Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

These are my favorite:

Norwegian Meatballs (serve with a yummy brown gravy and potatoes)

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup minced onion
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 pound ground pork

In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, bread crumbs, onion and seasonings. Let stand until crumbs absorb milk. Add meat; stir until well blended. Shape into 1-in. meatballs. Place on a greased jelly-roll pan. Bake at 400 degrees F until browned, about 18 minutes. Set aside.

**These freeze really well. Just reheat them in your gravy when you want to serve them!**

My menu: (for 18+ people)

baked ham
homemade mac & cheese
fresh potato rolls
green salad
2 jello salads
punch
brownies
chocolate peppermint candy cookies
hawaiian mac nut cookies
norwegian apple pie
kosekake

:o)

@wookie -

Here's the recipe. I'm happy to share! I'd love to hear how you like them, if you get around to making them! These are not traditional lace cookies by any means... they are a variation on an old Hawaiian Oatmeal cookie recipe of my grandmas, and they just remind me of a lace cookie. They are very thin and fragile, and are a nice balance of chewy, crisp and buttery!! :o)

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Hawaiian White Mac Lace Cookies

ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
2 cups + 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup coarsly chopped good white chocolate
1/2 chopped macadamia nuts

directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 375degrees F.

2. Cream together the sugars and butter. Mix in the eggs, vanilla, salt, soda and powder until well blended. Mix in the oats, coconut and flour, white chocolate and mac nuts.

3. Drop by small (1-inch) scoopfuls, spaced about 2-3 inches apart, onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, as they will spread quite a bit during baking. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until they are light golden brown around the edges.

4. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, and then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling! Enjoy!! (These cookies freeze really well!)

@ thank you thank you!!! :o)

Here's what I've decided! (Keeping it simple for 18+ people):

Baked Ham
World's Best Mac & Cheese
Fresh Potato Rolls
Green Salad
Punch (old-school with sherbet!)
Brownies
Norwegian Apple Pie
Kosekake
Hawaiian White Mac Lace Cookies

(can you tell I'm a baker?!) ;o)

Thanks for all your suggestions!! I am hungry already!

the most memorable meal my mother ever made was on an ordinary weeknight as a teenager, when my mom made a simple dinner... tater tot casserole or something of that sort... and when I started to set the table she stopped me and told me to get out the goldware, china and crystal, and to light the candles! No reason at all, she just thought we deserved a special night, and that life is too short to never use your china! :o) That was a night I will never forget!

Here's the recipe... and it really is the best ever!! If you can't find chipotle chili powder (or just want to try a different flavor) regular cayenne powder works great. We can't decide which way we like it better, actually! :o)

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'WORLD'S BEST' MAC AND CHEESE
SERVES 4 AS A SIDE DISH
6 ounces penne pasta
2 cups Beecher's Flagship Sauce (recipe follows)
1 ounce cheddar, grated (1/4 cup)
1 ounce Gruyere cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Oil or butter an 8-inch baking dish.

Cook the penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse pasta in cold water and set aside.

Combine cooked pasta and Flagship Sauce in a medium bowl and mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the cheeses and then the chile powder. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

NOTE: If you double the recipe to make a main dish, bake in a 9-by-13-inch pan for 30 minutes.

BEECHER'S FLAGSHIP CHEESE SAUCE
MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
14 ounces semihard cheese, such as Beecher's Flagship, grated (about 3 1/2 cups)
2 ounces grated semisoft cheese, such as Beecher's Just Jack
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cooking for 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat. Add the cheese, salt, chile powder and garlic powder. Stir until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to three days.

NOTE: A single batch of sauce makes enough for a double recipe of macaroni and cheese.

red wine risotto with peas, or homemade macaroni and cheese (Beecher's recipe 'world's best') with some form of good red meat! :o) Steak, roast, whatever my husband asks for! Oh, and if I'm REALLY trying to impress, I make Seattle's Canlis restaurant's "canlis salad". It's amazing!

I am incredibly picky with my wine, and I have found a new love - and the only white wine I will drink! (not even counting the great price, it is an AMAZING wine!)

Voga Pinot Grigio... runs about $9 a bottle or so. You can buy it pretty much anywhere now.

It looks like a cool VOSS water bottle (not what you would expect for a wine bottle), but is SO good. My husband actually bought me 8 bottles of it for christmas because he knows how much I love it! :o)

I always use butter for baking! When a recipe calls for oil, I simply replace it with an equal amount of melted and cooled butter! Same thing with cookie recipes that call for shortening, I replace it with butter and add a few extra tablespoons of flour... works every time, and what can a little extra butter flavor hurt, really?! :o)

I have 2 to recommend!

my sister's:

*Anticiplate
*www.anticiplate.com
*"A ballerina who loves to cook gourmet food"

mine:

*no fancy name yet... I'm working on that!
*www.arthomas.blogspot.com
*I am just getting in to putting some of my baking recipes online, and will hopefully come up with a better name (and separate blog from my fam stuff) soon! This is it for now though... :o)

amazingly crusty/chewy/light artisan bread (which is impossible to find where I live!)... and I don't really know who I would want to teach me... anyone willing to take the time, I suppose?!

I'm so excited to try the limoncello!! I love lemons, and buy them every time I go to the store, whether I need them or not, so I am always looking for new uses for them!! I can't wait to try this and see what my family thinks! :o)