Food: Dinner Party Menu

Dinner Party Menu

Had a few friends over in February and served these dishes. Total cooking / prep time was probably around 3.5 - 4 hours.

Salad: Jamie's Cranberry Spinach Salad


Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
1 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons minced onion
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1) In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
2) In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.
3) In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil. Toss with spinach just before serving.

Rating: 5 of 5
Comments: The dressing for this salad is really good, and goes well with the cranberries/almonds. Toasting the almonds definitely adds a more robust flavor to the salad. Looks/tastes fancy, but is quite easy to make. I've made this salad several times since.

Jamie's Cranberry Spinach Salad


Side Dish: Kathy's Delicious Italian Pasta



Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package dry penne pasta
12 ounces roasted red peppers
7 ounces black olives, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
16 ounces mozzarella cheese, cubed
5 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1/4 pound Genoa salami, cut into strips
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold running water until cool.
2) Mix together: red peppers, olives, onion, garlic, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and salami.
3) Combine in large bowl, pasta and vegetable mixture. Pour in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and black pepper. Mix well together.

Rating: 3.5 of 5
Comments: This dish was good, but was slightly oily in my opinion. Also, wish there was some seasoning in the pasta (herbs/spices). I did not cook pasta as long as I should have, so some of the pieces were too al dente. But overall it was a tasty dish. I used gluten-free pasta instead of regular penne.

Kathy's Delicious Italian Pasta


Main Course: Chicken in Caper Cream Sauce


Ingredients and Directions for this dish are in a previous post.

Comments: I just wanted to show how this chicken browned. I've been having problems with pan-frying meats, and have discovered that there are two things I need to do to ensure the meats cook right:
1) Defrost meat completely and pat dry - if there is too much water in the meat, it won't brown.
2) Make sure the oil is hot