Cooking for the In-laws, HELP!!?

Question

I need to make dinner for my in-laws tomorrow night. My mother in-law is a fantastic cook, so it needs to be impressive. The only thing is, that I don't know how to cook but a couple of things. Any recipes or ideas that aren't expensive and fairly simple but delicious would be enormously appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

I would suggest sticking with a classic, but jazzing it up a little bit. What about spaghetti and meatballs? But not just any...the Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs. The link below is for Tyler Florence's recipe for a great dinner. The difficulty level listed on the website is easy. Plus, there is a recipe from the same episode of Tyler's Ultimate for a quick appetizer.

You can always tweek the recipe to adjust it for size, time, expense, etc., but this one seems like it fits everything your looking for. Good luck!

Answer 2

the choice of a menu sometimes depends on who's coming to dinner... Ask your husband about his parents' preferences (e.g. soup? fish? meat?). What I'd do first of all, is organize a nice drink before dinner - something simple, a glass of wine or a beer, accompanied by a nice bruschetta (artisan bread slices which you need to toast and then season with a bit of oil and salt and/or fresh tomato) and a small cup of marinated olives. If they like soups, why don't you prepare a cream of mushroom soup (which you can prepare even the day before and simply warm up). For this soup you'll need:

2 cups of champignon mushrooms
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons of flour
vegetable stock
1 clove garlic
half lemon juice
milk

let the onion + 1 tablespoon of oil or butter sweat on a low heat, then add the mushrooms thinly sliced, stir and cover with the lid. After a few minutes, when you see that the mushrooms have released enough water, add the flour, always stirring, and then the stock. Season with salt, pepper, crushed garlic and then add the stock. Add the lemon juice, cover with the lid and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste to check if it needs more salt, then add about half cup of milk, cover with the lid and then remove from the heat. Once you've added the milk, you should not let it boil (the milk will break down and it will not be as appealing as it should be). Serve with some croutons.

Answer 3

WELL
then cook one of those things really good
if you are going to have a salad purchase the bags of baby greens and.
Asparagus, if you cook it, tie them into bundles and use chives and leave the chives on for looks.
for a starch try using maybe sweet potato for the mash or try smashed and then who cares about the lumps
and then all you have to do is your entree and hey you all ready know how to cook that.
remember all you are doing is cooking
if you are trying something for the first time you might want to make one or two before the night of the big dinner
in case any thing wrong will happen you will know what to do
remember it is just cooking
don't get all whacked out

Answer 4

Remember this: Impressive doesn't have to be expensive or difficult. Go to foodnetwork.com & look around. Check out Everyday Italian, 30 Minute Meals, & just do some general searches.

Use fresh, quality ingredients, and most importantly, KEEP IT SIMPLE. You won't stress yourself out so badly & you'll have more time with less effort to put together a meal or two that will be ones you can be proud of.

Answer 5

Go to the store and buy some beef strips, one onion, 5 ounces mushrooms, a bulb of garlic, one cup beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, 8 ounces sour cream.
In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Dice up onion garlic and mushroom, small but not fine. Saute in butter for about 5 minutes, or until onion starts to soften. Remove from skillet. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet. Add beef, cook until browned but not cooked through. Remove from pan. Add 2-3 tablespoons flour to pan and whisk until mixed with fat. Let cook together for 3 minutes. Add in broth whisking constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Add back in beef and onion mixture. Lower heat to low setting. Add in 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce. Let simmer until beef is cooked through. Add sour cream. Start a package of egg noodles. Cook as directed on package. Once egg noodles are done, your sauce should be warmed. Add some fresh parsley to the sauce.
Mix the sauce and noodles together. Sprinkle the final dish with some more fresh parsley. Then you have some Beef Stroganoff for dinner. This should take about 45 minutes to an hour. Enjoy.

Answer 6

you can try to go to foodnetwork.com and look up rachel ray. shes has some very simple recipes. for your family

Answer 7

They.ll never be satisfied no matter how well you can cook. Julia Child would have never been able to cook for her inlaws.
Get some TV dinners and say you cooked them.

Answer 8

Cook something that everyone will enjoy... like chicken & pasta. Start it off with a garden salad. Then serve this!

Chicken Francese


4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 11/2 pounds)
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, with rind, cut in thin rounds
1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, beat the eggs with 3 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash. Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet.
Dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden, turning once. Remove the chicken cutlets to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm.

Toss the lemon slices into the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the wine, broth, and lemon juice, simmer for 5 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly. Roll the butter in some flour and add it to the skillet, this will thicken the sauce. Stir to incorporate and dissolve the flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and return the chicken to the pan; place the lemon slices on top of the cutlets. Simmer gently for 2 minutes to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

You can serve this on top of angel hair pasta or with the pasta on the side topped with a little bit of canned spaghetti sauce... Prego Chunky Garlic & onion is amazing!!!

Also you could make...

Chicken Marsala

4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
8 ounces crimini or porcini mushrooms, stemmed and halved
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them; pound with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly.
Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet. When the oil is nice and hot, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Slip the cutlets into the pan and fry for 5 minutes on each side until golden, turning once – do this in batches if the pieces don't fit comfortably in the pan. Remove the chicken to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm.
Lower the heat to medium and add the prosciutto to the drippings in the pan, saute for 1 minute to render out some of the fat. Now, add the mushrooms and saute until they are nicely browned and their moisture has evaporated, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Pour the Marsala in the pan and boil down for a few seconds to cook out the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and simmer for a minute to reduce the sauce slightly. Stir in the butter and return the chicken to the pan; simmer gently for 1 minute to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Serve on the side of rosted potatos! Just cut potatos into cube season with a dash of garlic powedr & rosemary... or simple salt & pepper works great too & bake them on 350-375 degrees until tender!

If you want to do fish...

Poaches Salmon...

Potatoes:
2 pounds red skinned small new potatoes
Coarse salt
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, a handful of leaves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
Salmon:
7 (6-ounce) portions fresh Norwegian salmon fillets, individually packaged in fish department or market
2 cups dry white wine
2 to 3 cups water
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Bouquet of fresh tarragon, dill and parsley sprigs, tied with kitchen string

Garnish and accompaniments:
1 bundle fresh watercress, washed and trimmed
1/2 English or seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
4 slices pumpernickel bread, quartered
2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons prepared Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped herbs, a few sprigs each tarragon, dill and parsley


Place potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Cover pot and bring water to a boil. Add a generous amount of coarse salt to the water, a few healthy pinches. Reduce heat to medium and boil covered until tender, about 12 minutes.
Place salmon fillets in a large deep skillet or divide between 2 skillets if you do not have a pan large enough to accommodate all 8 portions. The additional portions will provide the cooked salmon for salmon cakes on another night. Pour wine and water into the pan so that just the very top of the salmon is exposed. Add a bay leaf and a bouquet of a few sprigs each fresh tarragon, dill and parsley to the pan and set it down into the liquid. Place the pan or pans over high heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cover the pan. Poach salmon for 10 minutes or, until fish is firm and opaque.

Drain your potatoes and return them to the hot pot. Add butter to the pot and turn potatoes to coat them lightly in the butter. Sprinkle the mint and sugar over the potatoes.

Combine sour cream with Dijon mustard and chopped herbs in a small bowl.

Remove salmon from the cooking liquid with a thin spatula. Reserve 3 portions of the salmon and place in the refrigerator or freeze for salmon cakes meal.

To serve, place a piece of salmon on a plate and garnish with sauce. Serve pumpernickel squares, watercress and sliced cucumber along side the fish. Add minted red potatoes to the plate and serve.

Good Luck & Enjoy!!! ;-)