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Lately, we've been having quick meals that we just throw together. But, this past weekend we had friends over for dinner and planned out a full meal starting with an appetizer and finishing with an elegant dessert. The result was a fabulous meal that everyone enjoyed. Before I describe the menu, I must admit that it’s not exactly following the seasonal rule because its spring and the menu includes butternut squash and apples. Clearly these are not really the ideal spring fare; especially since I have Fava beans waiting in the garden to be picked, but this was such a good meal that I'm hoping you'll forgive my lack of timing. We started the evening with an appetizer of Shrimp Butter Toasts. These are small triangles of buttered toast with a Shrimp butter spread. I found this recipe in a recent Gourmet but I didn’t think I’d actually make it because I do not make appetizers very often. When I invited our friends over for dinner I decided to give the Shrimp Butter Toasts a try. They were good but I'm not a huge seafood fan so I'd have to say it was my least favorite part of the meal. Another recipe in the same Gourmet article was for Cheddar Rice Balls. Since I love cheese I suspect I'd have enjoyed these more but my guests love seafood so I went with the shrimp. The main meal consisted of a Butternut Squash Lasagna served with a side of roasted green beans and tomatoes. I had one butternut squash remaining from my fall garden and had been waiting for the right meal to use it. My friends are not big meat fans making this meal the perfect use for the squash. This isn’t your typical lasagna - it is not a red sauce based lasagna; in fact it doesn't really have any particular sauce other than layers of a ricotta cheese spread. I modified the original recipe, from Bon Appétit, by reducing the ricotta to 32 ounces and tripling the mushrooms to a pound and a half. To add some color I served the lasagna with a side of roasted green beans and tomatoes. I really wanted to serve roasted Brussels Sprouts but they aren't available right now. Still, the green beans and tomatoes added a nice color and flavor contrast.  For dessert, I choose a fairly simple dessert that is not very sweet or rich - Apple Upside-Down Cornmeal Cakes. This tasty treasure consists of individual serving sized cornmeal cakes with an apple walnut topping and a small dollop of homemade whipped cream. Fresh out of the oven they smell wonderful and taste even better. I've served these before and everyone always loves that they are fairly light. I love that they really easy to prepare and are already in individual serving sizes.
And that's it! We prepared the shrimp butter the evening before and everything else the afternoon of the dinner. Combined, it's a couple of hours of preping and cooking but none of the dishes are very difficult. If you're looking for a dinner menu give this menu a try and let me know how it works for you!
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