Help me plan a dinner guys

my parents are meeting lisa's for the first time..all told there will be around 10 people

Appetizers

Crab cakes

Guacamole on crackers

Main Course

Roast Chicken

Shrimp dish (unsure which one.. feel free to suggest one)

Rack of lamb (rosemary/garlic)

Sides

Rice pulao

Scalloped Potatoes

GREEN (Need something green)

Green Salad

Dessert

Warm Chocolate Cake. Fresh Whipped Cream. Berry sauce.

is Sacrilege. It would be like baking a pizza on a giant saltine.

In regards to your other two where you were open to suggestion:

1. Shrimp Scampi

2. Asparagus

i am torn between a scampi and a shrimp paprika..

Guacamole/Crackers does however.

Take it from a West Coaster - Guacamole and Corn Chips - ALWAYS!!!

The 'properness' of Mexican cusine and what should go with what. If you're ever feeling adventurous, try buying some flower tortillas and cut some into 1/4ths. Deep fry them for about 5 min. You can use those as replacements for corn chips or crackers to go w/ guac. You can also use them to make the most awesome nachos. I've never had Shrimp Paprika. It sounds good though.

people have been very impressed wiht them in the past.

like a strategic use of flags...

Sorry, just saw Eddie Izzard.

I'm guessing I shouldn't mention that I put it on my eggs with salsa and sour cream and cheese and black olives.

Something green? hmm. Let me rack my brain and pull out the cookbooks.

I have an amazing shrimp recipe I no longer use much that used to get oohs and ahhs because nobody else had anything like it in their arsenal. It's a piri-piri, the national dish of Mozambique. (I love it with tofu, this recipe is versatile, it works with anything provided it's small enough to pan-sear.) It's not difficult, though to be authentic it can be. (the recipe is actually Chef Marcus Samuelson's of Aquavit restaurant. Credit where due.) This serves 4, you might want to double or triple recipe to serve 10. I'd think 3 each? Considering the bounty you're serving.

Piri-piri sauce: (yield one cup)

8 red chilies ("bird's eye"-variety if you can get them, any will work though.)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp. cilantro (fresh if possible)
1 tbsp. parsley (fresh, if possible)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil

Add all but oil to blended and puree until smooth, with blender running add oil in slow steady stream until uniformly mixed.

Shrimp piri-piri

12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined (you can use any shrimp really...this is just what the recipe calls for)
1/2 cup piri-piri and 2 tbsp. piri-piri (separate)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lime quartered
12 Bibb lettuce leaves

Toss shrimp with 1/2 cup of piri-piri and fridge for 20 mins.
Heat oil over medium heat until hot
Add shrimp and cook 2 minutes on each side or until opaque.
Place on plate and sprinkle with salt and drizzle with lime juice.
Spread 2 tbsp. of piri-piri on lettuce, place shrimp on each and wrap.

:( and i think they dont eat spicy food

and would suggest a lovely spinach salad for something green. If you prefer something warm, roasted asparagus should do the trick, or steamed broccolli. Here is my trick for broc: put a LOT of minced garlic in with it and use veggie broth and salt to steam instead of water. Top with some lemon zest if you want, or serve as is.

I'd also move the shrimp to the appetizer realm: you seem to be offering a lot of food for a few people, which is nice for variety, but you wanna sorta keep it kinda intimate, yanno? Maybe put the shrimp on the crackers? :shrug:

Lemme know how it all goes...

for guests

my mom always cooked in these numbers.. so i do too

Roasted asparagus (with just olive oil, salt, and pepper, roasted or broiled until the stalks are tender and the tips are crispy) is very good. You could also have fresh steamed green beans with lemon and herbs and maybe sesame seeds, or some steamed broccoli. Steamed broccoli looks especially nice and appealing with it's bright green color.

Especially the dessert, which sounds both delicious and elegant.

I don't see any problem with the guacamole and crackers, btw.

For the shrimp dish, were you thinking of something hot or chilled?

so i try to make good american food but well and from scratch :)

i was thinking a warm shrimp thing.. like shrimp/paprika or scampi or sum such

can you think of anything else like that?

which really just sounds like shrimp scampi with red peppers. :D

http://southernfood.about.com/od/shrimprecipes/r/bln165.htm

Ingredients:

* 1 pound butter
* 3 bunches scallions, chopped
* 12 medium cloves garlic, chopped
* 1/2 cup chopped parsley
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 1 1/2 cups dry sherry
* 1 1/2 pounds medium to large shrimp, peeled and deveined
* 2 sweet red bell peppers, cut in thin sticks
* chopped parsley, for garnish

Preparation:
Melt butter in saucepan. Add the scallions and garlic; cook 3 minutes. Add parsley, salt, pepper and Sherry; simmer 2 minutes and set aside.

Pour a small amount of the butter mixture into a skillet. Sauté the shrimp in batches, adding more butter mixture as needed. Arrange the sauteed shrimp on a serving platter. Saute the red peppers in the pan; add the rest of the butter mixture and pour over the shrimp. Garnish with parsley. Serves 4.

asparagus, too, looks like a lot of people had that thought. I like them roasted, too.

I suck at planning big dinners. I can cook almost anything, and love to cook, but I am awful at the planning part.

it makes me nervous

it's wonderful!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=6419

or if you don't want the pasta, just roast the asparagus after tossing it in EVOO and sprinkle with a good balsamic vinegar with salt and pepper and shave some parmesan or romano over it right before serving

Lightly steamed (important they don't go mushy) asparagus, or blue lake green beans, either of which with garlic butter and crunchy salt. Sometimes I make a dip for asparagus out of Mayo, fresh ground green peppercorns, pickled green peppercorns (ground; I have a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices) and a little of the vinegar that the pepper was in. Though my friends hate mayo, they love that dip.

Mustard? Collard? Turnip? Spinach? There are dozens of choices and a good produce-seller can help you choose.

Greens are easy to make (basically you wilt them over high heat in the presence of oil or :scared: pork-fat, then salt to taste) and you can pick one to complement whatever flavor note you're focusing on.

Mustard and Collard tend to be peppery in flavor (mustard has a mustard note not surprisingly), Turnip slightly less so and a hint of vegetative (meaning it tastes grassy for lack of a better word), and Spinach is very vegetative. (It tastes like Spinach because it is.)

It's a safe choice for picky eaters because it's not totally foreign (most people have had spinach before) and yet not totally common...unless one is from the US South.

Oh...wash your greens well and tamp dry with paper towels, then remove the central leaf-stalk, otherwise it gets tough. You're aiming for tender.

I think your menu is good for a buffet (with the addition of some bread) but too complex for a sit-down. One salad, one delicious main dish, one or two side dishes are all you need for a sit-down dinner. Multiple main dishes muddy the plan. Simpler is classier, really, and you can concentrate on making each dish outstanding.

At a buffet, anything goes; the sky is the limit.