I was given the pleasure of cooking for 12 people over the Christmas holiday! And yes, I volunteered. I was actually given this cookbook from my Mother-in-Law, and I really wanted to try the recipes out. Only having 4 in my little family, most of these recipes call for 8 to 12 serving size, so this was a perfect opportunity to really test them out! 5 meals for 12 people cost about $700 in groceries, and that is considering I have all the spices and basics (like sugar, flour, ect...). The book uses expensive cuts of meat, which can be substituted for a "cheaper" cut, which I will make note of when I post the recipe. I also appreciated the fact that they use winter veggies, things that would be in season at this time of the year!
I highly recommend buying this cookbook if you plan to make a lot of these recipes. The cookbook includes a lot of cooking tips and trick and more advice that I haven't included on my posts. There is also a few more recipes in each of the meals I used that I won't be posting, so to get the full effect of the meal, again, I recommend buying the book.
The five different meals were put together in separate chapters, and there were more meals, but the 5 were the ones I chose to use over the short time I had to cook. The book also has individual recipes in the back half if you don't want to cook the entire meal. There were several recipes I looked at in the meals that I was really iffy about and not sure if we would like it, but I am so glad that I took that leap of faith. These meals were professionally put together to compliment each other and so no dish would dominate another.
There is also drinks and desserts included with each meal....which we took advantage of as well. Like the meat, the alcohol needed for them can also be pricey, so if there is a good substitute for it, I'll will make note of that as well, but if the "fancy" alcohol is recommended, please take my word for it that its worth the extra penny.
The meal choices I made:
(the images are all my own!)
"Fondue Fun"~Two-Cheese-and-Honey Fondue
~Tomato-and-Herb Fondue
~Mixed Salad Greens
~Mississippi Mud Fondue
"Easy Supper Club"~Bacon-Arugula-Apple Bite
~Herbed Pork Roast
~Roasted Fall Veggies
~Puffed Mashed Potaotes
~Basil-and-Blue Cheese Salad
~Brandy Alexander Cheesecake
"An Elegant Holiday Dinner"~Cherry-Pecan Brie
~Tossed Greens-and-Grapes Salad
~Easy Asiago-Olive Rolls
~Pancetta Wrapped Beef Tenderloin
with Whipped Horseradish Cream
~Crispy Potatoes with Fennel
~Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
~Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake
"Feast with Friends"~Quick Winter Pickled Veggies
~Deviled Ham Terrine
~Kumquat Martini
~Fennel-Crusted Rib Roast
~Roasted Asparagus
~Warm Greens with Cornbread Croutons
~Buttermilk Panna Cotta
with Zinfandel-Poached Figs
"Casual Texas Holiday"~White Bean-and-Black Olive Crostini
~Sparkling Sipper
~Citrus-Walnut Salad
~Roasted Green Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
~Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes
~Roasted Turkey Stuffed with Hazelnut Dressing
~Upside-Down Apple Tart
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