Reassurance, Please...

[Cookiemama]

Hi All,

Our daughter is having a dance recital in a few weeks and has been asked to be in the grand finale (huge honor). So...being the proud momma I am, I've invited lots of people to the recital and then to our house afterwards for a meal. THEN I went and announced I'd be serving my yummy fried chicken.

So we've got a total of 14 people. I'm thinking 2 dozen pieces of chicken, cooked day before and warmed up in electric roaster while we're at recital, baked beans, potato salad (don't have time to make, will buy from store), veggies and ranch dressing, and fresh fruit and pound cake chunked up with fruit dip. Sound good?

I know it's not elegant; daughter and I are crazy busy for the week before recital with rehearsals and actually there are two recitals before it's all said and done. Usually by the morning after the last recital we both sleep until at least 10 am!

So please let me know what you think. We're not much for entertaining, so this is kind of a stretch for us. For the dessert with the fruit - I'm thinking basically a fruit tray with pound cake cut up, put plastic cups out and have people make their own fruit/cake/topping sundae; they can make it as healthy (or not!) as they want. LOL

Thank you!
CookieMama <---- with a dancing daughter and a very proud Papa Bear!

[KittenCal]

I think that's a great menu CM, I would increase the chicken a little though ;)

congrats on you DD's dance recital!

[Cookiemama]

I think that's a great menu CM, I would increase the chicken a little though ;)

congrats on you DD's dance recital!

Thank you, Kitten! You don't know how much it means to me..I kind of think of you like my "Mom" in cooking as my mom passed away in 2010 and you know how sometimes you wish there was someone to ask or run things by like you do your Mom?

I'm making only chicken thighs as it's easier for me and they are usually pretty large. I might bump up the total to 30 - heck, leftovers would be welcomed the day after (sleeping day!).

Again, thanks...Mom!

Jana

[HeatherFeather]

I think the menu sounds very nice and everyone will be pleased with it

I agree about increasing the amount of chicken to 2 pieces per person, but count wings as 1/2 piece each, since they are so tiny.

If you have several younger children, you might want to make up an extra batch of just small pieces of meat - either a pan of wings or drumsticks or you could make homemade chicken nuggets/strips.

[HeatherFeather]

I think that's a great menu CM, I would increase the chicken a little though ;)

congrats on you DD's dance recital!

Thank you, Kitten! You don't know how much it means to me..I kind of think of you like my "Mom" in cooking as my mom passed away in 2010 and you know how sometimes you wish there was someone to ask or run things by like you do your Mom?

I'm making only chicken thighs as it's easier for me and they are usually pretty large. I might bump up the total to 30 - heck, leftovers would be welcomed the day after (sleeping day!).

Again, thanks...Mom!

Jana

I was typing my reply while you posted this

[KittenCal]

I think that's a great menu CM, I would increase the chicken a little though ;)

congrats on you DD's dance recital!

Thank you, Kitten! You don't know how much it means to me..I kind of think of you like my "Mom" in cooking as my mom passed away in 2010 and you know how sometimes you wish there was someone to ask or run things by like you do your Mom?

I'm making only chicken thighs as it's easier for me and they are usually pretty large. I might bump up the total to 30 - heck, leftovers would be welcomed the day after (sleeping day!).

Again, thanks...Mom!

Jana

Mama Kitten says yes bump it up lol! CM you are too cute I luv ya!!!! let us know how it went for you

{{{hugs}}}

[Mary]

With Kitten's blessing, you don't need much more approval, but I think it sounds family friendly and really good. I especially like the fruit-and-cake your-way dessert. Add some chocolate sauce for me?

And congratulations to your daughter!

[Kchurchill5]

Two changes ... one as mentioned, bump up the chicken amount; and as you said, leftover are great and even if you don't eat all the leftovers - freeze them. Great for a quick meal during the week.

Second, if you have fresh fruit, fruit dip and pound cake (which I think is great); maybe chocolate sauce, also mentioned and whipped cream. Both are easy for those who may only want fruit or only cake, the whipped cream and chocolate sauce would go great. Hersheys chocolate and cool whip makes lots of friends.

And yes, congrats to your daughter and sounds like a very nice party.

[Cookiemama]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thanks to all the great suggestions, the party was a HUGE success! I ended up frying 3+ dozen chicken thighs and chicken legs - two cast iron skillets, hot summer day, all day! I went to the first dance recital smelling like a giant fried chicken!!! Made a crockpot full of doctored up baked beans (added some BBQ sauce, SF maple flavored pancake syrup, onion, and Splenda brown sugar - YUM), had potato salad from Costco (it was totally YUCKY - luckily, sent it home with my college-age niece & her roommates love it; I worry about them! ). My 10-yr old daughter (the dancer) made the Ranch dressing and the fruit dip, which both ROCKED, and we served the fruit dip with fresh pineapple, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries with pound cake chunks. I forgot the chocolate syrup!

So after two nights of rehearsal, one full day of cooking more chicken than I hope to see anytime soon, two 2.5-hour recitals, too little sleep, a houseful of people, and one entire Sunday of being too tired to blink and ordering Chinese food, I am one happy and blessed mama, wife, and hostess! Though I'm not sure my kitchen will every be the same.....

THANK YOU!

[Kchurchill5]

Successful and relieved! Nothing beats that. Well done.