Dinner party menu help

mini beef wellingtons
roasted root vegetables

That's a tough gig with that many people. Forget about the food allergies. Too much to worry about. I find most people with them you would already know about or they just accomadate themselves as best as possible.

If you don't have much help you need to decide on something that can be made in advance and maybe just finished at the last minute. You don't want to have formal attire on and spend the whole night in the kitchen.

I'll give you one that is easy and classic.

Roasted chicken. You can roast several and have them ready at room temperature. When you serve make a light pan juice to spoon over which will bring the temperature up.

When done right, a roasted chicken is a very elegant and classy entree. Not expensive, can be done in advance (not the day before but earlier in the day) and lends itself to infinite possibilities of other courses. It also goes well with some good wines.

Cauliflower, roasted beets, turnips, parsnips, potatos, carrots in any number of ways to accomadate. Roasted root vegetables this time of year are great.

Some sort of salad a good desert.

Don't try to fit appetizers in. Too much work. Just set out a nice fruit and cheese platter for before dinner drinks or wine with some good crackers or crusty bread sliced thin.

Set your table and get a nice centerpiece. With twenty guests you need room. Do you have that much room?

I do alot of those 20+'s at the house, and formal or informal, the water smoker is my friend. I give it meat, liquid and plug it in at about the right time and it's ready to slice whenever and you don't have to fool with it until ready.. Usually do boston butts, hams or tenderloins. Large beef roasts work well too. Just take the time to slice it thin and it will go with any veggies with or without gravy.
ETA:,, oops, I missed something... n/m about the smoker, probably..

I would suggest Rouladen with spatzle
very easy to make and cook and I would bet no one at that table has ever eaten it...you would be fine as long as there are no vegans there.

Notes: This recipe was given to me by Ingred, but I found the original to be lacking in spices and a rounded flavor so I added the spices and carrots. I guess that makes it Creole/German.

2 pounds top sirloin steak, sliced 1/8" thick
1 large onion
carrots
1 pound bacon
salt and pepper
white pepper
red pepper
thyme leaves
oregano leaves
2 whole cloves
2 cups water
2 cups Burgundy wine
corn starch to thicken

Spatzle
1 cup flour
1 large egg
salt
1/4 cup water

1. In food processor, place onion and carrots and chop. Lay out each slice of meat, sprinkle with spice mixture, cover with sliced bacon, cover with vegetable mixture, roll up jellyroll style, and secure with string.

2. At this point the meat is to be browned. The original method is to brown the meat rolls in oil, but I have found the grill outside works well with a lot less mess.

3. In large pot combine, water, wine, cloves, any left over bacon, and left over vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil, add meat, cover, and simmer 1 hour.

4. Combine spatzle ingredients, working into a dough. Prepare a large pot of boiling water. Load a ricer with dough mixture and press into boiling water. Remove spatzle, when floating, with slotted spoon.

5. To serve, place spatzle on plate with Rouladen on top and cover with gravy.


everything can be made in advance and reheated for the party....if you decide on this let me know and I will give you some tips on cooking the spatzle. This is a german dish so plan the rest of your menu around german food.

So many great suggestions! I do know that I would not want to eat any kind of chicken with a bone in while in formal attire.

Well thanks to everyone for giving great advice. I'll definitely let y'all know how it goes.