Sunday, the 29th, with the Lechlers

Well, here we go with a big Sunday with the Lechlers on Sunday the 29th of May. Two graduates, Matt and Nate, will be celebrating with family and friends here on Cooke Rd. So far we expect from fifty to seventy people, the exact count is impossible to discern. So far I have several dishes ready in the freezer...things that freeze and reheat well. We have three large tables with snow white cloth covers starting to fill up with flatware, china plates and cloth napkins. It is an all day, two meal affair with people coming and going from 1:00 to around 10:00- or 10:30. (That's about the length of my hospitality after cooking, cleaning and preparing all week.) The evening meal will be a grilled affair with David, my son, at the grill--I don't do grill. So far in the freezer: spicy chicken meatballs in BQ sauce, tiny riblets also in BQ sauce, lasagna, company potatoes, goulash, wide noodle casserole with chicken, rice and zesty sausage casserole, reunion casserole.

I am expecting to do ten salads such as potato salad, grape salad, fresh fruit salad, large multi-mix green salad, sliced tomatoes with mozzarella and basil with olive oil and salt and pepper, pasta salad, bean salad, cheese and fruit platter,and a large antipasta platter.

For the grilled dinner we will have rib steaks, hamburgers, brats, hot dogs and left over salads from earlier along with a fresh green salad.

For dessert I am doing three of the Hawaiian cakes, or Glenda's cake, as I call it. I have put the recipe on when I did Alyssa's graduation party. It is still the best and my favorite refreshing cake. (It would be in the May or June blog from last year.)

There will be all day grazing, swimming, tennis, games, visiting and fun in general. Can't wait. Love to have parties here. I will have pictures on the blog as time goes on.

Here is a recipe I am definitely trying for this gig. It is practically all men coming with a sprinkling of ladies, so the food is more macho than I usually do.

Ten Minute Chilaquiles (Tried it and it is really good. You can fix the sauce early and then just before popping it in the oven assemble it so the corn chips remain firm.) I am having three hepers, so they can do this part for me and then serve it hot.
Ingredients
The sauce:
1 cup salsa (preferably medium hot)
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
1 (14-ounce) can pinto or kidney beans, rinsed well in a strainer
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
The fixings:
1 (11-ounce) bag corn chips (about 8 cups)
1 cup sour cream
2 cups grated Monterey Jack
2 tablespoons minced cilantro, optional
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a large bowl. Pour half the sauce into a shallow 2 1/2-quart (12 by 7 by 2-inch) baking dish, and top with half the corn chips. You can crumble the chips slightly to make an even layer. Drop little spoonfuls of half the sour cream all over the chips, then sprinkle on half the cheese. Top with the remaining chips, sauce, sour cream, and cheese.

Bake 35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly around the edges. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the cilantro and serve. You can cut it into squares and serve using a spatula, or use a large spoon to scoop out the chilaquiles.

Cook's Note: Some packaged corn chips are very salty. Look on the back of the bag for the sodium content and choose a brand that has no more than 110 milligrams of sodium per serving. These will be the most flavorful corn chips and won't be overly salty to eat or use in the casserole.

For advance preparation: Make the sauce up to a few hours ahead and lay out all the other ingredients. Don't assemble chilaquiles, however, until the last minute so the corn chips retain a tiny bit of texture when baked.

There are many variations of Potatoes Anna and I have made many of them. I used to laugh as Martha Stewart poured lavish streams of butter on each layer of potatoes stacked in concentric circles,all the while claiming the dish was not too fattening. Well, it is, and she knows it and knew it then. Nonetheless, Potatoes Anna will appear on one of the tables at the party.

This is a custard type of day. With all of the cooking and the hundreds of custard recipes on the Internet, this item hits the spot for me. Custard is so simple, yet pretty.