Monday, April 21, 2014

menu review

warning, this post may only be interesting to foodies

as you may know i can really get into cooking and planning --this Easter was no different

here was my menu---
ham biscuits(country ham and honey ham)
chicken tenders
romaine salad greens with dried cranberries, almonds and mandarin oranges-with either raspberry vinaigrette or honey dijon
mac and cheese
rice broccoli bake(michael strahan's mother's recipe)
red-skinned potato salad
cornbread stuffing
green beans
deviled eggs(yes you did read deviled eggs)
 pineapple miracle cake
strawberry triffle
banana poke cake


okay here are some things i learned from this cooking and entertaining experience

i will make potato salad more often--i really liked it---next time i would stir the potatoes more to ensure even cooking---i might add a little more sweet relish and maybe some pickle juice and fresh dill along with the dry

i would add chicken stock to replace half the water in the cornbread stuffing which was boxed stuffing or better yet i might make the kind that used jiffy cornbread mix--

i wouldn't(who am i kidding i probably still would)wash the salad greens again

i would not use pillsbury cake mix and would not ice the pineapple cake-although it was tastier but cake is too light to hold the icing

i eye-balled the vinegar for the deviled eggs and poured way more than i thought i should have--it was still not too much vinegar

i will never use frozen strawberries with splenda again!

you really can't have too much cheese--i thought i had too much for the mac and cheese--but was the best i have made---sorry to brag

i forgot to add butter to the green beans--didn't miss it

michael's mom's rice bake would have been better if i had followed her rice amount exactly--i had too much rice

oh and i would have all honey ham----country ham was too tough

all in all the menu and dishes were good and everyone had fun---

and this year the hunt included prizes----hmmmm probably need better ones next year!

hope everyone had a nice Easter day









26 comments:

  1. Great tips from your cooking experience. Loved the cookie bunny paws on the table. Seems you had a wonderful family gathering.

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  2. I love rice and broccoli together. Great family pic, love!

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    1. me too suze oh and i forgot her recipe used the actual cheez whiz--which i substituted cheddar cheese soup for--i wasn't gonna pay the price for the whiz--thanks suze :)

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  3. you know lee--i bought those bunny feet thinking they had sticky stuff to put on the floor-thanks we did have fun :)

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  4. I tried a recipe for no-boil mac and cheese. While it took longer than the recipe said it would, it was delicious. I may never boil my noodles again. Just had leftover chicken and mac and cheese for lunch though I probably should have opted for the salad I have left. Maybe for dinner.

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    1. oh wow denise that sounds fantastic the no boil thing--i would probably make mac and cheese more often---i have never heard of it, could you send me the recipe please----haha or maybe more of that with a salad ;)

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  5. Our Easter dinners are potluck affairs, altho the hostess seems to do more cooking than should be required. A good time had by all.
    She used a crock-pot for her mac and cheese. delicious. Pinterest, she said.

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    1. yeah i've done that crock pot mac 'n' cheese-- it's awesome!

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  6. Sounds absolutely perfect to me. Were there leftovers? There, what did I tell you!

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  7. I want the banana poke cake recipe. Would you email me?

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  8. I love the fact that you had three desserts.

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    1. haha thanks joy---yeah i get that from my grandmother queenie---she always had a minimum of 5 desserts!

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  9. Sounds delicious. We had way too much food and now my refrig is filled with leftovers.

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    1. thanks susan---yeah i sent some home with my dad---the others didn't want to take any--so we did have the leftovers last night--frank says i should have omitted the rice and made more mac and cheese and potato salad :)

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  10. Your meal sounded delicious. That's a lot of cooking!

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    1. it really did prove to be pretty tiring--but worth the effort! thanks sherry :)

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  11. Holy moley, I'm coming to your house next year! Yummy, yummy, and of course you can't have too much cheese. (Brag away if your mac was the best. You deserve it.)

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    1. haha i couldn't help but think of you as i made that mac and cheese crystal ;)

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  12. Whatever the food, whatever the glitches, it is always fun to get family together!

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  13. I would think with that offering, there was something to keep everybody happy. I haven't tasted cornbread since 2003. It's a food that's only recently become popular in the U.K. My local supermarket has a cornbread mix, maybe I should have a go.
    Looks like you had a great Easter get together.

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    1. i love just about any stuffing but when i have the cornbread kind i am always reminded of my grandmother's cornmeal dressing----i have never made hers---but yeah the boxed kind is pretty good but the kind where you actually make cornbread and then make stuffing with it, is really good---:)

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  14. This was the first year we wing-ed it and just went with munchies... it was great. With my parents moving into their new house the 7th), my brother moving into his (the 29th) my sister on one car (they just bought a new one) and Tony and I on vacation to rip the house apart and literally rebuild it (okay... maybe the garage and the windows of the house, but still) Munchies was about all any of us could handle. Plus, Easter Sunday all the kids really want to eat are peeps anyway...

    You're menu though??? YUM-MY!!

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    1. winging it sounds good too--you don't know how close i came to doing a repeat of Christmas--where we got chinese----you got a lot going on juli--good luck with all the house stuff!!

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