On Saturday, we are expecting two couples (both Chinese) for dinner.
One couple speaks English; the other does not.
I must make them dinner.
Now I'm stressing.
Why? Because I want to make a dinner that they will like, which is actually quite difficult given (a) the Chinese palate - they enjoy pickled, salted and soyed dishes, (b) there needs to be excessive amounts of food, with many options - to showcase our greatfulness to them and (c) the fact I only have a tiny oven and two burners on my stove-top.
So I consulted a friend who has lived here for two years and she told me:
(a) Make spagetthi and meatballs
(b) Don't serve bread, they won't eat it
(c) Consider serving cold pork roast as well - there should be at least two meat dishes
(d) Serve a hot vegetable
(e) Do not serve Western-style salad (uncooked veggies are not really consumed here)
(f) Serve fruit and egg custard pies for dessert
(g) Make sure there are many different dishes - lots of food - as it is VERY bad if you offer small portions or if you (G-forbid) run out of food. There should be lots left over.
So I had a quick chat when I got home with Flora. She confirmed it all - especially the part about having a lot of food on the table. She said to make sure I had at least two vegetable and two meat dishes. Egads.
So here's the plan:
-Spaghetti with meatballs
-Roasted carrots and leeks
-Cold, cooked vegetable salad
-Some kind of chicken dish
Dessert: fruit
Anyone know a good one pot, Italian, crock pot, chicken dish? Maybe I should roast a chicken with vegetables, but I'm afraid it won't fit into my easy-bake oven.
