Looking for menu recommendations

spongebobsquarepanties

I am having friends over for dinner. I sort of have a theme, which is comfort food or childhood favourites.

I'm planning on making buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese. We will also be having root beer floats to drink and my chewy chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I want to serve something with the mac and cheese. I was initially thinking of meatloaf but there is meat in the mac. I want something that is fresh and light too go with it.

Any ideas or recommendations? TIA

Jim&Jaime

Steamed or Roasted Broccoli.

melbride2005

caesar salad - somewhat of a comfort food (at least as far as salad goes)...my niece loves it so I guess it could be someone's childhood favorite

what was your favorite green veggie as a kid?

 

spongebobsquarepanties

melbride2005:

caesar salad - somewhat of a comfort food (at least as far as salad goes)...my niece loves it so I guess it could be someone's childhood favorite

what was your favorite green veggie as a kid?

 

I was sort of weird. It was cabbage.

IrishCoffee7

My mom always thre together a fruit salad to go with something heavy like homemade mac & cheese.  You could do kind of a grown up version with a lemon/limoncello dressing

http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/6434

Or one with basil (yummier than it sounds!):

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/basil-lime-fruit-salad-10000001714553/

I can't remember which one I actually tried since I haven't done it since last summer and I'm at work so I can't pull up the ones I saved.  But anything along these lines would be yummy, fresh, and a grown-up twist on something kids like.

I will say that cookies AND floats AND mac&cheese sounds really heavy...so maybe cut out of of the desserts for something lighter like the fruit salad, and still do a veggie?

LOL  my stomach hurts thinking about trying to eat that much rich food in one evening!

 

IrishCoffee7

...not that it's any of my business obviously.  Kids do love sweets!

 

spongebobsquarepanties

IrishCoffee7:

I will say that cookies AND floats AND mac&cheese sounds really heavy...so maybe cut out of of the desserts for something lighter like the fruit salad, and still do a veggie?

LOL  my stomach hurts thinking about trying to eat that much rich food in one evening!

 

I agree. That's why I am trying to figure out something that makes sense with it but is light. I just find everything too rich and I need something to cut it. I've also thought of cutting the cookies and just having the rootbeer float as dessert... or munching on the cookies later in the evening.

Thanks for your suggestions, ladies.

laptopprancer

Make grown-up instead of traditional Root Beer Floats to have with the cookies.

http://www.yumsugar.com/Happy-Hour-Root-Beer-Float-Cocktail-494813

You can also make shots with root beer and vanilla flavored vodkas.

It still has cream, but not ice cream so not quite as heavy and a complement to the cookies instead of something that will fight with them.

 

Jim&Jaime

spongebobsquarepanties:

IrishCoffee7:

I will say that cookies AND floats AND mac&cheese sounds really heavy...so maybe cut out of of the desserts for something lighter like the fruit salad, and still do a veggie?

LOL  my stomach hurts thinking about trying to eat that much rich food in one evening!

 

I agree. That's why I am trying to figure out something that makes sense with it but is light. I just find everything too rich and I need something to cut it. I've also thought of cutting the cookies and just having the rootbeer float as dessert... or munching on the cookies later in the evening.

Thanks for your suggestions, ladies.

I would do the floats and cookies as dessert later in the evening. Do something else with dinner. Also, they don't have to be huge, and vanilla vodka in them would be WAY grown-up.