Here is an easy and very effective fun napkin fold for the holidays! Any color napkin works!
Category Archives: menus
Cuban Dinner
Michelle’s Cuban Dinner
This past week my friend Michelle Toro Seyfarth, made a Cuban dinner for a large group of friends at Birch Lake. It was delicious! Her parents came in from Florida that day to help with the final preparations. It was fabulous! I tried to duplicate this amazing Thanksgiving-like dinner, but I need some practice and fine tuning before publishing those recipes.
I did publish the Guacamole! *
The star of the Cuban dinner was the Lechon. A fresh pork leg that is injected with Goya Mojo Crillo Marinade and roasted. Since Birch Lake is in the middle of pork country, I thought this would be a good place to try this. Next time I will remember: Perfect the gravy, slice the meat very thin and layer some pan drippings over the sliced meat over night 🙂 Also do not add too much oregano. I used a very authentic Mexican dried oregano from the Hispanic store. Wow!
Nina and a 19 Pound Fresh Pork Leg, Ready To Be Injected with Marinade
Another wonderful discovery through the process were the Hispanic grocery stores in Elkhart and South Bend, Indiana. I purchased the frozen Goya Baked Ripe (whole, sweet) Plantains. Definitely will be serving those again! Just heat them in the microwave and presto! Delicioso!
Also the Taqueria attached to the grocery store in Elkhart was fantastic! Taqueria is a taco/burrito restaurant. Here is my $5 lunch which also included a cold glass of Horchata, a Hispanic rice milk drink.
Chorizo Tacos
Michelle’s Cuban Dinner Menu:
Guacamole*
Lechon (fresh pork marinated in Goya Mojo Crillo Marinade and baked)
Gravy
Black Beans and White Rice
Goya Frozen Baked Ripe Plantains
Avocado and Tomato Salad
Lettuce Salad
Cheese Flan
Tapas 2 Menu
Mary Ann & Nina teach & serve a Tapas Lunch & Cooking Class
Sangria, Alcohol-Free
Pa Amb Tomaquet/Tomato Rubbed Bread
Caprese Salad Pinchos
Fresh Fruit & Chorizo Pinchos
Fideau/Toasted Spanish Style Pasta with Shrimp
Spanish Tortilla/Frittata with Spicy Tomato Sauce
Rapini with Balsamic & Strawberry Goat Cheese Crostini
Russian Salad/Salad Olivier
Chickpea, Olive & Fresh Herb Salad
Chocolate Espresso Mousse with Olive Oil & Flaked Salt
Coffee or Espresso
As a fundraiser for the Midland Symphony, Nina and Mary Ann orchestrated a Spanish Tapas Lunch & Cooking Class
Nina preparing for her cooking class
Christmas Week Menus 2012
Setting the Christmas Table
Our pattern is to have a brunch around 11am, snacks and grab your own lunch mid afternoon and dinner at 7 or 8pm. One of my piano families gave me a beautiful middle eastern cookbook called The Arab Table which is a treasure. Delish! Brunches were traditional eggs, bacon and toast, omelettes or Blueberry Pancakes (with a blueberry in every bite)! We use the Joy of Cooking recipes for Buttermilk Pancakes and Buttermilk Waffles which are perfect with our Vitantonio Premier Belgium Waffler and our supersized electric grill!
Cookies: A few of our favorites! I baked before everyone arrived and kept them cold in the garage stored in cookie tins (the Michigan second frig). We enjoyed these desserts through the Holidays. The recipes are from Baking with Julia and some are here at Ninainthekitchen.com
Saturday Dinner
Grilled Jerk Chicken (Cooks Illustrated 7/2012)
Baked Sweet Potatoes
Asian Cabbage Slaw
Sunday Late Lunch Buffet
Baked Burrata (Cooking Light 12/12)
Hummus/Chickpea Dip and Pita Chips (The Arab Table and Cooks Illustrated)
Cucumber and Yogurt Salad/Khiyar bi Laban (The Arab Table)
Mixed Vegetable Salad/Fattoush (The Arab Table)
Pineapple/Orange/Grapefruit Salad with Pomegranate (Cooking Light)
Greek Lamb Sausage/Loukaniko (honest-food.net)
Brown Rice with Roasted Red peppers and Onion
Arab Flatbread (purchased locally from Detroit)
Cookies
Hungarian Shortbread /Raspberry Bars (Baking With Julia), Ninainthekitchen.com
Almond Lemon Squares (a Dutch recipe from South Holland, IL )
Double Chocolate Cookies (Baking With Julia)
Tuiles (Baking with Julia)
Monday, Christmas Eve Early Dinner
Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps (Cooks Illustrated 9/2009)
South East Asian Spring Rolls (Cooks Illustrated 1/2002)
Peanut Dipping Sauce (Cooks Illustrated)
Christmas Eve Evening Snacks
Nina’s Cheeseball and Crackers (NinaintheKitchen.com)
Specialty Cheeses
Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce
Hummus with Pita Chips and Red Pepper Strips
Christmas Day Dinner
Cracked Black Pepper Crusted Beef Tenderloin (Cooks Illustrated 12/2012)
Pomegranate Port Sauce (Cooks Illustrated 12/2012 online)
Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes
Brussel Sprouts with Pecans ( Cooking Light online)
Mixed Vegetable Salad (leftover from Sunday’s brunch)
Post New Years Menus
Chinese BBQ Pork (Cooks Illustrated)
Brown Rice with Roasted Red Peppers and Onion
Bok Choy
and
Fideua (Spanish Style Toasted Pasta with Shrimp) (Cooks Illustrated 7/2012)
Live Fresh Lettuce with Balsamic Dressing
French Bread
Spring Dinner Gathering
Here is the menu for our March 24th 2012 Dinner Club!
Spicy Marinated Olives with Pickled Vegetables & Garlic (recipe on this site) & French Sourdough Bread
Moroccan-Style Carrot Salad (recipe on this site & below)
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=14559
Rigatoni with Braised Lamb Ragu (recipe below)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rigatoni-with-Braised-Lamb-Ragu-15675
Sauteed Fresh Spinach with Garlic
Chocolate Walnut Clusters with Flaked Sea Salt (recipe on this site)
A Spanish Tapas Sampling Menu
Here is the menu for our Midland Symphony League Fundraiser. You can find all the recipes on this website!
A Spanish Tapas Lunch & Cooking Class
Pan con Tomate with Jamon & Manchego
Spicy Olives & Pickled Vegetables
Lemon Rosemary Cheese
Olivada
Cantaloupe & Arugula Salad with Jamon & Cheese
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce & Quinoa
Baby Potatoes with Aioli
Pasta with Chickpea-Tomato Sauce
Lime Drizzled Shrimp
Roasted Peppers with Anchovies
Fresh Cheese with Honey
Chocolate Walnut Cluster with Flaked Sea Salt
Thanksgiving Menu 2011
Our family prepares many of the same traditional foods every Thanksgiving. We may adapt the recipes a bit or try a completely new recipe, but the basics are always there. Here was our menu this year. I try to please everyone, so there are alot of options to choose from. You will find many of these recipes here at NinaintheKitchen. Others I have included the website where you can find it. If you don’t find a recipe you’d like, let me know. Comment on this post.
Cheeseball with Ritz Crackers
Curry Dip with Fresh Veggies
Tuscan-Style Turkey alla Porchetta ( marthastewart.com)
Turkey Gravy 101
Corn Bread-Sourdough Stuffing (marthastewart.com) made with Martha’s corn bread recipe
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Russian Style Cabbage
Russian Homemade Sausage
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Crescent Rolls (Pillsbury)
Apple-Cranberry Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream
Butternut Squash Pie with Whipping Cream
Outdoor Summer Dinner Menu
Inviting friends for dinner is a stimulating experience! Dinner parties seem like an overwhelming task these days. You would be surprised what you can put together! Look for your stimulation……..your garden is in early summer bloom…….a few recipes in a favorite magazine you want to try………….your favorite people are in town……………….the weather forecast is perfect…..anything like that… Here is my most recent menu:
Avocado and Raspberry Salsa with Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips
Skewered Tiny Tomatoes and Mozzarella Balls
Fresh Summer Salad
Roasted Vegetable Terrine
Creamy Polenta
Lemon and Fennel Marinated Lamb on the Grill
French Bread
Fresh Fruit Tarts
Shrimp Korma with Brown Rice
This awesome recipe was worth making twice this week. After making it for dinner early in the week I made it again, a double batch, and served it at a dinner party over the weekend! They all loved it! Full of flavor, authentic Indian cuisine and low in fat and calories! The only changes I made was as I usually do, double the spices: onion, red bell pepper, curry, garam masala, ginger, garlic…..you got the idea. If you are making 1 recipe, use 1/2 can light coconut milk in the Korma and add the rest to the brown rice with the broth! I bought frozen shrimp from our local produce/meat market;raw, shelled and deveined, 16/20 per pound. I also added a few more shrimp than the recipe. p.s. India Tree brand Garam Masala from Seattle is an awesome brand!
I think it is worth replacing refined rice with brown rice. Saute some onion in olive oil, add the brown rice and saute a few minutes, add twice as much broth and/or light coconut milk and simmer 45 minutes! Perfecto! No gluten, no simple carbs, lots of fiber and a chewy nutty flavor much better than bland white rice. The whole grain/high fiber brown rice carbs stick with you without the simple white rice/low fiber carb rush.
Plan to serve this dish in a bowl with a spoon……….you don’t want to miss a drop!
Top this dish off with Greek yogurt, Fage 0% fat is my favorite………..Enjoy!
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/shrimp-korma-basmati-rice-50400000112992/
The Menu
Avocado n Strawberry Salsa with Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips
Marinated Fresh Michigan Asparagus Salad
Shrimp Korma with Coconut Brown Rice
Proseco and Fresh Fruit Terrine
nina in the kitchen 