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[jdmessner]

Because of your previous PM invite, Bonnie and I are planning on coming.
I will firm that up with you shortly after Thanksgiving, so you will know for sure.

We will either wash or dry.

My wife finished the invitations and has them addressed and ready to go. However, she doesn't want to send them out before Thanksgiving. Don't want to rush Christmas! Can't argue with her there. After all the 12 days of Christmas are the 12 days AFTER Christmas, not a countdown to Christmas Eve. Look for your invite to show up in the near future! Hope you can make it!

[Kristin Meredith]

OK, not so good with the photos, but will give it a whirl.  We had some potatoes going bad, so just used those even though they weren't the thin skinned white ones -- or red ones.  First cut into small oieces with skin on, put in pot and cooked/boiled about 10 minutes.

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Nest drained the water, added butter, about one stick (yeah, it is a buttery dish), and then about 1 and 1/2 TBSP of herb de Provence.  Let butter melt and stir gently to mix everything.

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[jdmessner]

The potatoes look good, that's pretty much what I envisioned. Very doable.

The wheels are in motion. I picked up an 18+ lb. top sirloin yesterday. Have it in a spare fridge for the next month. No backing out now!!

I was talking with my daughter about this forum and it occurred to me that this more of an accountability group. Posting that I'm going to do something makes it harder to back out later. Thanks again for your help in navigating this journey!
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[jdmessner]

Starting to finalize things a bit. Time seems to have a habit of sneaking up on me! I think my part of the menu is close. Let me know if there are things that look like they should be tweaked.

Menu

Meat Dishes:
Pepper Steak Beef Rolls Thinly sliced top sirloin

Marinade:
Worcestershire sauce
garlic powder
onion powder
olive oil

The filling:
Smoked orange, red and yellow and green peppers
Herb cream cheese
Carmelized diced onions

The Balsamic Glaze
butter
finely chopped shallots
balsamic vinegar
brown sugar
beef broth

Chicken Spanakopita
Ingredients:
Minced garlic
Finely chopped green onion
Finely chopped fresh parsley
Chopped chives
Chopped fresh spinach (about 3-4 ounces)
zest of lemon
kosher salt
red pepper flakes
smoked paprika
feta cheese
egg
chicken minced

MikeMcQ's Twice Smoked Salmon

DavidN's stuffed pork tenderloin

Vegetables:

Kristin's Red Skin Potatoes

Citrus Baby Carrots
Ingredients:
baby carrots
corn flour
clementines: (zested and juiced; sliced)
lemons (zested and juiced; sliced)
Light Brown Sugar ½ cup
vegetable oil

Cashew Garlic Broccoli
Ingredients:
broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
butter
brown sugar
soy sauce
white vinegar
black pepper
garlic, minced
chopped salted cashews

[Bentley]

Very large menu.

[jdmessner]

Very large menu.

This is at least the 10th year we have been doing it. Our goal has always been to go big and do things that are a bit different than normal dinner party fare. Each year I try and fine tune it a little bit more. Theoretically this is the year everything will be prepped and ready to go ahead of time and it will just be heat and serve on the day of. However I do realize there is a big difference between theory and reality.
 
In truth, the real reason for going big is that the more things you do the greater the odds that at least something will turn out!

[Kristin Meredith]

How do you prepare the broccoli?  Roasted?

[jdmessner]

How do you prepare the broccoli?  Roasted?

This is one area where I am going to cheat a little bit. Rather than fresh, I will use frozen broccoli florets and save some time cutting and prepping. I am going to modify the original recipe which calls for:
1 ½ pounds broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
⅓ cup butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
⅓ cup chopped salted roasted cashews

The plan is to steam the broccoli just until it starts to get tender. Then I will sauté the garlic in the butter, add the brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and pepper. Once it comes to a boil, I will mix the sauce with the broccoli.

[jdmessner]

The game is afoot, now is the time when expectations meet up with reality! Most of the supplies have been purchased, but there are always going to be a few last-minute runs. Probably the one thing I did not anticipate was a shortage of broccoli. I was at a Gordon Foods Store and they said frozen broccoli had not been in stock for over two weeks and they probably won’t have any until the first of the year. Something about a food processing plant being out of commission and creating a regional shortage. I took the last 9 lbs. of their fresh, and I hope it will be enough.

Last night I prepped the peppers and will grill them in the morning. And have the chicken in a marinade overnight and will smoke them when the peppers are done.

The big excitement for tonight was slicing the beef! It has been wet aged for about 28 days. I cooked up a few of the scraps and they were very good. It was an 18 lb. roast. I trimmed off the fat cap and sliced it quite thin. It looks like I will get somewhere between 80-90 roll-ups. I was going to marinate the meat, but I don’t think I will now, no need to cover up the flavor of the meat. I will probably just add a little dry rub to it and call it good. The other change is I don’t think I will add the cream cheese to the filling. As thin as the strips are it is going to be tough to spread no matter how soft it is. I may just add a little grated cheese to the smoked peppers and onions.

My wife has started to set the tables and has been working diligently on the desserts and decorations. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

[jdmessner]

Top sirloin: Top, bottom, sliced.
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[pmillen]

This is one of my favorite threads.  I sometimes re-read it, just for the enjoyment.  It so exemplifies the PF members' good natures and culinary skills.

[cookingjnj]

Man jd, what a spread.  Eyes are glued to the screen to read and hopefully see the outcome.  Awesome so far!

[Bentley]

Best of luck with everything!

[dk117]

This is one of my favorite threads.  I sometimes re-read it, just for the enjoyment.  It so exemplifies the PF members' good natures and culinary skills.

This is a fun one.  I've gone the opposite route.  I'm more inclined to post AFTER the successful planning process.  It's stressful enough with family and friends, let alone all of PF land knowing I messed up my planning 

I do enjoy the big hosting events, good luck jdmessner.  Be sure to have someone taking pictures!

DK

[hughver]

You are a heck of a lot braver/talented than I am, I draw the line at 12, otherwise, I either cater in or reserve space at a restaurant.  Good luck, hope all goes well.