Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Tuesday at the Table

Much of last week, I was preoccupied. And that's because I was deep in planning and prep mode for a big dinner. The youth group at our church put on a dinner theater every other year, and for the last several, I have been organizer and lead chef for one night of the three-day event. Get the drift?

I pulled together what proved to be an awesome team, and planned a menu inspired by the play's vaudeville theme.
To say the big day was exhausting and stressful and overwhelming is quite accurate, but it was also great fun, and we got rave reviews. Even though I don't have actual recipes for every component of the meal, I thought I'd share some notes, and recipes/links when I have them . . .

Appetizer
Charcuterie & Cheese Platter - a variety of cheeses, meats, & olives
Baguette & Butter - fresh from a local bakery, semi-sliced & placed whole on the table still in its bakery bag
Planter’s Punch - a citrusy punch that we dressed up with colorful straws & fruit slices

Salad
Salad “Jardin” - field greens, cucumbers, roasted beets, red onion, & tomato, dressed with a traditional French vinaigrette

Entrée
Herb Chicken - cooked on a grill and topped with awesome sauce (purchased pesto thinned with lemon juice & olive oil, 
with chopped parsley added)
Pommes Frites - baked fries tossed with a mix of olive oil, chopped garlic, & minced parsley
Roasted Vegetables - zucchini, sweet onion, carrot, red pepper

Desserts
Profiteroles with Fudge Sauce - purchased mini cream puffs topped with homemade fudge sauce
Chocolate Mousse - homemade by one of our team members (yum!)
Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce - tweaked Ina's recipe (see link); instead of apricot/Calvados, we drizzled with that famous caramel sauce

Not every weekend do I want to serve 80, and yes, we're still recovering, but it sure was a pleasure supporting and nurturing the kids via the table.

12 comments:

  1. Everything looks great, Debbie! Your menu sounds delicious. I was pretty sure it would be with you in charge, but after seeing the pictures of your caramel sauce on IG, I had no doubt! So glad it was a success for you!

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  2. Wonderful menu and a great idea for a youth group fundraiser - much more delicious than a car wash!

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  3. Wow, I'm so impressed. Looks fantastic. I can tell this is something you love!

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  4. Congrats! It all looks delicious!!

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  5. I know you're tired but it was so worth it, I'm sure. I really enjoy feeding large groups like this and supporting wonderful causes. Great job.

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  6. wow! What a great menu and it all sounds and looks delicious! Makes me tired just thinking about all that work. Great job!

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  7. Sounds like quite the undertaking, but glad it went well :o)

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  8. It's so impressive that you pulled that off!

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  9. Fabulous menu - it would have been such a great dinner!

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  10. We used to do a dinner theater in youth group too! It is a ton of work, especially if you're the one cooking. Your menu looked great". Hope you are relaxing with your feet up after all that:)

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  11. This is amazing. What a feast--and you did it for 80!! I'm glad you linked up recipes so we could try some of them. Love the menu card, too. Perfect touch!

    Elizabeth

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