Cooking for DH'S boss-PLEASE HELP!

[jojoswife]

DH has invited his boss for dinner. We have been talking about having his boss over for dinner for quite some time, and now it has happened. I thought I would have come up with an impressive dinner by now, but I'm still at a loss. Now I'm in a panic, he is coming over tomorrow. He and his family are from Germany, but tomorrow he will be coming over solo (his family is in Ireland for 3wks.)

Anway, I could use some ideas from all you wonderful cooks out there! I'm not afraid to make something new, but I don't want it to be too involved since I have to work until 12:30p and have several errands to run.

Can you help?

TIA:D

[Pineknot]

Raquel,

ACK! No one has posted yet. I feel like I have to at least give some ideas so you aren't on your own.

I would play it safe and don't try anything new. That's just a recipe for disaster. With that said, maybe these are some guidelines to consider;

Beef - good old fashioned steak. It's a man, enough said.
Vegetables - go with the safe ones. Green Beans, corn, carrots
bread - good yeast rolls. They have some good ones in the freezer section OR get them in your grocery bakery
Dessert - chocolate cake. Again, in a pinch for time, the grocery bakery

It would be nice to be 'fancy.' You just don't have the time to experiment so I would keep it safe.

If he has been missing a home cooked meal, he'll be grateful for just about anything. :D

[Missy2U]

Ok, totally off the cuff here, but how about:

In a 9 x 13 baking dish, layer:

12 slices of Buddig type sandwich beef - two slices per pile. That makes six piles - three on each side of the dish.
Take six chicken breasts (or thighs - they work too) - sprinkle them with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and lay them on top of each pile.
Cover each with a slice of bacon.
Bake it for about 35/40 minutes at 350 - covered with foil.
Combine 2 C Sour Cream and one can of cream of mushroom soup
Pour it over the chicken breasts/bacon/buddig beef piles and cook - uncovered - for another 20 minutes at 400 or until bubbly.

Serve this over white rice.

For a vegetable, asparagus wrapped in bacon from here posted by SingleWhiteFemale (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=4131&page=2) should go good and it will cook as the chicken finishes off.

Then make some crescent rolls or get a loaf of french bread.

Although this may be too late, hope it helps. :o

Let us know what you end up doing! Good luck!

[Sami]

How about baked haddock covered in bread crumbs, a salad, a fresh loaf of french bread, and a vegetable casserole (i.e., broccoli and cheese)? You could also serve lots of good wines and a store-bought cake for dessert. Don't forget cheese, crackers, and fruit as an appetizer. Good luck!
:)

[katmg]

I agree with the others - play to your strengths. For me, that would be a chicken dish - probably chicken picatta with angel hair pasta on the side and probably sauteed spinach. Maybe bruschetta for an appetizer (so easy, slice up a baguette or ciabatta or whatever bread your store has and brush with olive oil and garlic - toast in the oven. Top with fresh diced tomatoes and basil) or a nice cheese plate (get some brie, manchego, blue cheese, etc. add some grapes, pears or apples, set out with crackers). Don't forget a bottle of wine.

Go simple for dessert - buy a "fancy" cake from the store. Ours usually has a nice chocolate mousse cake or something with fresh fruit.

Hope the dinner goes well tonight!

[msnicolea]

Well, I''m no Sandra Lee fan, but try keeping it "semi-homemade". Make a main meat or pasta dish and dress it up with store bought appetizers/salad/dessert etc. . .

I'd stay away from fish if you aren't used to cooking it--can be very easily overdone and dried out! Baked pasta (like lasgana) or baked chicken are pretty fool-proof and always tasty.

Since they are German, though, you could do something German like this easy meal from Rachel Ray:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_33118,00.html

[chaichaitea]

I think that sami's idea sounds like a really great dinner. You can also find some really great, easy recipes on the Williams Sonoma website. One fabulous, very easy recipe is the one for the melted brie appetizer with warm apple compote on top (http://content1.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=2D634A11-2291-4FC1-A5A52AE5D5918567). You can even use a pre-made pie crust (like the refrigerated Pillsbury ones) and skip the dough making step.

Another easy thing you can do is to serve fresh strawberries or raspberries for dessert to take advantage of their season. Mix some Cool Whip and sugar in a bowl and no one will know that you haven't been beating cream into those smooth peaks.

If you live near a Trader Joe's, they also sell really great "almost homemade" frozen appetizers. And of course, their wine selection is both extensive and reasonably priced. I think that it hardly matters what you serve as long as you have enough wine flowing!

[Ohana]

How about chicken packets? I've made them for company in the past, and they've always gone over well. They are also very elegant, but super easy to make.

For 4 packets:
1 package puff pastry (do not get phyllo)
4 small chicken breast halves
a few TBSP pesto
3 ounces cream cheese

Allow puff pastry to partially thaw by leaving in out on your counter for about 30 minutes
Stir together cream cheese and pesto. Set aside.
Open 1 sleeve of puff pastry, cut in half.
Place 1/4 of pesto mixture and 1 chicken breast on each half.
Fold up into packets, sealing seams with water
Repeat with 2nd sleeve of puff pastry.
Bake on greased cookie sheet, seam side down, at 400 until the puff pastry is golden brown. These take about 30 minutes or so.

Serve with a salad and veggie of some kind.

[maggieb]

I would grill some nice steaks, make some garlic mashed potatoes, some steamed asparagus with a lemon butter and then serve it with a good Cabernet. For dessert I would either make a pound cake and serve with strawberries or make box brownies and serve them with some vanilla ice cream.

[jojoswife]

Thank you ladies! WOW...what great ideas you all have! I intend on using them all for new dishes, I'm sure they will all be appreciated.

Dinner with THE BOSS went very well. This is what I came up with:

Beef Kabobs
Rotini (pasta onions, tomatoes, celery and marinated in Italian dressing)
Zuccini/Squash (cooked on the grill with butter and wine)

Dessert
Strawberry Dessert (fresh strawberries, angel food cake, cool whip-layered)

DH's boss brought the wine. I believe it was Pinot Grigio.....it was very good. Oh I almost forgot I had cheese, crackers and stuffed mushrooms as appetizers.

Thank you all once again, I appreciate the input.:D :D