What is a good dinner to serve in laws?

Question

My father in law is coming to visit and we do not know him all that well. I would like to make a dinner that is welcoming and tasty and something that you know what it is when you say it =) I would also like a good vegetarian side dish as his wife is a vegetarian. I am making a homemade apple pie for dessert. Thanks ~

Answer 1

You want things to make that can basically be done ahead, so you aren't slaving in the kitchen all night:) .....

Get some bags of mixed baby salad greens, and add some toasted sliced almonds, or carmelized walnuts (stir walnuts with sugar in a frying pan, until sugar is melted & coats the nuts)  and/or Craisins, maybe fresh raspberries too...  Use a good bottled Raspberry Walnut vignarette dressing

BONELESS PORK LOIN

2-4 lb. boned, rolled pork roast

1 TB. dry mustard

1 tsp. salt

pepper & paprika to taste

1/2 t. caraway seed (can omit)

       Rub roast with seasonings.  Roast on rack in shallow pan, uncovered, in 350 oven until thermometer registers 185 (or 45-50 min per lb).  Slice thinly.  Can be served hot, cold or ROOM TEMP.......(You may need to double this)

HASH BROWN CASSEROLE

2 lb. frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed

8 oz. sour cream

2 cans cream of potato (or celery or mushroom) soup

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

1 onion, chopped

Parmesan cheese

     Mix together first 5 ingredients & sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Pour into buttered 9x13" pan or casserole dish.  Bake at 300 for 1-1/2 hrs.  Serves 6-8  (may be prepared ahead and then baked)

FRUIT SALAD

Hollow out half a watermelon;  cut up melon, strawberries pineapple & add some blueberries, raspberries and put back into the watermelon half to serve....

If you feel you want another side dish, try this too:

GOURMET TOMATOES

8 medium whole fresh tomatoes

1 pkg. chopped frozen spinach, thawed & drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup

chopped onion

Parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

     Scoop out center of tomatoes and salt them.  Combine rest of ingredients (except cheese) and stuff the tomatoes.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake 20-30 min at 350.

Answer 2

Why not make a vegetarian menu for all ?

#1-Make a great Mac and cheese.

Read recipes on the back of the macaroni box.

#2-Broiled tomatoes.Cut tomatoes in half, sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other herb you like and top with a tiny bit of bread crumbs- make sure they are vegetarian. You can omit them if necessary.

#3- A great green salad with a light store bought dressing.

#4- Fresh berries, Vanilla ice cream and your apple pie.

Make sure Ice cream is vegetarian.

Have fun

Answer 3

Okay first of all you should make sure you are aware of any alergies they might have,

puffy faces and slowen limbs arent the best welcome party to in-laws.

Try find out their favourite food,

say if it is chicken,

try looking up some chicken recipes on the internet.

and with the vegetarian you should look up that on the internet too.

the internet is a wonderfull place . you can find all sorts of information on it !

also.

dont forget a desert.

something with chocolate is great.

and make sure you are informed on their favourite wines.

and maybe buy them prior to the event and suprise them with it.

Hope i helped.

Answer 4

My only advice, you should do something you KNOW how to do. Don't learn something new for that special moment because that's when generally we make mistakes and it's a fiasco. Just go for something "comfortable" for you, but very good anyway and you'll have a good meal with your inlaws ! ;o)

Good luck !

Answer 5

Do a green salad, vegetable lasagna w/garlic bread. and your homemade apple pie.

Answer 6

most men like substantial meals so how a bout a cooked dinner,as there is veg then you can simply add meat free sausage and then your mum in law isnt left out

Answer 7

Roast chicken tips

1 hot chicken from the super market

1 bag of rice

2 bags of grave

1 collie  flower  cheese  

green beans



preheat oven to 250

then cook

                                                        Apple pie

Apples

cut up apple and them in microwave or oven for half an hour

Answer 8

I'd do with some that is easy such as one of the following.

Courgettes and Tomatoes au Gratin

4 medium courgettes, sliced but not peeled

4 large tomatoes, skinned and sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large clove garlic, crushed

4 oz (110 g) Mozzarella or Cheddar cheese, cut into slices

4 level tablespoons grated Parmesan

1 level tablespoon fresh torn basil

salt and freshly milled black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C).

If you have the time, salt, drain and dry the sliced courgettes: layer them in a colander, sprinkling each layer with salt, and place a suitably sized plate on top. Weigh this down with a heavy object (like scale weights) and after 30 minutes quite a bit of water will have been drawn out. Dry them really thoroughly in a clean cloth and then they're ready to cook. Heat the oil in a frying pan large enough to hold the courgettes in one layer (otherwise do them in two batches), add the crushed garlic and sauté the courgette slices to a nice golden colour on each side. Next arrange layers of courgettes, cheese slices and sliced tomatoes in a heatproof gratin dish so that they overlap each other slightly like slates on a roof. Finally sprinkle on the grated Parmesan, basil and salt and freshly milled pepper. Then bake on a high shelf in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve this with lots of crusty bread and a green salad with a sharp lemony dressing.

For this lasgne you can use vegetarian parmesan-style cheese and ricotta

Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne with Pine Nuts

For the sauce:

1½ pints (850 ml) milk

2 oz (50 g) butter

2 oz (50 g) plain flour

1 bay leaf

2½ oz (60 g) Parmesan

salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the lasagne:

1 lb 5 oz (600 g) young leaf spinach

8 oz (225 g) ricotta

12 fresh lasagne sheets (weighing about 9 oz/250 g)

2 oz (50 g) pine nuts

k**b of butter

¼ whole nutmeg, grated

7 oz (200 g) Gorgonzola, Shropshire Blue or Cashel Blue cheese, crumbled

7 oz (200 g) Mozzarella, coarsely grated

salt and freshly milled black pepper



Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).



Begin this by making the sauce, which can be done using the all-in-one method. This means placing the milk, butter, flour and bay leaf together in a saucepan, giving it a good seasoning, then, over a medium heat, whisking the whole lot together continually until it comes to simmering point and has thickened. Now turn the heat down to its lowest possible setting and allow the sauce to cook gently for 5 minutes. After that, stir in 2 oz (50 g) of the Parmesan, then remove it from the heat, discard the bay leaf and place some clingfilm over the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

Now you need to deal with the spinach. First of all remove and discard the stalks, then wash the leaves really thoroughly in 2 or 3 changes of cold water and shake them dry. Next, take your largest saucepan, pop the k**b of butter in it, then pile the spinach leaves in on top, sprinkling them with a little salt as you go. Now place the pan over a medium heat, put a lid on and cook the spinach for about 2 minutes, turning the leaves over halfway through. After that, the leaves will have collapsed down and become tender.  Next drain the spinach in a colander and, when it's cool enough to handle, squeeze it in your hands to get rid of every last drop of liquid. Then place it on a chopping board and chop it finely. Now put it into a bowl, add the ricotta, then approximately 5 fl oz (150 ml) of the sauce. Give it a good seasoning of salt and pepper and add the grated nutmeg. Then mix everything together really thoroughly and, finally, fold in the crumbled Gorgonzola.

Now you need to place a small frying pan over a medium heat, add the pine nuts and dry-fry them for about 1 minute, tossing them around to get them nicely toasted but being careful that they don't burn. Then remove the pan from the heat and assemble the lasagne. To do this, spread a quarter of the sauce into the bottom of the dish and, on top of that, a third of the spinach mixture, followed by a scattering of toasted pine nuts. Now place sheets of pasta on top of this – you may need to tear some of them in half with your hands to make them fit. Now repeat the whole process, this time adding a third of the grated Mozzarella along with the pine nuts, then the lasagne sheets. Repeat again, finishing with a layer of pasta, the rest of the sauce and the remaining Parmesan and Mozzarella. When you are ready to cook the lasagne, place it on the middle shelf of the pre-heated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling. Then remove it from the oven and let it settle for about 10 minutes before serving.