Looking for help for my Book Club menu

[HomeCulinarian]

It's my turn to host my book club for dinner this month - on the 29th. There will be at most 10 of us. The last time, I made the Molto Manicotti and a Caesar Salad - except many of my friends are very diet conscious - I served two pieces to each and about half ate only one because it was so rich - or maybe they didn't like it. Several people asked me for the recipe, so I guess the review was mixed. Anyway, this year I'm trying to serve a lower fat meal.

So, here are my goals for the dinner...

- very little last minute activity (I don't want to be in the kitchen missing out on conversations)
- include creamed spinach (The main character in our book's favorite food - we read "Away" by Amy Bloom)
- I usually serve dinners plated, but I think I want to pass family-style this time.

I've been thinking about using some of the Tomato Basil soup I made from my garden (Old Bay's recipe) which we loved instead of a salad course. Maybe a pork loin roast - maybe stuffed, or a lemon/chicken dish and for the starch... rice pilaf.

And appies - I've been wanting to try the Shrimp puffs, but not sure that it all goes together...

For dessert, the character also loved ice cream. So, I saw a recipe I want to try where you make a thin cookie molded over a small bowl to make a holder for ice cream. I need to test the recipie. I was thinking about getting a good quality vanilla and making small dips with my cookie scoop ahead of time, then serving with a variety of toppings to pass.

[Gourmet_Mom]

I am so bad at this. We really liked the Coq au Vin and that would be a good one to make ahead and keep warm in a crock pot. We also really liked the Italian Sausage and Butternut Squash Soup recipe. But then, we have always loved tomato basil soup. I'm being no help at all am I...LOL!

Oh, and since I usually stuff my pork with spinach and cheese, that wouldn't work either.

Regarding your rice pilaf, have you tried the rice-a-roni idea Laura posted awhile back. We really like that and you could use the same ingredients, just sub part of the rice with orzo. The different textures make it really good.

I like your cookie cup/ice cream idea. That sounds fun.

[cjs]

Your ideas sound very tasty - one more idea for the entree, a chicken osso buco with gremolata? Would be so nice with the rice or thr rice-a-roni Daphne mentioned.

The dessert sounds great!

[HomeCulinarian]

Last night I was going through my 'library' and I think I've decided on some things to test to see if they go well together ...

Soup - Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Meat - Garlic & Fennel rubbed pork loin roast
Side - Roasted Fennel, Onion & New Potatoes
Veg - Creamed Spinach

I really wanted to use the tomato-basil soup, but I thought the butternut squash soup would maybe go better with the main dish and also be more seasonal .

Also, it surprised me that none of my choices came from a C@H book! I think it's because it's kind of hard to find things from the magazines. I was looking for entrees I thought would go with the creamed spinach - weird thing to focus on, maybe, but it's because it relates to the book.

[TwilightKitten]

That sounds freaking awesome to me...too late to join your bookclub?

[HomeCulinarian]

Now I have revamped my plans. I tested the garlic/fennel rubbed pork and it tasted salty - I had brined it. So in looking up more information on brining, I found the brined Frenched pork loin in issue #29. And learned that my mistake was that I didn't chill the brine down cold enough so too much salt was absorbed.

This other pork recipe is made with roasted pears and a wild mushroom sauce and sounds and looks really good. So I went to the butcher shop and ordered a bone-in loin, Frenched and cracked. Which I've never made before - it should be fine, though.

I'm keeping the creamed spinach (theme from the book we read) and adding a wild rice pilaf rather than the roasted potatoes, fennel & onion.

I also made several soups to try for first course, and ended up with the Tomato Bisque from issue #17. It only has 100 calories for one cup and is very tasty. It is shown with the Lettuce soup swirled together and called BLT in a Bowl. I'm going to drizzle some balsamic reduction on it and a few toasted pumpkin seeds for fun.

For appies, I'm planning on an antipasto platter - not everything on the list for the Nov 10 dinner, just few choices.

Now, all my testing has resulted in me serving several things I've never tried, but at least I eliminated recipes that didn't work out.

[farnfam]

Hope it goes well for you Jeanette. It sounds wonderful. Your book club is very lucky!
Cis

[Gourmet_Mom]

Good luck Jeanette! The menu sounds wonderful!

[cjs]

Anxious to hear how everything turns out - sounds wonderful.

(how did I miss the tomato bisque - looks really good!)