COOKING
FOR 
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From the Kitchen of Nancy Wilkins 
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Menu Practice

Let's practice making menus. Remember what was described to you on the menu info page and answer the questions below.

Consider the following menu. What is wrong with this menu?
Fried Shrimp
French Fried Potatoes
Fried Okra Nuggets
Fried Apple Tart
Everything is fried! The diner would get tired of the food before getting halfway through the meal. Also, from a nutritionist point of view, this would be way too much fat in one meal.
Type in a better menu using these foods.


Lets try another. What is wrong with this menu?
Garden Salad
Steamed Baby Carrots
Stir Fried Beef Strips with Broccoli
Watermelon Cubes
Yes, everything is crunchy and fresh. Again, the diner would not be able to make it through the whole meal without getting bored with the food. (Or getting a sore jaw from chewing so much!)
So.....now lets try and put a meal together. Click on one choice in each of the columns below.
Choose an Entree:

Chicken Breast
Top Sirloin Strip
Fried Beef Strips
Tuna Casserole
Broiled Salmon
Barbeque Ribs
Choose a Vegetable:

Asparagus Spears
French Cut Green Beans
Glazed Carrot Rounds
Corn on the Cob
Pickled Beets
Green Peas
Choose a Starchy Side Dish

White Rice
New Potatoes
Scalloped Potatoes
Baked Beans
Fried Rice
Mashed Potatoes
There you have the first three items of your menu. Do they belong together? Answer the following questions about your choices:
  1. Do they have different flavors?
  2. Do they have different colors?
  3. Do they have different textures?
  4. Are they cooked using different methods?
  5. Are they a nutritious mixture?

If the answer to any of these questions is "no", then you need to go back and make different choices. Also, don't forget the cost. Some of those items can be expensive.

Now, it is time to fill out the rest of the menu. Add another vegetable if you think the meal needs it. You might add a bread, perhaps a salad. Salads don't have to be lettuce and tomato. There can be a carrot raisin salad, or a cole slaw, or perhaps a fruit salad. The possibilities are endless. If you get stumped for types of salads, go to a local cafeteria and check out their salad department. Most cafeterias have at least ten types of salads available for your selection.

On to my favorite part of the meal, dessert. This is where you get to shine and put the awe in your guests' eyes. Some people wade through the meal just to be able to get to the dessert. Reward them for their effort. The dessert can be made the day before or it can even be bought. There are some marvelous, sinfully rich desserts out there at the warehouse food stores. I just saw an Oreo Cookie Mousse Cake. Some how it found its way to my refrigerator. It lasted all of two days, 24 pieces gone in 2 days. (What can I say, my daughters like oreos. That stuff was so delicious it was evil!)

Check out your menu one more time. Are you happy with it? If so, then dress up the wording a little. You will notice that I have already dressed up some of the items. Corn on the cob could read "Buttered Corn on the Cob." Green beans does not sound near so delicious as "Fresh, Steamed Green Beans." Having a roll on the menu is OK, but what about a "Homemade Cloverleaf Roll"?

Hurray! You have a menu. Be flexible, though, when you go to the grocery store there might just be a better bargain or a better idea lurking around the corner in the next aisle.




made by 
Nancy Wilkins 
University of Houston Clear Lake 
Spring, 1998