I need a recipe that isn't too difficult but will impress!?

Question

Its my turn to host my six friends for our monthly dinner gathering. Normally I'd be the one to pick everything up from a restaurant because I never cook. This time I want to cook something that will impress the whole group. Something that will have them saying "Wow, YOU did this??"

Answer 1

Easy Oven Roasted Rosemary Chicken with Rustic Garlic Dill Potato


Things you need:
Rosemary sprigs in veggie department
Lemon
Butter
Salt and pepper
garlic ( not powdered)
Whole Chicken (2)
Reynolds Oven Bags ( same aisle as Sandwich Bags & foil)
Dill ( spice aisle)
potatoes

Take the chickens out and remove the neck and giblets from inside the chicken. Rinse chickens and pat dry with paper towels. Lift the skin carefully by running finger under skin and body cavity. Take globs of butter and place under the skin. Insert 2 sprigs of rosemary under the skin so it lays on each side of the chicken and you can see the rosemary thru the skin. Chop the garlic and sprinkle over the top of the chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken in the oven bag and close. Make 2 small slits in the bag to let steam out. Place bagged chickens in a oven pan and bake in oven at 350 F for 1 1/2 - 2 hours for your 2 chickens. Turn around and now wash potato es and cut into chunks. Place the potatoe on a largish piece of foil. Sprinkle with salt and dill weed. Dollop with a little butter. Fold over foil to cover potatoe completely to make potatoe packets.
Put the potatoe packets in an oven proof dish and put it in the oven with the chicken.

Answer 2

This is really simple and delicious, as long as you have shrimp eaters in your group. For 6 people:

3 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 T. butter
3 cloves garlic (you can use the chopped kind in a jar)
1-1/2 cups white cooking wine
1-2 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 box angel hair
parmesan cheese
fresh parsley for garnish

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add shrimp and cook until pink. Set heat to low and add cooking wine. Bring to a boil and add the breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir so that the butter soaks them up nicely. Serve over angel hair; sprinkle with cheese and garnish with parsley before serving.

I like to serve this with French bread and olive dipping oil; some fresh (buffalo) mozzarella; a big salad; and an assortment of olives.

Just a reminder...whatever recipe you choose, do a test run before the big night! Good luck, and enjoy!

Answer 3

When your friends find out what is in the recipe they won't believe it. Cola makes the chicken very tender. I normally don't use the onion or garlic power or pepper. I just use ground cloves. They make the sauce very sweet.

Cola Chicken.


1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)

1 can (12 ounces) cola

1 cup ketchup

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

4-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons cold water





SERVINGS 4

CATEGORY Main Dish

METHOD Other stovetop

PREP 15 min.

COOK 25 min.

TOTAL 40 min.





DIRECTIONS



In a skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add chicken; brown on all sides. Carefully add cola, ketchup, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Remove the chicken and keep warm.
Combine the cornstarch and cold water until smooth; add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Return chicken to pan; heat through. Yield: 4 servings.

Answer 4

Starters
A light French Onion Consomme with croutons or garlic bread.

Dinner.
Chicken Curry.
1 lb chicken, cut into chunks
1 cup water chestnuts
1 cup baby corn
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup diced potato or apple
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 teaspoons red curry paste
3 cups Jasmine rice

Cut chicken into chunks (about walnut-sized). Add coconut milk, baby corn, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, and potatoes to a large cooking pot.
Stir in curry paste and chicken. In a separate pot, boil rice. Cook curry for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Let sit 3-5 minutes, then serve over rice.

Dessert.
Baked Apples.
(1 per person).
apple
brown sugar
cinnamon
sugar

Core the apple. Stuff apple with brown sugar, cinnamon, and sugar to taste.
Wrap in tin foil and bake until soft.
Serve with custard, cream or ice cream.

Answer 5

For dessert try a Creamy Caramel Flan Its too easy to make and looks great!

INGREDIENTS
 3/4 cup white sugar
 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
 5 eggs
 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, cook sugar, stirring, until golden. Pour into a 10 inch round baking dish, tilting to coat bottom and sides. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Beat in condensed and evaporated milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour into caramel coated pan. Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place baking dish on towel, inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
Bake in preheated oven 50 to 60 minutes, until center is just set. Cool one hour on wire rack, then chill in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. To unmold, run a knife around edges of pan and invert on a rimmed serving platter.

Answer 6

STUFFED CORNISH HENS

1 (6 oz.) pkg. long grain and wild rice mix
1/2 c. diced celery
1 (5 oz.) can water chestnuts, sliced
1 (3 oz.) can chopped mushrooms, drained (1/2 c.)
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 tbsp. soy sauce
4 (1-1 1/2 lbs.) ready to cook Cornish game hens

Cook rice using package directions; cool. Add remaining ingredients except Cornish hens. Toss lightly to mix. Salt inside of birds and stuff and truss. Roast according to poultry roasting chart.
Serves 4.

Answer 7

You don't say what meal, so I assume dinner.
This dish is listed as simple but impressive:
Spiced Lamb with Apricots. (middle-eastern)
Mix together: 4ozs dried apricots, 2ozs seedless raisins,
1/2 tsp saffron strands (expensive), 2/3 cup orange juice,
& 1 tbsp red wine vinegar. Cover & soak for 2-3 hours.
Pre-heat oven to 325F.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in large flameproof casserole, (or skillet),
brown 3 lbs leg of lamb boned 7 sliced, in batches.
Set aside, add 1 chopped onion, & 2 crushed garlic cloves.
Add more olive oil & cook until softened.
Stir in spice & flour mixture:
2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1 tbsp coriander,
2 tbsp plain flour; for 1-2 minutes.
Return meat to casserole, stir in 2 1/2 cups of lamb stock.
(made from boiling the bone in water)
Add 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, soaked fruit & liquid,
season with salt & pepper, bring to a boil.
Cover casserole with tight-fitting lid & cook for 1 1/2 hours,
(add extra stock if necessary) until tender.
Serve with saffron rice mixed with toasted almonds & fresh coriander.

Answer 8

I LOVE these two recipes. One is a pasta dish from Giada De Laurentiis. The other is a casserole I learned from Martha Stewart (Martha's recipe is Eleanora's Spaghetti pie & it's the easiest of the two but both are easy and impressive and yummy). Both make the house smell amazing!

Angel Hair with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: No Sauce Pastas

1 (10-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped (oil reserved)
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup dry white wine
8 ounces angel hair pasta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until the liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the tomato mixture and toss to coat, adding some reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and parsley and stir. Mound the pasta into bowls and serve


Eleanora's Spaghetti Pie

(for this recipe I don't use sopprasata sausage...I just buy spicy Jimmy Dean Sausage and brown it in a frying pan and crumble it up. Also, I put mine in a 13 X 9 casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray instead of a cake pan. I don't botther with parchment paper)

Ingredients:
Serves 10 to 12
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
Coarse salt
1 pound spaghetti
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)
12 ounces hot soppressata sausage, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 cup (4 ounces) finely grated pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.with rack in center. Butter a 10-inch-by-3-inch cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper; set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Cook spaghetti, according to package instructions, until al dente. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine eggs, mozzarella, soppressata, pecorino Romano, heavy cream, dried parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Drain spaghetti, and add to the egg-and-cheese mixture; stir to combine. Pour mixture into prepared pan, and cover with aluminum foil.

Bake about 40 minutes. Remove foil, and bake until lightly browned and crisp on top, 20 minutes more.

Transfer to a rack to cool, about 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge, and unmold, removing parchment. Invert, cut into wedges, and serve hot.