About 9 months ago my daughter had an allergic reaction to something.  She had a severe rash and an asthma attact.  We took her to the doctor and after treating the symptoms decided to remove wheat and dairy from her diet.  That meant absolutely no more of her Dad’s favorite dessert Tres Leches (at least not for her).  It was a very hard thing for me since I believed that either wheat or dairy or both were in everything.  But it was a very good experience for me working in the food industry because I have a much greater understanding for allergies now.  It was also very helpful to make dinners at Dream Dinners because it made it easy to make small substitutions to our dinners ahead of time so I didn’t have to prepare a seperate dinners for Ryan and myself and Reagan.  Since we discovered she may have a food alergy I have done some research on the topic as well, I read a very informative pamphlet from The National Institutes of Health about Food Allergies.  I was especially interested in the section that talked about how children can grow out of food allergies and that individuals usually react to foods they eat often.  Anyway, we are going to the doctor on Friday to have her tested and see if we need to continue eliminating both wheat and dairy or if it is something else entirely so I decided to write a post and have you all wish me luck.  Thanks

My daughter is very opinionated about food.  She is not a picky eater in the sense that she wont eat certain things but she definately thinks she can eat what she wants when she wants.  Last night for instance Ryan had a bunch of friends over for a Halo Party (for those of you who don’t have video gamers for husbands they hook up as many TV’s as they can in one location and they all play video games and “Save the Universe” together).  One of the guys that came over brought some Pizza.  I had just finished making dinner (Herb Crusted Flank Steak, Garlic Chalet Veggies, and Jasmine Rice) for the girls but she kept saying she wanted Pizza. 

This made me think back on alot of stuff I have reading lately about the eating habits of kids today.  Here are just of few of my favorites

“Only three percent of kids’ meals offered at fast food restaurants meet federal dietary guidelines for nutrient quality” Supermarket Guru

“Over a year’s time, a child can pack on 6 extra pounds because of high fast food consumption, writes researcher Shanthy A. Bowman, PhD, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Bellsville, Md” Web MD

“Their central finding was that while children who ate more of the above (fast food)were more likely to be overweight, they were also less likely to report being unhappy.”  parenting.blogs.nytimes.com  This last one was my favorite because it shocked me a little but the article made some interesting points that while we should make sure our kids eat healthy its ok to let them have a french fry every now and then. 

But back to my observation.  I think McDonalds and other fastfood restaurants have help create the so called “picky eater”.  Just think about when you go to a restaraunt, and I don’t just mean fast food, everyone orders something different from the menu.  Everytime we take our kids out to eat we allow them to choose what they want.  Then when we make dinner and they think the same rules apply and they tell us they don’t want what we made they want something else we wonder why or even get upset at them.

Just some food for thought.  I for one will still be going out to eat but I need to rethink my parenting tactics a little so I don’t contradict myself.

It was great to see a lot of our guest after our Crazy December Promotion.  We had a great Holiday Break.  Jean got to go on her second cruise of the year and I got to take a long weekend in California and Vegas.  If you missed this one thats OK because our January Menu is amazing no matter what you choose.  Dream Dinners signiture Herb Crusted Flank Steak that will make all your neighbors salivate when they catch the sent of you grilling it up.  My all time favorite, Orangey Asian Chicken.  Jean can’t pick she likes this menu so much and can’t narrow it down from 6 dinners.  My husband Ryan wants me to make the Smokehouse Ribs everynight.  But the ones that were voted favorite at the tasting were

Guest’s Choice: Jeweled Chicken Pinwheels

Employee Choice:  Pub Style Chicken with Mashed Potatoes

Kid’s Choice:  Cheesy Chicken & Rice

Owners Choice:  Undecided (we have been debating since Wed)

Right now everyone is thinking of ways to cut costs and save money.  However, we are all busy and to most of us time is money.  So I pose the question, Does Convient have to equal expensive.  I will answer no, at this in the case of Dream Dinners.  I know many of you have been driving home from a long day at work and thought how easy it would be to stop and get take out or run into the local grocery store and pick up dinner ready to go and then decided not to just because it is cheaper to make something at home.  Thats why I love that on my busiest days I can still have a convient dinner ready in less than a half hour and still save money.

Today’s Special Dinner is the Lemon Chicken Piccata.  It takes 23 min from fridge to table and when you make it ahead of time at Dream Dinners you save  $2.25 on dinner for 3, not to mention the ammount you would have to spend because you can’t buy just one tablespoon of red peppers or 1/4 teaspoon of thyme at the grocery store.

Column One is the cost for the ammount used in the recipe

Column Two is the cost for the ammount you have to buy at the store

Lemon Chicken Picatta 

                             One        Two

Chicken                 6.64        14.59

Thyme                   .10          3.99

Chives                   .37          .99

Capers                   1.50        2.99

Artichokes             1.80        3.59

Garlic                     .53          4.49

Chicken Broth         .89          .89

Red Peppers         .33          5.29

Lemon Juice          .30          1.29

Olive Oil                 .25          6.99

Pepper                  .02          2.59

Salt                         .01          ?

                           $12.74     $47.69

On sale – Chives, Chicken Broth, and Olive Oil – 2 different stores

Can save 8 cents by using a fresh red pepper,                                                                 but won’t have the same roasted marinated flavor

Dream Dinners price $10.49 ($2.25 difference)

Excess grocery – 34.95

We invited Spark Restaurant to help us throw Mocktail December Menu Launch! It was a huge hit.  We served some amazing dinners including my favorite The Mango Chutney Chicken and Sparks Signature Virgin Apple Martini.   It was a fun way to kick off the holiday season.  It was also great to see all of you that came.  We are so busy in December and because of our “Free Assembly and Delivery Special” we don’t get to see as many of our guests as we usually do.  We will miss seeing you but have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Guest’s Choice: Turkey Medallions with Savory Cranberry Sauce

Employee Choice:  Build Your Own Calzones

Kid’s Choice:  Chicken with Honey Garlic and Orange

Owners Choice:  Mango Chutney Chicken

Thanks to everyone who made 2009 a wonderful year at Orem Dream Dinners.  We have some exciting things planned in 2010 both for the store and for this blog so keep your eyes and ears open and Thanks again!

Party Planning Checklist:

 One week or more in advance

Paper Product calculations are assessed on a per person basis.
Example: 18 guests, 36 dinner plates.

•  
  • 2 dinner plates per person
  • 1 dessert plate per person and one appetizer plate if serving the dip separately
  • 3 forks per person
  • 1 knife per person
  • 3 beverage napkins per person or 2 dinner napkins per person
  • 3 beverage cups per person

Beverage calculations need to be assessed by evaluating who is attending your event, but as a standard rule, this can help.

For 18 guests:

•  
  • 4 2-liter bottles of soda or 2 cans per person
  • Bottled water 2 per person
  • If doing a punch 8 liters of liquid total

One Day Before

• Purchase any perishable items including greens for salads, fruit, flowers and ice.
• Clean and Decorate the party space

Day of Timeline:

• Your day of timeline will be determined by number the of guests and time of service.  Remember to always finish with the following two items.
  • Take the last few minutes to place everything on the table and take a breath.
  • Enjoy the Party

With a little help from Dream Dinners and a few family members or close friends you can host a fantastic holiday party!

Dream Dinners has a booth at the Chocolate Show at the South Town Expo Center this weekend and I have been asked to do one of the 30 minute cooking segments.  Everyone else there will be making delicious deserts so I decided to do something a little different.  I will be teaching a class on using cocoa in savory recipes.  I decided to share a couple of the recipes I like.  I will be doing a demo of the Pork Tenderloin at the show on Saturday at 2pm so if you want to stop by please come and support me.

Here are a few things I will highlight.

What chocolate brings to savory dishes is complexity and depth. The cocoa butter brings texture and mouthfeel, and the cocoa solids bring color and richness. A chef can choose a chocolate for a dish much in the same way they chooses a wine to cook or pair with a food.

Adding cocoa to savory dishes is a great way to get the benefits of chocolate without all the fat and sugar usually found in sweet chocolate-based treats.   Cocoa can act as a thickener, and is a great addition to sauces and glazes. A small amount of cocoa can go a long way in savory dishes made with chocolate. 

Cocoa Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

• 1  Tbsp whole white peppercorns
• 1  Tbsp whole coriander
• 4 1/2 Tbsp  cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 3 1/2  Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 4  Tbsp kosher salt
• 2 (2-pound) pork tenderloins
• 2  Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, toast white peppercorns and coriander seeds until they begin to pop. Remove from heat and grind to fine powder in a spice mill or coffee grinder. Mix the ground pepper and coriander with remaining spices, cocoa and salt.

Rub pork with a generous amount of the cocoa spice rub. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Sear each tenderloin on all sides until a rich brown color, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove tenderloins from heat and finish in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Let the tenderloins rest out of the oven for at least 10 minutes before carving.

Slow Cooked Beef Stew

• 2  Tbsp olive oil
• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2  Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 pound button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 cup diced yellow onions
• 3  Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3 cups beef broth
• 2  Tbsp tomato paste
• 2  Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp basil
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 2 cups diced potatoes (1 in cubes)
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery

Set a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan add the beef and sear all sides.  Transfer the browned beef to a large plate or bowl and set aside.

Add the butter to the pan and, once melted, add the mushrooms and saute until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the onions to the pan and cook until wilted, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the flour to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the broth, tomato paste, cocoa powder, thyme, oregano, basil, allspice, and browned meat to the pan and bring  to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook the stew for 45 minutes. Remove the lid, add the potatoes, carrots and celery and continue to cook the stew for another hour.   Serve Hot.

November always makes me think of  the delicious smells of stuffing, turkey, warm bread, and apples.  YUMMM!  Last night at our Menu Launch there were even more delicious November food smells.  It is a great month to come in and see us.  Dream Dinners offers a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner Solution whether you are in charge of everything or just one dish we can help you make it memorable.  One of our guest who got it last year said it was the Best Thanksgiving she has ever had.  We have some great dinners for entertaining this month like the Crowd Pleasing Teriyaki Meatballs and the Crispy Coconut Chicken that can be done on skewers for the perfect appetizer.  

There was some tough competition this month but here are the winners

Guests Choice: Teriyaki Meatballs

Owners Choice: Crispy Coconut Chicken

Employee Choice: Fiesta Shredded Beef

Kids Choice: Chicken Parmigiana

Come in and get some delicious freezer dinners this month so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time at the dinner table with your family (or out Christmas Shopping). 

Mark your calendars for Wed Dec 2.  Our December Menu Launch is going to not only offer some delicious food but a festive Mocktail Bar and some great Entertaining and Gift Ideas.  Make sure to come and see us between 4-7pm

I absolutely LOVE Halloween!  I love dressing up, I love decorating, I love parties, I love candy, I love scary movies.  My husband and I have been throwing a Halloween Bash every year since we got married.  Saturday was our fourth party and I would venture to say the best yet (so all of you who decided to go to the BYU game instead really missed out).  We have a soup bar, lots of things to dip including the Famous Mahoney Queso, and yummy desserts.  We have a very competitive Costume Contest, Bobbing for Apples with a record setting pace of 3 apples in 2.89 seconds, and the infamous Fear Factor.  My husband physics himself out every year before Fear Factor and nothing ever stays down, I will admit live crickets this year made it a little difficult to eat everything on your plate.  And finally we finish out the night with Karaoke as long as our voices last.  It really was a lot of fun and I had to write this post so I could share some great pictures of the three things that this blog is about: Food, Family (our friends are our family) and Fun.  ENJOY

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SLIDE-SHOW

Reagan loves to help me in the kitchen.  One night I decided to let her help “season” her dads dinner.  We did Dream Dinners Thai Beef Kabobs the lazy way just throwing them in a skillet on the stove top, no grill or skewers involed.  Not quite as pretty but just as delicious.  She loved shaking the empty spice containers into the beef.  She really thought she was being a big helper and it was a lot of fun.  I can’t wait until she is a little older and I don’t have to worry as much about her accidentally getting burned.

Click here to see the cute video from my phone dinner-for-daddy