I agree. I probably wouldn't want to pick apart a whole lobster while I am trying to catch up but if you want to have lobster be part of the meal, what about lobster salad in endive leaves as a starter? If it's June and possibly may deal with heat, what about a Middle Eastern Mezze? Hummus, baba ganouj, shrimp on skewers marinated in pureed preserved lemons and paprika, roasted peppers with feta. It can be all out on the table with a great rose or sparkling wine. I agree with a pavlova for a finish.

When I entertain, I usually have a cheese course out for people to nibble on as they come in. I start with a first course of either a soup or salad. And then with the entree I have two sides, a vegetable and a starch. And, of course, dessert.

For a regular meal, I usually do a vegetable and some kind of bread - sliced sourdough, biscuit, roll etc.

Fava beans pureed with garlic, olive oil, and mint and spread on crostini.

Can I ask what you didn't like about making it? It feels fairly standard to me which includes the cake, center swirl, and top crumble. If it's the measuring, there's no real way around that. But you can do a few things to streamline - skip the swirl step and just add more cinnamon to the cake batter.

Me three! It really depends on the season. Because in the middle of winter, I will throw everything I've got into a pork and tomatillo stew - nuoc mam, lime juice, cumin, two kinds of chili powder. I'll make a layer pan sauce for a pork loin that's been marinated in port and soy sauce. But in summer, give me a fresh from the garden tomato with a sprinkling of sea salt. For my new discovery - the cherimoya - where I would just cut it in half and eat it with a spoon.

Sundried tomato tapenade with crostini
Puff pastry cups with mushroom ragout
Deviled eggs
Carrot nut pate

Isn't there a shampoo for that? (Sorry heee).

Preserved lemons! Frittata with leeks and preserved lemons that you cut into squares. Or do deviled eggs with preserved lemons and chives.

I just got into canning this fall so there's a TON on my list.

Jams/ Preserves - peach, pluot, apricot, blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, along with what I made this fall pear vanilla, fig, orange marmalade, onion jam and pear cranberry, apple butter.

Pickles - bread and butter sliced pickles, kimchee, along what I made this year pickled carrots, Sichuan cabbage, and pickled onions.

Pork and tomatillo stew
Chicken Cutlets with an arugula salad
Quiche
Frittattas of all kinds
Crab cakes
Kimchee Fried Rice
Ca Kho - Vietnamese Caramel Catfish
Asian Marinated Salmon
Pork burgers

I'd avoid the apples and do things like persimmons to pair with the cheese. In fact if you were doing tropical fruit, I would do a fruit specific tray. And a fruit and cheese tray with more "traditional" pairings of grapes and dried fruit. I haven't heard of any pairings that do tropical fruit with cheese and I think something like a pineapple would either overwhelm or fight with the cheese.

What I've done is cook it through when you initially make it. Let it cool and wrap with plastic and freeze. I've found that the freezing and reheating allows for the pasta to absorb the "wetness" and reduces the sauce oozing everywhere. I'd also use dry lasagna sheets. I've done the Barefoot Contessa style where you put the sheets in the hottest tap water that comes out of your faucet, let them soak for about 20 minutes until pliable and then use them. They are still undercooked and will absorb liquid as the lasagna bakes.

The recipe I've used reliably is the New York Times one. http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/5680/B...

Truly, I have never made a bad panna cotta no matter what the recipe. It's truly foolproof. I would say that the best ratio is something like 1 packet of gelatin to 2 cups of cream/yogurt. Give that you would be doing a winter preparation, I would use one that omits lemon and just uses vanilla beans as the flavoring. Another timesaver is to pour the panna cotta into nice wine glasses and then you won't have to worry about plating them.

Pairing with cheese! Great with a D'Affinois on bread with pear.

Agree with you on all counts. I would actually not do short ribs because I find underseasoned beef to be not as tasty. Depending on the tastes of the the guests, you may want to do a roasted leg of lamb rubbed with garlic, rosemary and lemon zest. Lamb has such a strong flavor, I don't think you need any salt. A fun prep of green beens is tossed with a persaillade - coarse breadcrumbs, parsley, lemon zest and garlic. You can also do a roasted carrot salad with a orange vinaigrette.

Here's what I made on the Big Island.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/891837

Fort he artichoke sauce, what about doing a salt cod fritter? Just one as an amuse bouche. Fort he salad as a palate cleanser, I'd suggest shaved fennel with pomengranate seeds and orange supremes. For dolce, panna cotta. Easy to make ahead and keep in the fridge perfect pairing with limoncello.

Four of us stayed in a rental on the Big Island of Hawaii. Here's the dinner plan.

What the rental had: pancake mix, salt, pepper, cooking oil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, barbecue sauce, ketchup, steak seasoning, Lee and Perrins, cumin, soy sauce, sugar, maple syrup, flour and long grain rice.

What I bought - ground beef, fish fillets, shrimp, teriyaki sauce, lettuce, panko, unsweetened flaked coconut, lemon, garlic, scallions, onions, eggs, sugar snap peas, coconut milk and canned corn, Hawaiian bread buns, pineapple.

Meal 1
Coconut shrimp - shrimp dipped in flour, then egg and then the mixture of panko and flaked coconut and deep fried.

Coconut rice - Cook rice (we had a rice cooker) as you like but substitute half the can of coconut milk for the water. Once done, top with sliced scallions.

Sauteed sugar snap peas - Sautee garlic and snap peas with some of the teriyaki sauce.

Meal 2
Fish in foil packets - wrap each filet of fish in a foil packet with sliced garlic, slices of lemon and soy sauce and baked at 350 for 20 minutes.

Corn pancakes - mix pancake mix according to directions but add salt, pepper, ccanned corn and scallions. And then cook in silver dollar size.

Salad with a lemon vinaigrette

Coconut pancakes with seared pineapple - Mix pancake mix according to directions but add a tablespoon of sugar and 1 cup of flaked coconut. Sear pineapple in an oilless saute pan or nonstick griddle until caramelized on both sides. Serve on top of the coconut pancake.

Meal 3
Sliders with seared pineapple - Mix beef with a couple of eggs and 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce. Brush pineapple with teriyaki sauce and sear on both sides. Make beef into slider patties and cook. Served with a slice of seared pineapple.

Salad with a soy-balsamic vinaigrette

Pie crust, chicken stew, chocolate chip cookies, fritattas, meatballs

Good point. Panna cotta would be perfect for that. I've used coffee mugs, wine glasses, etc etc to hold panna cotta.

Right there with all of you. The only change I would make is doing breaded chicken cutlets you do ahead of time and freeze. They are easily reheated. And another vote for the molten chocolate cakes. I find Nigella Lawson's chocohotopot recipe foolproof. Here's my menu based on that theme:

Cauliflower puree soup with a bagna cauda drizzle
Mache and shaved fennel with orange segments and a sherry vinaigrette
Breaded chicken cutlets done picatta style (with a lemon-white wine and caper sauce) with roasted brussels sprouts
Nigella's chocohotopots spiced with cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.

I'm definitely a slob because I can't deep fry ANYTHING without getting oil splattered everywhere.

With such a rich entree, I would say something crisp and light. If you have access to it, Dungeness crab with mixed with chopped mint, scallions, and avocado served on a cracker or on a bed of mache that's been dressed in sherry vinegar and olive oil.

Delicious! Came out nice and tender. Perfect with dumplings.

You can do mix and match condiments and proteins. Firm tofu that's been marinated in soy, honey and rice vinegar and then grilled with a wasabi mayonnaise. Grilled vegetables with a green goddess sauce in a pita. Thin slices of pork tenderloin with chutney. Roast beef with horseradish sauce. And then mix up the veggies - red onions, arugula, spinach, mesclun mix, leaves of little gems.

Fish en papiliotte Asian style. Just some sole with a touch of soy sauce, rice wine topped with green onions and garlic.

On that vein, you could do Ethiopian sambussas as well. It might be fun to do a hand pies across the world - empanadas, samoas, sambussas, Cornish pasties. It's a lot of work but if you had enough lead time, you could make them ahead and reheat.

Fishcakes. like crab cakes but with chunks of fish instead. Will help stretch out your fish.

What about hand pies? You could do empanadas, cornish pasties, etc etc. I've learned from a few friends who had babies that it was great to have something they could eat without a fork. They also said that soup was the enemy because so much potential for spillage.

Developing a balanced interesting menu. Making sure that with something rich like short ribs and risotto, you have a fresh salad. A lot of tips on baking fresh, especially the no-knead method.