Prep Ahead

Saturday night dinner guests mean an entire day devoted to cleaning and food prep.  I will start the meal first thing in the morning, then clean when it's all done. It makes no sense to clean before you cook!  I started out with the salad course, cutting up oranges, strawberries and nuts, then tossed in a few blueberries.  I added in the juice of about a half lemon and then tossed it with a balsamic vinaigrette.  The fruit flavors got to blend all day.  The salad stayed crisp in its own bag.

I love me a cheese board as an appetizer.  Just cheese and crackers could do -- but that's boring!  I love to include nuts and some sort of spicy meat -- like pepperoni.  There has to be something spreadable as well as a topping.  Of course with anything savory, a sweet component is never out of place!  I like to prep it all in advance and then group it all together in the fridge.  That way, I can assemble it all just before guests arrive.

We had hoped to dine al fresco.  The weather was great all afternoon, and TBG spent a lot of time getting the patio ready.  By 4PM, the clouds rolled in.  I set all of the dinnerware on the dining room table to leave our options open.  Unfortunately, it poured! That was fine.  I hadn't wasted time setting up and taking down the table outside and it took no time at all to get the table inside ready just before we sat down to eat.

The cheese board was delish.  There was Assiago, Cheddar, Gouda, and Provalone for the cheese portion.  Orange and strawberry for sweet fruit.  The small log of Gouda was for spreading, pairing great with the chopped walnuts for crunching.  It never amazes me how much pepperoni people will eat if you put it on a cheese plate.  It paired well with the fruit and honey, as well as with the pesto.  I've been serving "a board" just about any time I entertain.  They get picked clean -- but if anything remains, it is finished off in the morning.  I've made delicious messes of eggs with cheese and pepperoni, served with a small side of fruit.  If it tastes good as an appetizer, it will be just as good baked with eggs.  

This appy was served with crackers and freshly baked crusty bread.

The salad was tossed together right before serving.  It was topped with shredded cheese -- Asiago and Parmesan.

We love our lasagna super firm, so I bake it in the morning and let it cool, then warm it up again at dinner time.  If time had permitted, I'd have baked it the day before, but there was too much going on.

We pulled this completely from scratch meal together and got the place clean enough for company in just enough time to clean ourselves up!  Having Saturday night dinner guests takes about eight hours to prepare for!

What I didn't show, was dessert.  I served home-made sweet buttermilk shortcake biscuits, topped with vanilla ice cream, home made chunky strawberry sauce, and whipped cream.

The blurry picture perhaps speaks to the massive amount of booze consumed.  It was a delicious dinner, made even better by the company.

Preparing a complete meal, start to finish, from scratch, and taking the time to get your house clean, is the best way to show your friends that you care.  It was worth the full day it took both of us working to achieve.

When you have company over, how long does it usually take you to get it all done?