Good Food Reads is taking another personal turn this week! A little food, a little parenting, a little teenage excitement. Join me as I share the details of hosting the homecoming dinner for six brand new freshmen girls this year!
Flowers: Meg’s Island Floral by Meg Spicher
Those who know me, know that I am the farthest from a helicopter parent that there is. My favorite phrase is “I’ve already done (insert whatever grade my daughter is in), now it is your turn”. I never know what what assignments are due or what my kids will be learning next (I trust the teachers!). Sure I get paperwork done on time, and my kids generally make all of their sports commitments/games/practices. Out of necessity, I organize a lot of my kids’ carpools, but I’m not the one organizing the sleepovers or the rest of their social lives. Maybe this is part of what made this night so much more magical.
My daughter and her group of friends was having difficulty figuring out where to go to eat before the Homecoming Dance. It was their first semi-formal dance, and they were really excited (as was the whole school!). They don’t have jobs (yet) and after buying dresses and shoes they didn’t want to spend much money on dinner. This is when it comes in handy to have a food-blogging, food-loving, happiest-while-cooking mother who happened to have the weekend off. I offered, if it wasn’t too “lame”, to do a fancy homecoming dinner at our house before the game. Surprisingly, all of the girls LOVED the idea. My non-helicoptering, uninvolved self, was now officially involved.
The planning went well, and we came up with a menu that we hoped the other teenagers would embrace, complete with a vegetarian option and Molten Chocolate Babycakes. Because seriously, who can resist those!
So sit back, relax, and enjoy this edition of Good Food Reads: Homecoming Dinner 2017.
But first, the girls had to get ready!
My sister-in-law is a fantastic hairstylist that co-owns a business doing wedding hair on-site. (Check out her website at Shine Hair Onsite-even if you never need your hair done, the site itself is truly gorgeous!) She is amazingly talented and just so happened to have this particular Saturday evening free to help her niece and friends with their hair and makeup.
Photos came next (because it’s all about the Instagram you know). I never knew you could come up with so many combinations and poses.
When they came back from their “photo shoot”, I had dinner ready. Starting with sparkling cider in champagne glasses.
And now for the food! (Keep in mind that I had hungry girls to feed-no time for plating, lighting or photography tricks!)
Creamy Parmesan Risotto for the vegetarians in the group.
Peppercorn Crusted Beef Tenderloin for the meat eaters.
Parker House Rolls fresh from the oven (per the girls, they made the house smell like Thanksgiving. And most wanted seconds).
Molten Chocolate Babycakes with an ooey gooey lava-like center. Served with cookie dough ice cream-of course!
Links to the Recipes:
Peppercorn Crusted Beef Tenderloin
Roasted Potatoes (I used a mandoline and cut my potatoes differently than this recipe calls for, verdict: fantastic!)
The night was filled with so much joy. These girls danced, sang and laughed-and that was all before leaving my house to go the dance and the afterparty. They built each other up and shared each other’s joy. My daughter’s date was not allowed to show up until after the dinner was over-and I’m so glad that these girls had this super special time together! (Insert comment about how fast they are growing up…)
May these goofy girls always be the best of friends.
Those hairstyles look amazing! I wish I was able to do those in my hair ahh
Me too! Thank god for my sister in law!
How fun! Seriously loving all the photos of those sweet friends, and goodness that food looks INCREDIBLE! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe links!!
Aren’t they sweet? Such a fun night!
That is so sweet. I hope they will remember this night forever! So special…
I hope so. They sure had fun!
This was such a happy post to read. I had a smile on my face the whole time. I remember high school dances feeling so grownup and magical. It’s wonderful that you helped them enjoy their night that much more!
They all looked so grown up, and had so much fun, it was really a fun night!
Love the hair! Looks like a fun time!
Thanks! My sister-in-law is a hair genius-takes her like 10 minutes! The girls loved the pampering!