Bev is coming this weekend. We are going to clean out the basement at Crest Avenue. I couldn't very well have her visit and put her to work without offering nourishing and delicious food. So I started preparing my menu a couple weeks in advance. I used the Table feature in Word to lay it all out.
I have used MicroSoft Word as the word processing software on my computer for more years than I can remember. I expect most of the population of the country could say the same thing. So I am very familiar with its capabilities. One feature I use regularly is the Table software. It is very easy to use and helps keep me organized. It is much easier to use than MicroSoft Excel spreadsheet software. I have never figured that out.
Above you will see the table I assembled. Very simple yet very effective in organizing all that needed to be done with food. I find that three columns work perfectly. List your dish in the first column, some preparation notes in the middle column, and finally a list of ingredients to be purchased in the final column. The list of ingredients is not necessarily a full list of ingredients for each dish. Rather, it is a list of things we need to purchase after we have checked our inventory. Everyday staples which are kept on-hand certainly do not need to be purchased each time you make a dish. Just be sure to verify that you have those things in sufficient quantity already in your pantry. Spices, sugar, salt, flour, baking soda, baking powder, graham cracker crusts or a box of graham crackers to make a crust, bread crumbs - all of these things are standard in any pantry. Most of the items listed on the chart above are perishable, so you would purchase these items specifically to make the dishes for your event or party.
Here is the list after the shopping was all done. You see that I added "Lemons" to the list. You will inevitably forget something. Just write it in at the bottom and continue your shopping. Did I pick up a few additional things not on the list? Yes. I bought flowers to place on the nightstand in the spare bedroom and a few other things to make her visit nice.
I bought a "People" magazine and a "National Enquirer" for her nighttime reading pleasure.
I filled a small ramekin with flavored Jelly Beans in little bottles shaped liked soda bottles.
Then there was the flower selection. We put pink tulips in her room the last time she visited. I wanted something a little more colorful this time, so I placed this arrangement. So pretty.
Her bedside table is all set. An extra pair of reading glasses if needed, tissues, the little hedgehog nightlight, jelly beans and a beautiful arrangement. There is still room for a tumbler of water if she desires.
Moving now to the kitchen and preparations for her there. We have the bar station stocked and ready to go. A half gallon of Skyy Vodka, diet tonic water, swizzle sticks, mini straws, cocktail napkins, olive picks and a bag of Meyer Lemons. These lemons are the absolute best for cocktails. They are a little sweeter than lemons from the bin in the produce department. They are a little more expensive but well worth that little extra money.
She will arrive this evening between six o'clock and seven o'clock. We will have a cocktail hour and then a late dinner. We prepared several things for the weekend in advance. We made guacamole, macaroni salad and a no-bake cheesecake. I will share these recipes with you later. The guacamole recipe is new and is divine. It has sour cream in it. I have never made guacamole with sour cream. The macaroni salad, I must admit, is the standard Hellman's recipe with a couple added ingredients. It too is divine. The no-bake cheesecake is a new recipe also. And, ... it is divine. So I hit the jackpot with all three recipes. We will make cheeseburgers on the grill tonight and serve them with steamed asparagus. Tomorrow night will be oven-baked chicken breasts and thighs and dirty rice. Sunday it's every man, or woman, for him or herself. If we can't cobble together something suitable, then we'll order from Beijing Palace. "I'll have a moo goo gai pan, two spring rolls and a hot and sour soup please!"
I have used MicroSoft Word as the word processing software on my computer for more years than I can remember. I expect most of the population of the country could say the same thing. So I am very familiar with its capabilities. One feature I use regularly is the Table software. It is very easy to use and helps keep me organized. It is much easier to use than MicroSoft Excel spreadsheet software. I have never figured that out.
Above you will see the table I assembled. Very simple yet very effective in organizing all that needed to be done with food. I find that three columns work perfectly. List your dish in the first column, some preparation notes in the middle column, and finally a list of ingredients to be purchased in the final column. The list of ingredients is not necessarily a full list of ingredients for each dish. Rather, it is a list of things we need to purchase after we have checked our inventory. Everyday staples which are kept on-hand certainly do not need to be purchased each time you make a dish. Just be sure to verify that you have those things in sufficient quantity already in your pantry. Spices, sugar, salt, flour, baking soda, baking powder, graham cracker crusts or a box of graham crackers to make a crust, bread crumbs - all of these things are standard in any pantry. Most of the items listed on the chart above are perishable, so you would purchase these items specifically to make the dishes for your event or party.
Here is the list after the shopping was all done. You see that I added "Lemons" to the list. You will inevitably forget something. Just write it in at the bottom and continue your shopping. Did I pick up a few additional things not on the list? Yes. I bought flowers to place on the nightstand in the spare bedroom and a few other things to make her visit nice.
I bought a "People" magazine and a "National Enquirer" for her nighttime reading pleasure.
I filled a small ramekin with flavored Jelly Beans in little bottles shaped liked soda bottles.
Then there was the flower selection. We put pink tulips in her room the last time she visited. I wanted something a little more colorful this time, so I placed this arrangement. So pretty.
Moving now to the kitchen and preparations for her there. We have the bar station stocked and ready to go. A half gallon of Skyy Vodka, diet tonic water, swizzle sticks, mini straws, cocktail napkins, olive picks and a bag of Meyer Lemons. These lemons are the absolute best for cocktails. They are a little sweeter than lemons from the bin in the produce department. They are a little more expensive but well worth that little extra money.
She will arrive this evening between six o'clock and seven o'clock. We will have a cocktail hour and then a late dinner. We prepared several things for the weekend in advance. We made guacamole, macaroni salad and a no-bake cheesecake. I will share these recipes with you later. The guacamole recipe is new and is divine. It has sour cream in it. I have never made guacamole with sour cream. The macaroni salad, I must admit, is the standard Hellman's recipe with a couple added ingredients. It too is divine. The no-bake cheesecake is a new recipe also. And, ... it is divine. So I hit the jackpot with all three recipes. We will make cheeseburgers on the grill tonight and serve them with steamed asparagus. Tomorrow night will be oven-baked chicken breasts and thighs and dirty rice. Sunday it's every man, or woman, for him or herself. If we can't cobble together something suitable, then we'll order from Beijing Palace. "I'll have a moo goo gai pan, two spring rolls and a hot and sour soup please!"
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