Fantastic Birthday Dinner for 19 People!
My mother recently celebrated her 86th birthday. It’s an incredible achievement to reach such a milestone and still lead an active life. She cherishes spending time with her loved ones and exploring new destinations. In honor of her special day, my siblings and I organized a gathering for her closest friends and family. Initially, we anticipated hosting 12 guests, but ultimately, the dinner party included 19 individuals, a testament to how much she is loved and appreciated.
The following meal plan was created trying to do most everything ahead, and without her knowledge…we wanted it to be a surprise. However, Miss Snoopy-nose was getting into everything! So we didn’t pull off a surprise party, but we were able to maintain a few surprises. We had a few surprise guests and the exact menu was not revealed. However, once again, I must say, it is not about gourmet food (however, this was delicious) and exquisite decorations. It is all about providing a place for gathering and a warm and hospitable environment. It was a BLAST and she and the guests loved every minute of it. These folks prefer to be home by 7:30, yet they didn’t leave until 10:00!
My sister and I both worked on this party from about 9 until 4. We did all of the shopping, set the tables, created flower arrangements from the fall gardens and set the table for the ever-changing guest count. This required the majority of the time. So, in total, this party required about 14 hours of work. If we hadn’t been trying to keep it a secret, we could have done much of this in advance. So I won’t try to show you how to maintain the workflow as I usually do, other than basics.
Menu
Brookies – two versions, semi-homemade brookies or homemade Brookies The first recipe is from half scratched.com and the second is from preppie kitchen.com
Timeline for Success
Three days ahead- set table and get out serving dishes.Think about flowers and decorations. Purchase anything you may need. Place order for food or food shop.
Two days ahead- Bake cake, Brookies, toast coconut and almonds for Aloha dip, bake potatoes, roast beets, make aloha dip base and refrigerate, bake bacon for potatoes, mix potato stuffing ingredients, marinate beef, make salad dressing.
Early Day of- Fluff house. Check for TP, rinse toilets, etc. Stuff potato shells with mixture, prepare broccoli for roasting. Assemble salad WITHOUT the dressing. Plate desserts and cover, plate Aloha Shrimp Dip, but keep cooled until serving.
Just before- Add crackers to appetizer and set out. Put twice baked potatoes back in oven to heat and melt cheese. Roast meat on grill. Roast broccoli. Toss salad. Rest then cut meat. Serve.
Recipes
Aloha Shrimp Dip
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup coconut
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1/2 cup green onion
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 pound fresh shrimp
- 8 ounces chutney
Instructions
- Spread the almonds and coconut on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring once. Combine the cream cheese, sour cream and curry powder in a bowl and mix until smooth. Stir in the green onions, raisins and shrimp. Shape into a ball and place on a serving plate. Spoon the chutney over the top and sprinkle with the almonds and coconut.
Bourbon Beef Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 1 cup bourbon
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup soy sauce
- 1 bunch cilantro leaves chopped
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups water
- 3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves chopped
- 1 5-pound beef tenderloin, silver connective tissue removed
- Oil to brush grill
Instructions
- Preheat grill or oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare marinade by combining the bourbon, brown sugar, soy sauce, cilantro, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, water, and thyme in a bowl. Make sure the tenderloin has been cleaned and the tissues has been removed. Fold the tail end of the beef back underneath itself so that it is of uniform thickness and secure with butcher’s string. Place meat in a dish and pour marinade over meat, cover, and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours, or up to overnight, turning meat over several times.
- When grill is ready, place meat on oiled surface and reserve the liquid from the marinade. Cook over high heat with lid closed, turning meat often and occasionally basting with the marinade. Cook for approximately 25 minutes for medium rare.
- Serve with horseradish cream on the side.
Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 small russet potatoes
- ½ cup buttermilk or milk
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon sliced chives or green onions
- 6 pieces of bacon cooked crisp and chopped or 3 tablespoons bacon bits
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash potatoes and poke with a fork. Bake potatoes in oven 1 hour or microwave until soft. Allow to cool slightly.
- Slice each potato in ½ lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp of the potato leaving a ⅛” shell.
- In a bowl, mash potatoes, sour cream, butter, garlic powder, salt and pepper until smooth. Add butter milk as needed to create a creamy texture. Stir in chives, bacon and 3/4 cup cheddar cheese.
- Fill each skin with the mashed potato filling and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake 15-20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
Fall Salad
Ingredients
- 8-12 cups of mixed greens
- 2 large yellow beets roasted and chopped
- 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds toasted and lightly salted
- 1/2 cup candied pecans
Dressing:
- 1 package Good Seasons dressing mix
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
- To Prepare Beets: Wash beets. Cut tops and bottoms off of beets. Cut a piece of aluminum foil about 2 feet long for each beet. Place one beet on piece of aluminum foil drizzle 1-2 tbsp. olive oil on beet and rub surface of beet wrap the beet in the aluminum foil and place in a baking pan. Repeat with second beet. Roast at 400 degrees for an hour and fifteen minutes. Let cool. Once cool, peel skin off of beets and chop into bite size cubes.
- Dressing: combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to incorporate. Alternatively, you can mix it in a dressing cruet because you may have extra dressing left over, depending on how much dressing you prefer.
- Toss all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add about 2/3 of the dressing. (or as much as you prefer)
Roasted Broccoli
Ingredients
- 12 ounces broccoli florets
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Meyer lemons halved, optional
- Red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the broccoli florets and lemon halves on the baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread evenly on the baking sheet.
- Roast 15 to 22 minutes or until browned around the edges. Squeeze a little lemon juice onto the broccoli and sprinkle with red pepper flakes, if desired.
Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 315g
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar¹ firmly packed 200g
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup cooking oil use canola avocado, or vegetable oil (235ml)
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted 113g
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups grated carrots² peel before grating 340g
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional 125g
- Cream Cheese Frosting³
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter softened (113g)
- 8 oz cream cheese softened brick-style, not spreadable (226g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar 500g
- Recommended Equipment
- 2 8 ” round cake pans see notes for using different sized pans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare two 8-inch pans⁴ (see note for using different sized pans) by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly greasing and flouring the sides.
- In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Add your canola oil and melted butter and stir well (batter will be pretty stiff and thick at this point, I usually use an electric mixer or my stand mixer to combine everything nicely).
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Stir in carrots and nuts (if using) until ingredients are well-combined.
- Evenly divide carrot cake batter into prepared baking pans and bake on 350F (175C) for 40 minutes (toothpick inserted in center should come out mostly clean with only few moist crumbs).
- Allow cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert onto cooling rack to cool completely.
- Allow cake to cool completely before covering with cream cheese frosting.
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy, well-combined, and lump-free.
- Add vanilla extract and sprinkle salt into the bowl and stir well to combine.
- With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until ingredients are completely combined (be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula).
- Once your cake has cooled completely, cover with frosting.