Making a Dinner Menu: The Menu, tips, advice and ideas.

I love to cook. But I don't always have time. I have found tho that staying on top of these at home chef skills help me keep my edge both in my business and as a mom.

Here is a recent selection I put together for a meeting of friends at my home. After getting any food allergies and cultural preferences down, I pulled from my repertoire of everyday yummy meals I can easily kick up to fancy.

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My friend who knew both guests helped me make some selections.

I always offer a meat and a fish. Sides are usually vegetarian to appease anyone eating light or vegetarian. I don't tend to serve basic salads (lettuce and veggies) unless its our summer block party and Im feeding 50+ people. 

My little secret: everyone thinks I worked all day and magically whipped together a multi course meal in 2 hours. Thats Not the case. 

My soups can be made ahead, up to 2 days (and taste better if the flavors meld over at least a day).

Meats can marinate a day ahead, and be popped in the over with little handling. Or a slow cooker will do the trick with pulled pork or braised beef dishes.

I love fresh ingredients- but I am a mom, who works. So i have learned how to freshen canned goods. Black beans are rinsed and simmered in onions, garlic and peppers, or my homemade frozen cubes of sofrito. Beets get sliced and a squeeze of lime. Mandarins don't need extra love because they absorb the flavors they are presented with. This also goes for pre-sliced servings or shredded carrots versus my doing the sou chef work. Nearly everything can be bought convenient style. Butternut squash, comes frozen and cubed - easy peezy goodness.

"Black beans are rinsed and simmered in onions, garlic and peppers, or my homemade frozen cubes of sofrito."

In this same tone, raw ingredients are served fresh, always. Fresh bread- greek style is excellent for table service. With that our local market has Amish and Polish butter where the flavor comes thru in every schmear. Soften butter at room temp for 15 mins before serving. A fancy plate and butter knife helps make it appealing.

Desserts like flan are a make ahead must, needing time to cool. And bought ice cream is easily topped with frozen fruits and sugar, heated in a sauce pan for an easy compote!

Starters of course can be slices before guests arrive. I save time by opening all my cheese packages in advance and store in an air tight container. That saves 15-20 minutes easily when guest arrival is approaching. The same goes for rinsing grapes when they arrive at home. Get it done and forget it. (Also dried fruits can replace fresh, so I always have a bag in the pantry just in case.) these time savers let you have those extra moments for pouring wine and resting as you wait for guests.

"Dried fruits can replace fresh, so I always have a bag in the pantry just in case. These time savers let you have those extra moments for pouring wine and resting as you wait for guests."

So now: Open container, slice cheeses, arrange pre-washed fruit. Replace in container and display. Open crackers, pour into basket. Done. Wine please.

Dinner for the Great Meeting: 

Hows arrival around 4:30? 

These are my specialties. Happy Selecting. 

Dinner Served Family Style

Starters:

- Cheeses, grapes, and baguette slices and those target crackers ;-)

Table Starter:

- Red Beets and Spinach salad with mandarins and a balsamic reduction.

Pick a Soup: (served with Greek Bread and Polish Butter)

- cup of soup: corn chowder w or w out shrimp 

- OR Butternut squash

- or seafood soup (sopa de mariscos).

Babcias Pierogi will be served w sour cream.

Pick 1 an additional entree...:

French-ish

- Shrimp Creole: shrimp saute in red tomatoe sauce with veggies and creole -not spicy- seasoning. Served over white Jasmine Rice. Siraha sauce or tabasco on the side.

Mexican Style -

- Fajitas with lotsa of veggies mixed peppers, onions. And served with a variety plate of seared steak, chicken and shrimp.

Toppings on table: sour cream, cheese (fresco or cojito), cilantro, etc.

Or Soft shell Tilapia Tacos.

Same toppings as above.

Guatemala:

Tostadas Guate style - a make your own fun light meal.

Make your own tostada; Layer onto a Crispy tortillas:

1. 1 spoon of this Veggie base: red beets, carrots, green beans, diced and cooked.

2. toppings at the table: ground beef, onions (raw), mexican cojito or fresco cheese, boiles egg slices, lime weges, sour cream.

3. Sauces: dallop of tabasco, horseradish, (even wasabi - not true to the original dish).

4. Enjoy over a plate! 

Pick your 1 starch and 1 veggie:

- Baked rosemary garlic red potatoes (or fingerlings if I can find them!)

- green beans sauteed & lightly breaded,

- tri-color carrots in sweet glaze

- black beans and rice (Puerto Rican Style, made with a homemade sofrito base).

*if you pick tostada I recommend rice, and black beans will be served on the side. Tostada really is an all in one kind of meal.

Desserts

- Drink: Eisewine (Icewine) and Djadeks (grandpas) wine

Small servings of a variety of: 

- Homemade Flan

- Homemade Crepes with Nutella or Butter and Sugar

- or custard ice cream served with a compote fruit reduction, berry mix. Or mango.

- expresso, or americano, served with pan warmed milk (light froth) for  coffees or blooming flower green tea.

         ### 

Can't wait to see what you pick!!

Leaving Shin Yokohama. These are Fantastic Dinner Options

Posted by Joanne Klee,
Consultant | Principal
JK Marketing and Events

Comment Below on what you THE READER would select...

Management Script, showflow, timeline and run through for your event. Campaign management "on the same page." Single Day or Multy Day Plan.

If you are a detailed person, someone who organically can sense what's needs to happen next in the day, in order to arrive at a complete show by the end of the weekend then you can manage being an Event Manager. And you still need an excellent format for managing multiple layers and moving pieces. And if details aren't your savvy, then there are resources and templates I can provide to help you.

"It's an extraordinary feeling having 27,000 page views. There is a need for this service we provide."

Excellence in Service and Providing you with solutions to meet your needs, that is my niche. That is WHO I AM... but it is not WHAT I DO. I connect to clients. It is the all mighty Marketing SEO Desire, to not only reach our clients, but connect with them. It's an extraordinary feeling being an independent consultant and experiencing 27,000 page views for a document I've provided. 

Like these posts? SEE MORE at our New Blog Home JoanneKleeMarketing/Insights

"The professional touch and customer service is what goes above and beyond what the clients need for the project." 

Customers want their projects completed efficiently, on time and and budget. The professional touch and customer service is what goes above and beyond what they need done. I am not giving away any competitive advantage by selling documents online that I use in business. But this is one of my secrets to success. Managing all details in one timeline, for a one-day event or a product campaign happening over multiple days.

Selling documents is providing a service to the customer I have not met yet, the customer who needs to supplement their project. And if I can provide that tool, or template, then that;s another way to provide One Stop Solutions. And I am happy to help.

"Make this show flow timeline your own, with your added flair and touch to it."

So it's time for the project launch. I have been on many Marketing Projects where it's campaign weekend and many moving parts needed to happen. That's when this file breathed life. It is sort of a living file because it is always changing. Details are modified, events added, some last minute touches can always be found. Make this showflow timeline your own, with your added flair and touch to it. 


After having worked on countless events and campaign launches, this is still my go to document to manage 1-day to several days of activities. It can be your too.

Event Planner Sample Event Script, Timeline, Run Through Thru and Stage Directions for a MC Emcee by Joanne Stadnicki Klee

These documents are BOTH from ACTUAL Client events which I produced and staged. 
There are ideas you haven't seen. These are by far one of the best ways to put everyone on the client end "on the same page." Any and all committee questions are answered:

WHEN are the deliveries?

WHO is introducing the Emcee?

WHO is Introducing the Foundation President?

DID we remember to script his EARLY CAREER AWARD?


Any an all questions are addressed in an easy to scan thru layout.

Another version is also available here.

Event Planner Event Program Timeline Show Flow Run Through Thru Emcee MC by Joanne Stadnicki Klee

Managing timelines, so you don't have too

Visit my scribd store at scribd.com/jk_marketing I am here to help you and ensure success.

From the Everyday to the Extraordinary...

Joanne

Posted by Joanne Kleé, 

Owner | Consultant

Joanne Klee Marketing & Events

Service Excellence | Detailed | One Stop Solutions

NEW! joannekleemarketing.com
joanne@joannekleemarketing.com 

Come meet me where you are:Twitter | Facebook | WebSite | Blog

Google+ | Reviews | Linkedin 

Scribd Business Document Store

Remember to Say THANK YOU to Everyone, Include Sponsors, Vendors, And Associates

Remember that last Marketing Program where the Sponsors said it was one of their best campaigns? Those Sponsors are the happiest of customers. And then,... when it was all over... did you say thanks?

One of the best ways to stand out in business is following those simple Golden Rules of Service.

• SAY THANK YOU
• Location, Location, Location
• and Always Put the Customer First (notice it's not the "always right bit.)

Customers take up two of the three rules. Because without customers we DO NOT HAVE a business. Who would you sell too? Saying thank you is so simple, yet so easy to forget. In my new client checklist a thank you note is a part of the white glove approach I use with customers. They don't have to choose my consulting service, and I know they will be happy with it. But I want them to feel the appreciation. 

Say THANK YOU to those that Make It Happen!

Like these posts? SEE MORE at our New Blog Home JoanneKleeMarketing/Insights

Ah! There is another Marketing piece of cold. Making an Emotional Connection with clients HOW CAN I DO THAT? It really is simpler than you think. Saying thank you goes a tremendously long way. 

So you can't think of what to write, in a pro letter or simple notecard. Here you go, all written for you, and you can make EZ changes to make it your own.

Saying Thank you - It doesn't Hurt.

"There is another Marketing piece of cold. Making an Emotional Connection with clients. It really is simpler than you think."

This document is one of my most popular. The wording is concise and simple. The message is clear: Thank you.

Event Sponsor Thank You Letter Fundraiser or Sponsorship by Joanne Stadnicki Klee

Visit my Scribd Store for more Marketing and Event Related Documents. Custom document requests accepted. 

Let's make your business grow! 

The other way to find this Thank You Letter is in the COMPLETE SPONSORSHIP PLANNING KIT, it has all you planning needs for a successful event or campaign.

From the Everyday to the Extraordinary...

Joanne

Posted by Joanne Kleé, 

Owner | Consultant

Joanne Klee Marketing & Events

Service Excellence | Detailed | One Stop Solutions

NEW! joannekleemarketing.com
joanne@joannekleemarketing.com 

Come meet me where you are:Twitter | Facebook | WebSite | Blog

Google+ | Reviews | Linkedin 

Scribd Business Document Store

Clients Can tell you what you do well. Testimonials A La Carte

Remember that last project? You navigated so many details efficiently and quickly. The client was thrilled and you are on to new projects....errr WAIT! 

STOP! You Can Grow your Business Brand.

Building a business takes expertise and ability. Which you have. It also needs advertising to grow. When have you last advertised? When did you last talk with previous clients about potential future business? 



THE TESTIMONIAL

Okay, it is not the newest concept in Marketing, but it is a quick and easy tool to continue building you brand. 

"Building a business takes expertise and ability. It also needs advertising to grow."

Like these posts? SEE MORE at our New Blog Home JoanneKleeMarketing/Insights


ASK Clients for a quote. What did I do exceptionally well when we last worked together?

ASK Customers if you would refer my business, what would you tell the person in 1-2 sentences? 

ASK Associates how did my work help you? Can you put it in a sentence?

Nurture the Client Relationship, they will thank you. 

Asking for the compliment can seems awkward. But when positioned as a testimonial to help your business, it stays about the business that you provide. The services that you exceed in. 

ASK FOR THE TESTIMONIAL about YOU. 

Need a quick format to lay into a postcard or email. Here it is...

Event Planner Client Request Letter to Use a Quote from Thank you Letter Relationship Manager by Joanne Stadnicki Klee

Click through to my Scribd Document Store for more files like these...

From the Everyday to the Extraordinary...

Joanne

Posted by Joanne Kleé, 

Owner | Consultant

Joanne Klee Marketing & Events

Service Excellence | Detailed | One Stop Solutions

NEW! joannekleemarketing.com
joanne@joannekleemarketing.com 

Come meet me where you are:Twitter | Facebook | WebSite | Blog

Google+ | Reviews | Linkedin 

Scribd Business Document Store

Where, When and WHAT of Event Planning. The Budget isn't a dirty wordand other tips.

Budget shouldn't be a dirty word. And occasionally we see it as a dreaded subject to tackle instead of as a guide. Don't squirm when talking money. You are planning an amazing event and the money is yours to spend as you see fit. Accordingly we need to respect what your budget is and operate within your lifestyle and finances.There are so many resources available for your to start the budget planning process, use the planning spreadsheets and checklists you find. Then use these few additional tips to help you keep your perspective when planning your event.

Remember: Your event will be an amazing day spent with the people you choose to celebrate with. We can make the rest of these details fall into place. * Do consider, hiring an event manager for managing as much as you can afford. As you run through these tips, realize it's just the top of the mountain. Event planning has lots of components that require expertise. Let the professional handle those pieces so you can enjoy your day. Happy Reading!

Where, When, Who and How?


Where: are you hosting at home or a venue? A restaurant or a garden party? Do they have in house catering or will we bring in a kitchen? These factors will determine the baseline for your budget. Pick something that "feels" like what you love. The rest of the factors will fall into place. Perhaps you MUST Have a certain Mediterranean caterer work your event. Then start with them, and back into dates based on their availability and venues that fit their style of food and service.

"Pick something that 'feels' like what you love."

When: Are you tied to a specific date or will your date be flexible based on the venue availability?

I never understood why all the event / wedding planning templates are structured on a 12 month schedule. Clearly there is not a fixed planning period. Note tho, that the most date flexibility simply comes from advanced planning. More dates will be available to you.

Seasonality plays a role in event price and date availability as well. Indoor and outdoor plans can be affected by inclement weather. So a rain plan might need to be added at a cost. And simple candle decor which can help save some expense, doesn't work outdoors as well.

Sweetness during the Pre Ceremony. Gathering the kids.

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Who: Most planners start with venue because location plays a role in many other event logistics. One of which - how many people does the venue hold? What is the seated capacity for a dinner or reception? Are you leaning towards a bigger headcount, then perhaps alternative meal service can be considered, like small passed plated options or a tapas style menu and stations?

That being said, your guest list will be important to manage as you stay within the catering budget. Remember those other category guests that creep their way in like your boss, co-workers, friends from college you haven't seen for years, or the new neighbor you befriended. Prioritizing and sticking to headcount needs clear communication from all the parties involved.

"Prioritizing and sticking to headcount needs clear communication."

How: Venue and Catering generally takes up nearly 50% of planning budgets. Unless grandmas garden and chef worthy kitchen is hosting. How Amazing will the decor be? This is all based on your lifestyle and budget. When you hear planners ask for details about your vision: is it whimsical, classic, or fairytale, rock and roll or the theatrical suits the days plans?

Event planners come in to give you perspective on what things actually cost in the industry.


The WHAT'S

Along these line...set a realistic budget and prioritize the main areas of spending and that's the WHAT Category.


Select WHAT is Most Important to You?
Be it the Flowers or Perhaps the Cake should be the feature of your party. Prepare a budget for a glorious cake and spend less on flowers.

"..set a realistic budget and prioritize the main areas of spending and that's where the WHAT"

What Can you Afford?
Lifestyle plays an important role. You and your partner will have ideas in mind of how to entertain the guests, tailored to your tastes and likes. Including a certain band, or perhaps those must have platform shoes for the bridesmaids and bride... keep your specifics in mind and estimate accordingly.


What? You Want to Spend More than you Budgeted?
Don't go into debt over your event planning. Countless clients have said through the years, they regretted the overspend because at then end of the day - that "specific to us" element was most important. If your must have is the photo shoot to trash the dress, and sites around the city, then perhaps scale back on photos of your getting dressed and a photo booth.

"Don't go into debt over your event planning."

What can you Borrow, Rent, and Hire?
Some clients want the exclusive feel without the exclusive price. Accordingly another secret of the trade is that you can rent nearly every glamorous touch for the special party you are planning. Grandma's pearls to the aunt that married wealthy, perhaps they have a staple piece of jewelry your could borrow for the day.  That must have centerpiece could be rented from a great design house or tablescape firm. You don't have to buy those perfect color of lavender table skirts that will sit in a bin in storage post soiree.

"...another secret of the trade is that you can rent nearly every glamorous touch for the special party you are planning"

Ask for Help
If your best foodie friend loves to bake, perhaps she can manage the sweet table treats? Or if Babcia's Polish pierogi are a must midnight snack, then see what she can muster. Co-workers might bring you back a boxed lunch so you can run an event related errand. And as friends shop they can snap a picture of your MUST HAVE pre-event gown and the price tag.

"Or if Babcia's Polish pierogi are a must midnight snack, then see what she can muster."

The Don'ts

In the pre weeks to the event, you may feel less busy. Decor and DIY is completed, briedmaids fitted, so now what?

Don't get the "new facial" or must have glam pack that your skin isn't accustomed too.

Don't spend more on spa packages or upgrades, these all add to your overall yearly expenses already impacted by the big event.

Do get more sleep.

Do spend time with family and friends who will not stress you out.

Do relax.

Your event is to spend time with those you choose to celebrate with. The colors, the food, and the guests will be a reflection of you and the things that make you and the event unique. After all the time and work that goes into planning - the smallest to the largest of events - relax and enjoy the fun. Let the planner handle the rest.

~~~

From the Everyday to the Extraordinary...

Joanne

Posted by Joanne Kleé, 

Owner | Consultant

Joanne Klee Marketing & Events

Service Excellence | Detailed | One Stop Solutions

NEW! joannekleemarketing.com
joanne@joannekleemarketing.com 

Come meet me where you are:Twitter | Facebook | WebSite | Blog

Google+ | Reviews | Linkedin 

Scribd Business Document Store

Blog posts are here to help my clients get to know my management style and the advise they can see in action when we work together. Content Copyright protected. Include a link to this post when Sharing or Quoting any aspect of this blog. Thanks!