooking, put in nice bowl, cover with paper towel and ceranwrap, stick in fridge, take out when you want to eat it (the paper will absorb any condensation from veggies). Last, I'd do the pasta - best when served fresh. My mom always kept food warm in the pan the food was cooking in, wrapped in foil and under blankets in the bed - phenomenal results! You could try it with the lasagna if you do not have a warming drawer. In worse case scenario, you can always pop in the lasagna in the oven at the end of the cooking time for meatballs.
Good luck, have fun - wish I was there!!!!!
Don't stress.
Prepare the salad, make up the meatballs, and assemble the lasagna early in the day. Put in fridge. Chill some salad plates.
Bake the lasagna 1 1/2 hrs. before the party. 350 degrees one hour. Meanwhile fry the meatballs and sausage. When the lasagna is done pull out of the oven and decrease the temp to the lowest oven setting 210-225 degrees. Put the lasagna back in to keep warm as well as the meatballs and sausage in seperate covered dishes. The fettucine alfredo is the only thing you will have to do at the last minute.
If you get bogged down, ask your guests for help in the kitchen. People just love that. Like they had a part in "making" the meal.
Lastly, serve a nice wine. No one will care if there is a small problem :)
OK, first noodle take from 8-10 minutes, so do that last about 5:50pm/5:45. you can make the salad any time of day cover and refrigerate, don't put curtons or dressing until your ready to put it on the table, your lasagna can be made early and put in fridge until maybe 45minutes to an hour before your guest arrive put in oven, cover with foil and if you put cheese on top spray a little water on it, spray foil with nonstick spray, about 25 minutes to the end of cooking uncover let it finish cooking uncovered, while your lasagna is in the oven you can cook your meat balls, and sauces so by the time the lasagna is done your full meal is hot and ready to serve, you can prepare you meat balls early, and refrigerate them till your ready to cook. hope this helps, good luck
Everything EXCEPT the fettuccine can be made ahead of time and kept hot in your oven. You can cook the fettuccine noodles ahead and mix a little olive oil into them to keep them from sticking together. Have the Alfredo sauce on the stove top ready to heat. I'd just keep it at a warm temp.
Meanwhile, get your salad ready and set out either family style or individual plates. Serve the dressings on the side so the salad stays crisp.
Have a large skillet ready to go, a little butter and oil and garlic warming up. As the guests arrive, turn the heat up on the Alfredo, dump the noodles into the skillet, drown it with the Alfredo sauce and you've got a hot meal. A tip on fettuccine Alfredo ...finely grate some nutmeg onto each plate...that will really give it a final touch!
Good luck!