$1 per person dinner party

[Shalmanese]

All in all, it was a big success and a fun challenge. One of the guests is allergic to pork and I just found out a few hours before the event that a vegan was coming to dinner so it was a challenge bringing out big flavors when I couldn't use flavor boosters like bacon, cheese or butter.

I relied pretty heavily on onions, garlic, wine & bay leaves to fill out the body but the main goal was to bring out the flavor of the ingredients as much as possible. The Kale was sauteed with some olive oil, garlic & red pepper flakes before going into the soup, the squash was caramelized in a pan and a stock was made out of the guts & trimmings, I made a pretty intense crackling stock from the trimmings of the chicken thighs to boost up the flavor of the lentils and I had used the ferber method to make the strawberry jam so there were large chunks of strawberry and a deep flavor.

I'm particularly proud of how I cooked the chicken thighs given I had never done it this way before. I coated the thighs in salt, pepper & paprika and seared them on both sides before splashing them with a bit of sherry vinegar and throwing them in a 275F oven for 2 hours. At the last minute, I used the broiler to crisp up the skin. What came out was amazingly moist, fall off the bone chicken with an intense jus that was a delight to eat.

The general consensus from the group was that it wasn't the most amazing meal I had ever made but it was deeply satisfying and quite an accomplishment given the budget constraints.

[KarenDW]

The general consensus from the group was that it wasn't the most amazing meal I had ever made but it was deeply satisfying and quite an accomplishment given the budget constraints.

I would take "deeply satisfying" over amazing, most nights

[PopsicleToze]

It sounds like you did a terrific job not only with the budget restraints but with the last minute surprises, too. Congratulations! $1.50 to $2 a head was outstanding.

Rhonda

[velveeta]

Good project! How many people were served for this price? Thanks.

[Shalmanese]

Good project! How many people were served for this price? Thanks.

I ended up serving 11 people but there was enough left over for another 3 or 4 meals so I counted it as 15 people for budget purposes.

[DanM]

For an appetizer, you could serve Vienna Sausage with barbecue sauce