Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with food and dinner

Help me wrap and present delicious but frozen food.

anderjen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:24:16 -0800

This Christmas, I'm giving everyone the gift of delicious and healthy home-cooked meals, but I'm blanking on how to wrap and/or present them at the Christmas Eve festivities. Everything will be pre-frozen, which probably rules out putting them by the tree with the other gifts, and the only other solution I can think of is leaving them in my car and letting everyone take theirs on the way home, which is lame. There must be a better way. As I'm picturing it, everything will be frozen and packaged into reusable Gladware-type containers. Once frozen, are there any cheap ways of keeping them cold and dry to the point where I could actually wrap them and set them under the tree for a few hours until we get to the gift opening, and then again until people can get them home? I don't want anything to defrost too much, obviously.

The one thing I really do not want to do is buy each recipient a mini-cooler and ice packs because that kind of defeats the purpose of a low-cost/all-consumable present in my mind, and also there are 10 people, which would blow my budget.

If I do have to leave them in the car (which is a viable option, as I live in Minnesota), any cool ideas on what I could use or make to represent the meals for maximum effect? The rest of the gift will consist of other homemade treats and snacks, so there will be something open for sure, but the main meal is kind of the piece de resistance, so I'd like to make sure it doesn't get missed in a pile of wrapping paper.

I am certainly open to better ideas and suggestions if you have any. Thanks, all!

What should I serve as dessert after a heavy risotto dinner?

angryjellybean — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:13:55 -0800

What should I serve as dessert after a heavy risotto dinner? I'm making vegetables stuffed with risotto and roasted, which will be quite filling and heavy. I want to make a dessert that's quite light and sweet, and most importantly, can be made quite quickly/easily and preferably the night before (although I don't mind whether it should be served cold or can be reheated to hot).

I've seen a few suggestions online for rhubarb crumble/compote/sorbet, but anything else interesting would be much appreciated!

Make me an offer I can't refuse

scrutiny — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:07:01 -0800

NYC Food Filter: I am leaving New York City and want to get some great Italian food in the Bronx's version of Little Italy on Arthur Avenue before I go. What are your favorites? I'm willing to spend some money, but not a crazy amount. I'm thinking $15-20 per entree, tops, though I could be convinced to go higher if the food was really that good. I want a sit down place with the works, not just a pizzeria.

Cold nights, warm lentils, yes please!

anderjen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:45:59 -0800

While visiting San Antonio last month, I ate at Liberty Bar on Metafilter's recommendation and fell deeply in love with their warm lentil salad. I would love to recreate it at home for a fantastic winter dinner. Please help me do so. The dish was very simple, ingredients-wise, but I need some assistance in figuring out what spices/seasonings to add, and in what order I should cook/assemble everything. I'm pretty sure I tasted cumin, but have no idea what else might have been in it. The menu describes it as "sautéed lentils with spinach, bacon, onion, and garlic."

It doesn't have to be an exact replica of the salad I had; I'm sure anything with the above ingredients would be delicious if you have other ideas on how I might put them to work.

Bonus question: I really wanted to try the warm chickpea salad as well, but could not persuade my dining companion to order it. It's listed as "sautéed chickpeas, carrot, celery, garlic, onion, spinach, and feta cheese." Any idea what spices I could use to recreate this?

Thanks for your help!

Is it alright to buy fresh produce on Saturday morning to be used on Tuesday night?

faeuboulanger — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:53:00 -0800

How far ahead can I buy farmer's market produce? So, I'm throwing a casual dinner party this coming Tuesday (simple, but elegant salade niçoise, some sort of berry pie or grumble, fig, melon, and proscuitto appetizer). I was hoping to use good, fresh, farmer's market produce since, well, it's august...what better time to do so? The problem: my local farmer's market is on Saturday morning, but I won't be cooking until Tuesday. Will the veggies (heirloom tomatoes, new potatoes, peppers, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries) hold up between then and now or would I be better off just going to my local grocery store and buying them on Monday? Thanks!

Feed us in Frederick

xaire — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:01:27 -0800

Seeking great food in Frederick, MD area! We're looking for one or two tasty places to 'cater' (i.e., takeout) our small, laid back rehearsal dinner north of Frederick. Preferably casual food with a regional flavor. The internets are not offering up a lot--can you help? Our ideal menu would have (inexpensive) regional food, like crab or Maryland fried chicken, but we're open to other ideas, and we're not scared by hole-in-the-wall restaurants. The dinner itself won't be onsite--we're doing it at a cabin in Thurmont--so the space isn't an issue either.

We live an hour south of Frederick, so we can happily go taste-test any suggestions. Doc Geiser's? Rubes Crab Shack?

What the hell is a Round Roast?

DarlingBri — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:11:07 -0800

I have in my possession a large cut of beef called a round roast. What is it (pot roast, maybe?) and how do I cook it - tomorrow? I completely failed to pull it together in time to get the turkey required for a traditional Irish Christmas dinner. I will no doubt survive, as will the other holiday diners. Instead, we are apparently having beef, which is absolutely fine by me.

However, I am not at all familiar with this cut of meat. It is a round roast; it says so on the package. While I have cooked all manner of roast beef in my time, I do not know what a round roast is.

What I have to hand:

1) A 2.2kg (4.85 lb) round roast, almost entirely devoid of fat - as in, no fat rind at all bar one sad little 1 inch by 8 inch strip which I can only assume indicates "this side up."

2) A shitload of fatty bacon, which my mother suggested as a method for dealing with said lack of fat should it be an issue;

3) Potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and no other roasting vegetables;

4) Truckloads of wine, garlic, mustard, fresh rosemary and other seasonings;

5) A turkey bag.

What I do not have is access to any store, since it's now 1 am on Christmas day. (Happy Christmas, by the way.)

This is apparently a tougher cut of beef, which is rather disappointing considering it was nearly €10 per kilo, but here we are. I have read suggestions to boil it for an hour and then roast it; to smother it in bacon and roast it; and to put it in the turkey bag and roast it.

I trust Mefi's epicures more than random internet strangers. (Shut up, you're not strangers...) Can anyone equate this cut to something with which I might be more familiar and/or suggest a method and cooking time for this makeshift holiday dinner?

From our table to yours, thanks.

Help me plan a beer pairing menu (with constraints).

RobotVoodooPower — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 05:27:43 -0800

I'm planning a wedding rehearsal dinner for about 100 guests. Besides the usual wine service I'd like to do something different and do a beer pairing menu. There are four courses total, but guests have multiple options for each course. I think the logistics of serving will limit us to one beer (about 6 oz) per course regardless of food selection, which is the tricky part. Here are the courses:

First: popcorn crawfish caesar salad / crab bisque with lump crab

Second: shrimp & grits / crab cakes with corn maque choux and remoulade

Third: grouper with potato croquette & crawfish buerre blanc / duck confit and sweet potato hash / ny strip with bernaise

Dessert: This is the twist, because I have a stout with star anise (heavy licorice taste) I want to serve for this course. What dessert goes with this beer?

Oh -- and I also want domestically brewed suds, preferably from the East Coast. How best to solve this puzzle?

Yes, but where will they live?

jadepearl — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:56:37 -0800

Help me match meat dishes.. What meat dish will not clash and pair well with a salmon fillet rubbed with paprika, brown sugar, thyme and black pepper? I am having a party and the one standout fish dish that I can do is salmon which the other party goers may or may not like. I am doing fish as one of the mains because some guests are pescatarians. Any suggestions are welcome.

Single Gaijin male seeks help with main course at dinner party

indiebass — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:51:50 -0800

I will be hosting a Japanese dinner party on Sunday night. What should my main course be? Specifically my regular dinner club is getting together, and each month we choose a different theme. I'm hosting, so I chose Japanese food. I'd like to do something that's both easy and impressive. (and wouldn't we all, right?)... so what would you suggest? I have done a little bit of Japanese cooking for myself (I own Mr. Bento, see previous discussion) so I have a few things already in my place, and I don't mind going to H-Mart to pick up some extras. There'll be about 10 people, so I guess "one-pot meal" style would be ideal, but I'm up for anything that doesn't take a lot of deep frying (I just don't have the space for that). Thanks, hive mind!

I wanna (healthier?) eastah egg!

dancinglamb — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:12:19 -0800

What's on the dinner table at your Polish Easter celebration? All of my Polish relatives have passed on, so I don't have anybody to ask what traditional stuff they served at Easter. In the past I've done pierogies with onion and bacon, ham, kielbasa, mashed potatoes, golabki, hard boiled eggs, babka, chrusciki, the Butter Lamb... You know, the good artery-clogging basics.

I'm thinking I need to, ummm, add something with a little more nutritional value. I've been Googling but it seems that the only other thing remotely involving veggies is the buraczki or chrzan.

The bottom line: are there Polish veggie recipes? And can you point me in that direction? Thanks!

under the best circumstances, beans & chile can upset your stomach

Sara Anne — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 20:10:32 -0800

Calling all Crohnies! I'm helping to throw a traditional New Mexican dinner party for a group of students on Thursday night. We'd planned for the vegetarian contingency, but have found out that one young woman has a bad case of Crohn's Disease. I know nothing about Crohn's disease, except that the young woman in question spent part of last week in the hospital because of intense gastrointestinal distress. We have been planning to serve posole (hominy stew [veggie and meat versions]), beans with chicos (sweet corn), and fideos (vermicelli cooked with tomatoes and onions). All things that could add distress for her, I fear.

So what advice can the Crohn's sufferers give me? What do you eat when you go to Mexican restaurants? Do you go to Mexican restaurants? I'd like to make sure she felt included in the evening.

Can my Ethiopian food be kosher?

geekhorde — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 17:07:12 -0800

Kosher Ethiopian food? Niter kebbeh in particular? So, tomorrow night a rabbi friend of a friend may be coming to dinner and I was wanting to make Ethiopian food. I suspect just from what I know (which is not that much) of kosher restrictions that using the niter kebbeh (spiced butter) to cook the Doro Wat (chicken stew) would not be considered kosher. Am I right? I don't want to offend the rabbi. My wife sent the rabbi an email, but she hasn't answered yet.

I thought about using olive oil, but it wouldn't have the same taste.

What can I cook without any ingredients?

croutonsupafreak — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:55:31 -0800

What should I bring to a potluck dinner, when many people attending have food allergies and dietary problems and the list of banned foods is huge? (No meat, dairy, onions, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, and many, many other things, listed inside.) Recipes needed. I've been invited to a potluck dinner where half of the guests in attendance have dietary restrictions.

The following ingredients are banned:

Seasonings: onions, leeks, scallions, green onions, onion powder, garlic, garlic salt, roasted garlic, garlic powder, cumin , dill , chili pepper, Parsley, nutmeg, MSG, black pepper, vanilla, chocolate, cocoa, savory that lists "spices" or "natural flavors" without details

Fruits: grape juice, orange juice, and very especially apple juice, Lemon and grapefruit, blueberries, watermelon, apples, plum and pineapple

Protein: peanuts, eggs, almonds, walnuts, meats of any kind (fish, fowl, land animals, etc.)

Vegetables: tomateos, eggplant, bell peppers, spicy peppers like jalepeños (anything in the Nightshade family), potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, lima beans, green peas, lentils, other legumes

Dairy: only trace, no yogurt.

Grains: Wheat, oat, barley, (soy sauce is OK)

Additives: phenylethaline tyramine aspartame FD & C Blue #1

---

Right now I'm leaning toward acorn squash stuffed with brown rice, and I'll experiment with different allowed spices to see what works for the rice. I've love other options, too.

Christmas and New Year's Eve dinners in NYC

clearlydemon — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 18:38:19 -0800

My family and I will be in New York city for the holidays. My mission: to find great restaurants for Christmas and New Year's Eve dinners. I'd like personal recommendations for restaurants for Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day brunch, and New Year's dinner. We are four adults and two teenagers (ages 16 and 18). Our budget is about $100 per person, per dinner (although I think it should be less for brunch). If we could make reservations online, it would be a big plus.

We'll be staying near the Carnegie Hall. We were planning to go to Times Square for New Year's Eve, but after reading this, I guess we'll go somewhere else.

Thank you!

Cuba Libre!

special-k — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:34:20 -0800

What's your favorite Cuban meal? CubanFoodFilter: I’m throwing a dinner party for a friend who will soon be spending time doing research in Central / South America. I’ve been told that she loves Cuban food but I’ve never made it before. Can you suggest some authentic Cuban recipes that are not too hard to make?

I have a some idea of what I want to make but please share recipes that you’ve enjoyed making before. In particular, I’m looking for at least one vegetarian recipe (which isn't a salad) and dessert ideas.

Can you help me determine a ballpark calorie figure for grandma's stew?

Chorus — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:56:50 -0800

Can you help me determine a ballpark calorie figure for grandma's stew? So my grandmother makes this stew/concoction everyday and whoever passes through her house [a family hub central] usually grabs a bowl. The school year means I'm passing through every weekday, and before I chow down I'd really like to know what sort of calories/nutritional values I'm dealing with.

Receipe:
-500g steak mince/ground beef [the kind with hardly "white" in the meat]
- Carrots
- Parsnips
- Mushrooms
- Onion
- Packet o' oxtail soup.

According to my investigations, grandmother boils the mince, leaves it stand overnight and then skims off the layer of fat the next morning [I've never heard of that before, but whatever]. Then the raw, chopped veg are added, then the soup. It's brought to the boil again and then left simmer in a veritable cauldron [oh you think I'm joking] all day and people just take what they want from there.

So far, I've been grabbing a cereal bowl for dinner - any idea of the calorific value of that?

Everyone else grabs say a pasta bowl of the stew, and then they add in boiled potatoes, sprinkle cheddar on top and a few cuts of buttered bread - surely that must be calorie overload?

A part of me says the stew is fine and to stop being so anal - but I've worked really dilligently to lose a stone in weight this past month through exercise and good diet, so I dont want my dinner everyday to be a possible blind spot.

And we're Irish, in case you couldn't tell [not that it impacts anything, but yeah. Suspecions confirmed.]

What should I cook in France?

I Love Tacos — Mon, 08 May 2006 22:20:48 -0800

What should I make for dinner? I'm in France, have a kitchen, some foie gras and no clue. Goal: cook a delicious dinner for four.

Challenge: I'm in the French countryside. I need help getting the ingredient names in French as well as English. I'm not a particularly amazing chef, but I know what things are supposed to taste like and can follow directions.

Prep time: I have about five hours to purchase ingredients (including finding the stores), and about 2-3 hours between the start of cooking, and the start of the meal.

(and please don't suggest foie gras and/or truffle tacos. I'd love them, but our guests would not.)

Duck, duck, frozen chicken

hamster — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 13:55:09 -0800

I have three pounds of frozen chicken stew meat. What should I do with it? It's great stuff, from what I can tell: organic, free-range and from a local farm. Problem is, it's just me and sometimes a friend, and it all has to be thawed at once. I'll definitely make a simple chicken soup in my small crock pot, and if I do that once or twice, I'll have some to freeze and save. I've never made chicken soup "long-hand," on the stove, but I'm open to trying. Is stew meat good for anything else--can I use it in place of cubed chicken in recipes, or stir-fry it?

Brilliant "dinner hacks" anyone?

zharptitsa — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 23:22:23 -0800

Nutrition filter: I am looking for unique ideas for making quick, easy, heathy, inexpensive dinners (in my case, for two) every night... or at least most nights. "Dinner Hacks" you might say. I feel like I've tried all the standard "solutions" already (for example, cooking a few big meals on the weekend and eating leftovers the rest of the week). There must be something else I can try. Here's the gist... I come home from work somewhere between 7 and 9 PM every night (and generally go to sleep no later than 11 PM). I have an extremely stressful job and I am absolutely zonked when I get home. The idea of cooking anything for dinner at that point makes me want to curl up in the fetal position. But when we don't order pizza or get something prepared from the grocery store, I do manage to muster up the energy to make tuna melts or spaghetti or something equally super-easy. My husband does grill every once in a while, but can barely boil water otherwise. Side dishes and salad only exist at my house on holidays.

This has gone on for a couple of years. I am now at the point where I've been getting really sick and I know a large part of this is due to my bad nutrition and eating habits. I NEED to start *consistently* eating a real, healthy dinner every night or I'm going to fall apart. (Actually, I need to eat a healthy breakfast and lunch too, but one thing at a time...) As I mentioned, I've feel like I've tried all of the standard tricks: crock pot cooking; making dinner in the morning (yeah, right); cooking a bunch of meals and freezing them, you name it. Nothing sticks. I think the biggest problem is that although I actually like to cook, I HATE to plan meals. For a while, my husband and I had a deal where he would (in theory) plan the meals for a week and I would cook them. The problem was that he hates planning meals as much as I do and whenever he would choose recipes, he would choose pretty elaborate ones. (I consider anything with more than five ingredients elaborate.)

Anyway, I know the real answer to my dilemma is to just suck it up and plan and cook dinner every night. But having really, really tried to suck it up on numerous occasions and failed miserably, I am now looking for some brilliant suggestions. Is there a certain way you go about planning/cooking dinner that has changed your life? A favorite cookbook? A website? If I have another grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, I may turn into one. Thank you!

How do you impress your dinner guests?

CunningLinguist — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 05:06:28 -0800

Dinner Parties! I'm looking for impressive recipes. How did you last knock your guests' socks off? A few minor restrictions and links to previous great threads inside. My ideal dinner party recipes would involve minimal last minute rushing around, so while simple-yet-elegant dishes like seared fish or sauteed chicken breasts would seem like a good plan, in fact they are a pain if you have six or eight guests. But I also want dishes that look good. The last time I had people over I made a traditional coq au vin, which was insanely good and involved no last minute work at all, but didn't look very pretty no matter how much parsley I sprinkled.
I found great ideas in previous answers about starters and puddings, chipotle dishes, ginger recipes, Seattle fish recipes, special dinners for two, favorite recipes to impress, Christmas dinner for grandparents and vegetarian entertaining. Looking for more - how did you last make your guests ooh and ahh without spending all evening in the kitchen instead of having cocktails with them?

Festive, Non-Premade Christmas Dishes Serving 3-4 for Non-Cook on Limited Budget?

Juicylicious — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 19:58:58 -0800

I need a Christmas dinner menu for 3 - 4 people. I don't cook, so I need easy to prepare, festive dishes. I'm on a limited budget, so the dishes have to be inexpensive to prepare as well. Purchasing a pre-made meal is not an option. [+] I'm cooking for my 90 year old grandparents and a friend. My grandparents don't eat much, but they will really appreciate a nice meal. I'm thinking ham, but I've never bought one, so I don't know what to look for (they're already cooked, right?). We had green bean casarole at Thanksgiving, so I think that's out. I really appreciate any ideas.

Best (dinner) food for a LOTR Marathon?

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:25:11 -0800

LOTR Marathon and Dinner. Suggestions for food? [MI] A good friend of mine knows for a fact that he's getting the extended ROTK for Christmas. This is what we Martha fans call A Good Thing. He also owns FOTR and TTT extended editions. Accordingly, when he's back from his holidays, we're going to throw away a day of our lives (seriously, we're talking about 12+ hours of movies here!) watching all three movies, back-to-back-to-back.

What I need is food suggestions. It'll just be the two of us, but he's a really close friend, so I really don't mind going a little crazy in the kitchen. The only suggestion for LOTR-themed food he could come up with was mutton and ale, which I suspect I'll translate into a dinner of lamb (of some description; a whole leg would be a bit much) braised in some sort of delicious beer over a nice long slow heat, quite possibly served on some sort of trencher-like bread product. My usual kitchen-fu has failed me. Suggestions, anyone?

The first person who says 'onion rings' gets a day playing with an angry Oliphaunt.

Easy Lunch Menus

rorycberger — Sat, 13 Nov 2004 21:10:27 -0800

What's a good, simple lunch to make when hosting a few guests? I'm looking for something nicer than sandwiches, but not something that's going to seem like dinner fare. [mi]

What to serve guests

sebas — Thu, 08 Jul 2004 01:16:34 -0800

FoodFilter: I am hosting a small birthday party this Friday evening starting around 7pm, and my guests will expect some (dinner) food to be available. What can I serve them? (More Inside) I am looking for some food / snacks that are easy to make (buy) and will fill people up. All in a standing up / drinking beer environment, more buffet food than dining table. There will be around 15 people and two or three of three of them are vegetarian. This is not in the US so non-brand specific advice would be appreciated. Thanks!