Saturday, March 19, 2011

Dinner with friends...

My friend "SheShe" and I are both huge fans of the Food TV show Chopped.  One night while watching a chopped marathon we decided we would have a colaborative dinner. I would prepare the before and after and she would take care of the middle.

Here's the menu:




  • Dijon Spinach Salad





  • London Broil





  • Mushroom Rissoto





  • Green Bean Almondine





  • Black Forest Cake







  • The recipe for the salad came from the 2001 Quick Cooking annual book. It has so many delicious vegetables and a low fat salad dressing that is simply oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, sugar and salt. Anytime you make your own dressings you can control your fat content, sodium and sugar. So don't be afraid to play around with the ratios to meet your dietary needs.

    In the fall I always can several quarts of cherry pie filling because it's hubby's favorite. So coming up with a dessert was easy. It was supposed to be a three layer Black Forest cake but hubby grabbed the 3rd layer for his lunch...what a rascle. On the first layer I made a dam of whipped cream (which is simply whipping cream, vanilla & sugar) and filled in the center with pie filling. I added the second chocolate cake and repeated the process. To dress it up a bit I added some maraschino cherries, and I think I will dust it with cocoa powder before we leave.




    I will encourage my friend to post pictures of her "middle" on her blog but even if she doesn't there are plenty of good ideas for you to enjoy. Be sure to stop over...just be warned, you will be hungry when you leave.

    **edit -- Dinner was fabulous! The grean beans were fabulous and I didn't think I liked risotto...until tonight. SheShe promised she would post about the main meal. Be sure to check it out. I have more yummies I will be posting about over the next few days.

    3 comments:

    Kymberly Foster Seabolt said...

    You make it sound so easy breezy! "Oh I made a dam of whipped cream ..." Honey I didn't even know such a thing was possible before I read that line minutes ago and I like to *think* I can cook.

    I started stalking, er following, she-she after I saw her on your blog so tell her to get crackin' because your stalker wants to see the rest of the meal!

    Amy Johnson said...

    What a delcious menu! Your pictures make me hungry. I've been on a diet for over 30 days now. It's been going good, but I really miss eating 'real food'

    Darlene said...

    WOW these look SO YUMMY!! Mmmmmmm that cake is making me HUNGRY! What a fabulous idea and sounds like you had a great time ... wonderful!!
    Now I must go check out "she-she" for the "rest of the story!"