Sweet Potato Curry Soup

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Pumpkins

Last Saturday the Dine-o-Round crew gathered at Melissa's tiny, but cozy, apartment to enjoy some pumpkin-inspired food.  And in case the pictures don't speak for themselves, I must tell you that the food was insanely good.

Rarely does the hostess go all out on the place setting, but this was one of those lucky occasions :)
Pumpkin Place Settings
Green Beans with Pepitas

Pumpkin Chili
And for dessert...
Doesn't she just look tasty? :D

(Don't worry.  No babies were harmed in the implementation of this dinner.)

Now for the real dessert....
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
**Take note that Libby made these using her mixer, as opposed to by hand like the directions say. She ended up using more than 2 c all-purpose flour and if she were to do it again (despite their deliciosity) she might try adding chopped pecans.

 

Saturday, October 9, 2010

October's Theme...

Pumpkins!

'Tis the season after all.

We have some great recipes lined up for this one.  Hopefully we won't go home with orange tints to our skin.

Oh!  And I have a centerpiece/place setting idea that I'm really excited about.  Can't wait to share!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Recipes Libby Wanted to Try

Spaghetti and Meatballs with Bread and Broccoli
Have you ever seen a more delicious looking meal?

We decided to go with a Libby-themed dinner due to a couple of factors.  First, it was Libby's 27th birthday last week.  (Happy birthday, Libby!)  Second, Libby and Jay just welcomed their second child into the world about 3 weeks ago.  (Congrats, Libby and Jay!)  We wanted to make sure Libby had an easy, relaxing evening mostly free from cooking and so we asked her to give us some ideas for food that she enjoys.  For the meal, Libby picked spaghetti and meatballs, roasted broccoli parmesan, bread, and peanut butter bars.  Everything was delicious!  But I think we all agreed that the meatballs were the star of the night.  Nice work, girls!

Peanut Butter Bars

Grilling at Lindsay's

Italian Pasta Salad
Grilled Asparagus
'The Best Pizza You Will Ever Have in Your Life' Pizza
(The Exquisite Pizza Sauce Recipe and the Dough Recipe)
Lovely Assembled Plate
Cobbler

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

July's Theme...

Grilled foods!

Based on what Linds and Lib are preparing, I know it's going to be a great one!

Monday, May 31, 2010

February 2010--Seasonal Dishes

February must have been a crazy month becuase I'm not quite sure what happened to all of the recipes.  I do know this, however; our seasonal theme might as well have been a lemon theme because we all picked recipes that incorporated lemons.  In Utah, seasonal fruits and vegetables are quite limited in the winter months.  Anyway, the food was all delicious and a good time was had by all. 

Go ahead.  Feast your eyes....

May 2010-- Peanuts!

May's theme was peanuts and it was a complete success!  All recipes were delicious and enjoyed by everyone.  Sadly, Jay had babysitting duty and was unable to attend.  Hopefully we'll be able to get the whole group together for the next dine-o-round (which isn't happening until July--June is very busy for everyone).  Now, for the recipes....

The chicken "sate" recipe (I thought it was spelled satay) can be found here. It didn't have as much flavor as Libby would have liked. If she did it again, she would serve it with more peanut sauce for dipping, perhaps the one Melissa put on the yummy Thai Peanut Stir-fry.  The sake was omitted from the recipe, which made the peanut sauce very sweet.  In the future, Melissa would probably cut back on some of the sweeter ingredients, although the recipe was still quite tasty. 


Finally, Lindsay prepared peanut butter pudding cups for dessert.  I think these can be summed up in one word:  AMAZING.  The texture was perfect.  The flavor was just as it should be.  And those chocolate bowls...well, just look at them. 

Great job, ladies!  Can't wait to see what July has in store for us!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

May's Theme...

Peanuts!

One of my favorite foods and food accents! 

Can't wait!

Monday, March 15, 2010

March 2010--Five Ingredients or Less

This past Saturday, we met at Libby and Jay's house to enjoy March's Dine-o-Round event.  Libby picked a really fun theme for this month:  dishes made up of five ingredients or less.  Libby made a delicious black bean soup and sloppy joes; Linds brought a green bean dish as a side; Melissa prepared chocolate-covered
strawberries for the dessert.













Black Bean Soup with Cheese, Tortilla Chips, and Avocado













Sloppy Joes


















Dipping Strawberries













Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Once again, all the food was extremely tasty and we had so much fun being together that we forgot to get pictures of all the dishes!  Oh, well! 

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

February's Theme...

Foods inspired by seasonal produce!

I'm not really sure what foods are in season this time of year.  Oh, the wonders of fossil fuels, which allow us to transport produce to place on the other side of the world. 

Luckily, Lindsay provided us this website to help get the creative juices flowing.  Dinner is Saturday.  Pictures and recipes to follow. 

Stay tuned....  (I like that sign off.)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Art-o-Round?



It seems there could be "spin-off" of sorts from our wildly successul dine-o-round tradition.  Lindsay conceived the idea and has tentatively named it the "art-o-round."  So, in addition to our monthly dinners, we may also begin monthly gatherings to work on various arts and crafts projects.  Possible future art-o-round projects could include wreath making, crocheting, and Jackson Pollock-inspired paintings.  Okay.  I made the last one up, although they are a hit with elementary school students.  Anyway, I look forward to this new venture into being artistic and hope to post updates about this project on the dine-o-round blog.  Until next time....

Friday, February 5, 2010

January 2010- Casseroles

Last Saturday night Lindsay, Libby, and Jay gathered at my house so we could share our casserole creations for January's dine-o-round.  (Andy, sadly, was suffering from a sprained ankle and spent the evening recuperating at home.)  We indulged in three cheese baked pasta, caesar salad, vegetable casserole, and blackberry cobbler.  All the dishes were delicious!


Three Cheese Baked Pasta

Caesar Salad

Vegetable Casserole

The main course and side dish

Another view of the entree and sides

Blackberry Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream

Thank you, Libby, for the beautiful pictures!

(I think we need a clever sign off for this blog.  Something along the lines of "bon appetit."  Ideas?)


Casseroles--The Recipes

Three Cheese Baked Pasta--Courtesy of All Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound uncooked pasta
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 1/2 cups tomato pasta sauce (not to be confused with tomato paste)
• 6 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, cook ground meat and onion in a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until meat is browned. Stir in pasta sauce, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer the ingredients in the prepared baking dish as follows: half of the cooked pasta, all the provolone cheese, all the sour cream, half of the sauce mixture, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese, and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.


Tomato Vegetable Casserole--Courtesy of Food Network

Ingredients:

• 1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium yam, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings
• 2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons dried Italian-style bread crumbs
• Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish

 Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Toss the potato, yam, bell pepper, carrots, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss until coated. Spread vegetables evenly over the bottom of the pan.

3. Arrange the onion slices evenly over the vegetable mixture. Arrange the zucchini over the onion. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the tomato slices over the zucchini.

4. Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the Parmesan bread crumbs over the vegetables in the baking dish. Drizzle with the last tablespoon of olive oil.

5. Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender, and the topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs, if desired.

  
Berry Cobbler Recipe Adjusted from Eleanor Wollenzien’s recipe

Put the following in a pan and heat through:

  • 2 12-oz pkg raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, peaches (or other fruit or your choice)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Mix 1/4 c cornstarch with water until easy to stir. Add this to the fruit mixture.
  • Bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes. Pour into a 2 L pyrex glass pan,
 In a separate bowl mix:

  •  1/2 c white sugar
  •  1/2 c brown sugar
  •  1 c flour
  •  10 T (1.25 sticks) melted butter
  •  1 egg
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto berry mixture and without pushing too hard, try to spread evenly.

Bake cobbler 35-40 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm. May top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

January's Theme...

Casseroles!

I am very excited to see what everyone comes up with.

Stay tuned for a complete summary of January's dine-o-round....

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

A Review of Past Dinners

A couple of months ago, Lindsay did a fabulous job of documenting all of our past dine-o-rounds.  If you're interested in seeing where we started and how far we've come, then read all about it here.  Feel free to leave a comment or two, too!  Lindsay finds comments extremely uplifting!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Birth of a Delicious Idea

In August of 2002, three best friends, Libby, Lindsay, and Melissa, left their hometown of Salt Lake City to explore new and distant horizons during college. Libby ended up the farthest away, attending Brown University in Rhode Island. Lindsay and Melissa both ended up in Washington, but in opposite ends of the state. At the outset of their new college adventures, it was unclear whether or not these three friends would ever find their way to living in the same place again.

Melissa was the first to return to Utah, after conquering college. She went on to get a Master's Degree from a small college in Salt Lake and become a second grade teacher. While her life was good and happy, she secretly hoped that her two best friends would one day find their way back to Utah. At times, this seemed unlikely.

Libby really, really blossomed during her college years, and likely enjoyed college the most out of the three friends. She spent most summers and a semester abroad in exciting locales. After getting a Bachelor's Degree, she headed to northern California to get her Master's Degree at Stanford. During the transition from undergrad to grad student, Libby fell in love with a boy from Massachusetts. They became engaged, got married, and spent some time living together in California. They were unsure if they would move to Utah. However, her husband got hired to work as a professor at BYU, so in spring of 2008, Libby and her husband moved back to Utah.

Two of the three had found their way back to Utah. Only one remained in a faraway land. Lindsay had fallen in love with a boy at the beginning of her college experience. Upon graduating, she accepted a position at a company in Seattle and eventually transferred to Portland to be with her man. They were very happy in their life in the Pacific Northwest, but they, too, decided to move to Utah. Shortly after Libby and her husband made the big move, Lindsay and her fiance (at the time) followed.

The three friends were together again.

But there was a problem. Adulthood had made the lives of Libby, Lindsay, and Melissa much busier than they had been during high school and the long summer vacations of college. As a way to overcome this, the girls devised a plan. They would get together once a month to have dinner together. The girls rotated hostess duties, and the hostess-of-the-month decided a theme for her month. All the girls would contribute something to the meal and all foods served at that dinner would have to somehow fit into the selected theme. Lindsay coined the term Dine-o-Round to name these monthly gatherings.

Although they have certainly missed months, it is always such a pleasure for all the girls to come together with their families to catch up. In addition, many new and delicious foods have been discovered at the Dine-o-Round. The purpose of this blog is to document the themes and recipes enjoyed at each monthly gathering. There will be pictures, highlights of favorite dishes, and commentary on how the foods all came together, among other things.

Enjoy!