Dinner Party (Ambassador badge)

The Dinner Party badge is part of the “legacy" badge set introduced in 2011.

Requirement 1: Create your menu
A cook becomes a chef by truly thinking about how every part of a meal works together. Good chefs balance heavy stews with simple salads, choose spices that taste great together, and even consider temperature – would guests like a cold dish between two hot ones?

CHOOSE ONE:

Interview a caterer, event planner, chef, or restaurant owner.  Ask how they plan an interesting, balanced, and nutritious menu. Collect at least three dinner menus from a variety of seasons or events, then, study them to help you create an inspired menu of your own.

OR

Collect recipes from cooking shows, websites, books, or magazines.  Find five recipes each for appetizers, main courses, and desserts. Write them on index or recipe cards, then, play around with different combinations, until you find your favorite nutritious, flavorful menu.

OR

 Build a menu around your favorite ingredient.  Could you include maple in every dish – mixed greens with bacon-maple dressing, maple-glazed turkey with maple-nut-sprinkled mashed potatoes, and a salted maple apple pie for dessert? Look for a variety of recipes starring your ingredient, considering both sweet and savory possibilities.

More to EXPLORE

'''Re-create a famous menu. '''What about a White House dinner gala or a typical 17th-century Thanksgiving?

Tip

Ask your guests ahead of time if they have food allergies or strong dislikes, and plan your menu with their answers in mind. A party is about the guests!

THREE COURSES FROM EVERY SEASON

Seasonal Menu Ideas

SPRING
1

Carrot Soup with Cilantro Cream

Spring Quiche with Onions & Herbs

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

2

Fennel, Asparagus, Snap, Snow Pea Salad with Mint & Lemon

Arugula Salad

Strawberry Lemon Granita

SUMMER
1

Summer Garden Grilled Pizza with Zucchini, Goat Cheese &Tomatoes

Arugula Salad

Grilled Peaches with Sweet Cream

2

Beef, Chicken, Shrimp or Vegetarian Fajitas with Cilantro Lime Pesto Sauce

Grilled Corn with Cumin Butter

Avocado Ice Cream with Strawberry Sauce

FALL
1

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Apples & Mint

Mustard-Glazed Pork Chops

Baked Plums with Rosemary Meringue

2

Cheddar Corn Bread

Three-Bean Vegetarian or Pork Chili

Pear Pie Pockets with Cranberry Lime Sauce

WINTER
1

Herb Potato Rolls

Beef Barley Stew

Nutty Brownies

2

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter

Orange Walnut Salad with Pomegranates

Orange Pine Nut Butter Cookies

Today’s MENU

You could visit a farmers’ market and plan your menu using only ingredients that are in season

Requirement 2: Make a budget and shopping list
Figure out how much you can spend, then, do one choice below to help you shop accordingly. It’s important to consider how many guests you’ll be inviting!

CHOOSE ONE:

Comparison shop.  Take your list of recipe ingredients to different stores, such as a regular supermarket, a specialty grocery, or a farmers’ market. Record what each item costs, and compare your totals to find which place give you the most overall value. Value can mean many things, including cost, taste, healthfulness, and the farmers or businesses you’re supporting.

OR

Consult with a professional chef or restaurant food buyer.  Find out how they portion out servings, source their food, and put together budgets. Share your menu, and ask for recommendations on sourcing your ingredients. If possible, attend a meeting (or review an order) between your consultant and a supplier and see what insider knowledge you pick up.

OR

Learn about alternative ways to shop.  Compare prices for your ingredients online and at wholesale warehouses, then, factor in extra costs (such as warehouse membership dues or shipping charges).

Pages from the Past

First Girl Scout Cook Badge

Girls were required to kow how to: A dinner party idea
 * Wash up
 * Wait on table
 * Light a fire
 * Lay a table for four
 * Hand dishes correctly at table
 * Clean and dress a fowl
 * Clean a fish
 * Make a cook-place in the open
 * Make tea, coffee, or cocoa
 * Mix dough and bake bread in oven
 * State approximate cost of each dish
 * Cook two kinds of meat
 * Boil or roast two kinds of vegetables, potatoes, rice and another vegetable
 * Make two salads
 * Make a preserve of berries or fruit, or to can them

'''Good and imaginative cooks move in a very special glow of popularity. Work out a nutritionally sound menu, lunch or supper, and estimate the quantities of everything that would be required to serve it to a group of boys your age. Make an observation trip to various stores to compare costs and qualities. Then, actually invite a group of boys to such a meal. Buy, prepare, and serve it yourselves.'''

-from Meal Planning and buying Project, Senior Girl Scout Handbook,1963

Requirement 3: Practice timing your courses
A key element of a successful dinner party is when each dish comes out of the kitchen. Your goal is to keep from either rushing your guests or making them wait too long between courses. The timing can be tricky, because you don’t want your food to get cold (or warm, if you’re serving ice cream!), either.

CHOOSE ONE:

Get tips from food professionals.  Ask how they organize their kitchens and supplies. Make a Top Tips list, and refer to it as you look over your recipes.

FOR MORE FUN: Visit a testing kitchen of a university, food manufacturer, or magazine publisher to get your tips.

OR

Make a menu timeline.Check out the prep and cook times on your recipes, then, create a timeline. Can you prep some dishes or parts of dishes before the party? Can you use the mise en placesystem (see green box) to organize your ingredients for maximum efficiency?

OR

Prepare a test meal for family or friends.  Time how long each dish took you to cook and take notes on any unexpected problems that cropped up. Then, revise your plans for your party accordingly.

Mise en Place

Mise en place is a French culinary term that literally means “put in place.”  In professional kitchens, mise en placeinvolves gathering, measuring, and preparing ingredients before cooking starts so that everything needed to make a dish is at the ready.

Careers to EXPLORE

 * Farmer Event planner
 * Cooking show host
 * Ice-cream flavor creator
 * Caterer
 * Recipe tester
 * Cheesemaker
 * Hotel general manager
 * Line cook
 * Food chemist
 * Health inspector
 * Agricultural scientist
 * Food writer
 * Food stylist
 * Nutritionist
 * Vegetarian cooking teacher
 * Pastry chef
 * Cruise ship director
 * Government policy maker or lobbyist

Requirement 4: Explore imaginative ways to present food
The pleasure of a meal goes beyond taste – it includes how food is displayed. The two key parts of styling are arrangement (where will each part of your dish sit on a plate?) and color (how do the colors of your ingredients look with other and with the dishes on which they will be served?).

CHOOSE ONE:

Experiment with garnishes.  Go beyond a parsley sprig – are there decorative (and flavorful) sauces or oils you could brush or drizzle across your dish? Could you decorate your servings with edible flowers or dollops of apple jam? Think of each plate as a canvas, and find two food-based “paints” to make your presentation a masterpiece.

OR

Present food in interesting shapes.  Carrots can be julienned (cut into strips) or served brunoise style (diced into fine cubes). You can shape a scoop of mashed potatoes with a cookie cutter. Find three fun shapes to use when you style your meal.

FOR MORE FUN:  Use a stencil to decorate a dessert. Hold it just above a dish of ice cream, then, lightly pour cocoa powder through it to create an elegant design.

OR

Use serving ware in unusual ways.  Serve soup in a mug instead of a bowl, or chicken breast over couscous in a bowl instead of on a plate. Would it be fun to eat a dish with chopsticks or “drink” a dessert? Use dishware and/or cutlery in innovative ways for each of your courses.

'''MORE TO EXPLORE: Try out molecular gastronomy. '''This food science is gaining in popularity among high-end chefs. Molecular gastronomists experiment with the flavor, texture, and presentation of familiar ingredients.

The Art of Food
Many Japanese chefs believe that food must appeal as much to the eye as it does the mouth. Check out the pictures at this website:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=japanese+food+pictures&id=1DDB05239E4E58C1463BE69B92BB87CA0C23D4C2&FORM=IQFRBA

Requirement 5: Host your party
Time to make your meal, enjoy your accomplishment, and have some fun! Use one of the choices below to enhance your dinner party. Then, as your guests enjoy the stylish food and dining experience you’ve crafted, ask them for constructive feedback.

CHOOSE ONE:

Decorate according to your menu theme.  Does your menu have a cultural or personal theme you could expand into music, decorations, and/or mood?

OR

'''Celebrate a special occasion. '''Commemorate a birthday, holiday, or Girl Scout event – you could even throw your dinner party at camp!

OR

'''Use food and fun to forge new friendships. '''Are there girls you’d like to get to know better or new students you could invite to dinner so they could make new friends? Could you invite friends from different parts of your life so they can get to know one another?

More to Explore

Snap references photos for your next party!

Photograph each dish as it comes out of the kitchen. Later, attach the photo to the recipe, along with notes about what worked and what you could improve.

>>> Partying Green        Make your party eco-friendly!

·       Send paperless invitations

·       Mind your “food print”

·       Avoid using disposable plates, glasses, or cutlery

·       Use cloth napkins

·       Serve locally grown, sustainably raised food

·       Display fresh flowers grown locally or picked from your garden

·       Ask your friends to walk, bike, or carpool to

'''More Than Food! '''What cookware, serving pieces, cutlery, tables and chairs, plates, and napkins will you need? If you’re missing anything (or want some fun additions, such as mood candles, red-checked napkins, or French music to go with your French onion soup), see if friends or neighbors will let you borrow them or help you make decorations.