I haven't had my in-laws over for dinner in over a year. Soooo, I thought it was high time. They'll be coming over Sunday night.

I called my MIL, she's speaking to my FIL in the background. They agree. My FIL jokingly (not so jokingly) asks what I'll be serving. He KNOWS it's going to be healthy and he LOVED how I used to cook. I've cooked for them a few times after I've made the switch and yes, he's always loved it as well (so there) , but still has to rib me about it. Whatever. Anyway. I want to wow them. Bowl them over. Knock their socks off.

My problem is they come over so infrequently and I've got SOOOO many dishes I want to try on them. But I've got to pare down the menu! It would be insane to make soup, 3 salads, 2 main dishes, 5 side dishes and 2 desserts - right?

First course I think is going to be a grilled fig and cantaloupe salad with baby spinach, red onions, and chopped toasted walnuts.

Then is a tomato/cabbage/barley soup (cooking as we speak)

I'm making fresh hot whole wheat dinner rolls.

Then it will be chicken on the bone, cooked in a covered pot with onions, mushrooms in a wine sauce with a hit of lemon, rosemary and thyme. Super tender and oh so tasty.

Boneless chicken breasts coated in cornflakes, oats, sliced almonds with cayenne pepper, baked in the over. Super crunchy yet incredibly tender.

Sides: Big delemia here. I've got to cut this back:

I want to go with:
Acorn squash wedges with apples maple syrup and cinnamon. and
Honey Peppered turnips
Grilled veggie platter - peppers, portobello mushrooms, zucchini slices, sweet potato slices, onions slices
Roasted string beans & brussel sprouts with onions and chopped garlic. I must serve this. They've just got to see how good simple veggies can be. I was also thinking roasted asparagus.

Then I want to serve a couple more salads as side dishes:

cucumber, mango, red onion salad with cilantro and lime
Red cabbage salad with red wine vinegar, shredded carrots, scallions, slivered almonds and craisins.
Roasted grape tomatoes with garlic and basil

Dessert will be poached pears in wine and raspberry sauce.
I would like to serve a second dessert. Would love your thoughts.

Any suggestions. On any aspect of this. HELP!!!!!!!!

IT all sounds sooooooooooowonderful. I would go with the greenbeans and the cucumbers. If you are serving the chicken with mushrooms then avoid the grilled veggie platter with mushrooms. Just a thought.

and please, set another place for me.....

make that 2 place settings. Sounds wonderful.
Will they bring dessert? If so don't make a second one.
Have fun

Can I come too?

Acorns squash wedges and grilled vegetables, please. 6 o'clock or so? I'll be there!

I think I can cut the grilled veggies (sorry Midwife). And maybe, maybe the grape tomatoes with basil and garlic (?). And no, they wouldn't DARE bring dessert. No, no, no. But I would like to make something else. I thought of individual molten chocolate cakes with whipped cream. I could safely make just enough for everyone where I wouldn't have to have one (this is not a splurge weekend for me, had one last weekend), BUT I don't want the in-laws to think that I HAVE to serve chocolate cake-y things, so I am still undecided about this. I bet Amanda would have an idea about another dessert.

And you have no idea how I'd love to have all my 3FC friends over for dinner. So trust me, you're not scaring me!

For dessert...core apples, place in pam sprayed baking pan...sprinkle with splenda brown sugar or your sweetner of choice..honey..and cinnamon. bake till tender. YUM tastes like apple pie without the crust.

Yes. I do something similar all the time. I core the apples and in the center I place raisins, cinnamon, chopped walnuts, SF maple syrup and bake in a pan of which I place about an inch of water and cover with foil. We eat this every week in fact and I DO serve it for company - but - I am serving the acorn squash wedges with apples. I feel they are too similar. I thought about forgoing the squash just so I COULD serve the bakes apples, but I really want them to try, know and LOVE acorn squash.

What kinds of desserts do they like? Might be nice to make an awesome version of one of their favorites.

So then you don't feel the poached pears are enough? And that the souffles are too much???

Maybe a sherbet of some time type??? They do like ice cream...

I'm voting for the red cabbage salad. And I want a 3FC dinner party - everyone talks about such tasty things they are making!

My sister made a lemon violet sorbet for Thanksgiving a few years back and it was AMAZING and a great end to dinner. I think this is a recipe.... Lemon violet sorbet

Here are my thoughts . . .

Side dishes -- ditch the turnips, turnips are boring compared to squash. Ditch the grilled veggies because grilled veggies, while tasty, are boring and not particularly "special." Serve the acorn squash and the brussels sprouts.

The salads:
Do the red cabbage salad, it sounds like it will fit well with the menu. The others don't sound like they would match the rest of your menu to me, since they are more summery and it is fall.

Dessert:
Even before I saw your other post I was thinking some sort of very dark chocolate cake would be a great second dessert. A molten one or a flourless one. It would go great with the pears!

Jessica, I hear what you're saying about the boring stuff. But I want them to see the elegant stuff AND the EVERYDAY stuff. The ez-shmeazy simple every day foods. That they don't have to eat potatoes, rice and pasta. And it wasn't necessarily an either / or. If I have leftovers we can eat them during the week. I may ditch the tomato salad. But I definitely want to make the cucumber mango salad, it's simple and different - oh sheesh. I just remembered my FIL is highly allergic to mango. Darn. I already bought two of them.. Shoot. Now I've got these two gorgeous huge mangoes sitting here.... Oh well, whatever.

The desserts: Thanks for the lemon recipe, but I don't have a ice cream maker. Maybe I will just make those molten cakes. They are FABULOUS and a real show stopper...