Holiday Dinner Menus

BaileyP3

So I'm all excited that we have my BIL coming for the holidays....first time in almost 10 years he's staying with us...woohoo. We all love to eat and are careful with calories, over-consumption and all.

So question for you all...I've pretty much nailed my menus and am planning a casserole for the night he flies in.....Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna. I want to accompany it with a salad and have a dynamite recipe for a Spinach Salad that has honey roasted squash, pepitas and gorgonzola cheese but it seems like a lot of emphasis on spinach and butternut squash (which we all love)

Any thoughts, suggestions out there??

Thanks

lebbyloses

Do you eat meat? If do, how about salmon? Great as a fillet or in a salad, and it feels special enough to me for a holiday meal.

BaileyP3

Super idea! Thanks. He's staying for several nights so salmon is on the menu for Christmas dinner and the butternut squash salad is a definite contender as the salad that night. The meatless butternut squash lasagna is for the night he arrives but I'm at an absolute loss what to serve with it. We're all going light on bread,

acpgee

Since you've already got Spinach in the lasagna, I would switch the greens in your salad recipe. Maybe a combination of romaine lettuce and rocket (rucola) would be a nice switch. Looks pretty balanced for starter, main. If you want to add a warm side maybe roast tomatoes, which could go in the oven with the lasagna. Acidity of the tomatoes would be a nice foil to the sweetness of the squash. Because there isn't a lot of protein in the meal, I would do a protein rich dessert, like creme caramel which can be made a day in advance. (It needs to be cooled several hours in the fridge.)

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1575635/roast-tomatoes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/classic_crme_caramel_44792

acpgee

I see your salad recipe has butternut squash in it too. I would change up the salad.

Greens + gorgonzola * halved seedless grapes + toasted pecans
Greens + soft goat cheese + pomegranate seeds
Classic Caesar

For the fruit and cheese salads I like a slightly sweet vinaigrette. Ie made with balsamic vinegar or add a few drops of honey to the oil and vinegar.

BaileyP3

Thanks acgee! Great suggestions. I love the tomato idea too. Light enuff but adds some great color too

bethanp

I have a pretty fantastic salad recipe that my boyfriend is obsessed with that I'll share:

Mixed spring greens with dried cranberries, blue cheese crumbles, and slivered almonds with an apple vinaigrette (either apple juice or cider, white wine vinegar, a tiny bit of honey for sweetness, black pepper and dried thyme).

It's a nice mix of sweet and rich from the blue cheese crumbles. And it has the typical red and green colors for Christmas too

He was so obsessed with that salad that we had it for dinner 3 times in a week (with the addition of chicken breast strips once for protein).

acpgee

I have a pretty fantastic salad recipe that my boyfriend is obsessed with that I'll share:

Mixed spring greens with dried cranberries, blue cheese crumbles, and slivered almonds with an apple vinaigrette (either apple juice or cider, white wine vinegar, a tiny bit of honey for sweetness, black pepper and dried thyme).

It's a nice mix of sweet and rich from the blue cheese crumbles. And it has the typical red and green colors for Christmas too

He was so obsessed with that salad that we had it for dinner 3 times in a week (with the addition of chicken breast strips once for protein).

This sounds good. Made something similar at a friend's dinner party recently. Greens + goat cheese+ dried cranberry. Another possibility for increasing protein is to do a salad containing smoked fish. I would do smoked salmon and chunks of smoked mackerel with a lemony vinaigrette (including some grated zest) or homemade ranch.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1670/smoked-haddock-salad-with-poached-eggs-and-crotons
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/ranch-dressing-recipe_n_3769342.html

BaileyP3

Thanks for the fantastic ideas ladies. Looks like I'm all set now.