$5 Meal Deal Challenge Results

Feb 7, 2012 by slowfood

Slow Food Sonoma County North’s Events Committee participated in the 2011 Slow Food’s $5 Meal Deal Challenge.  Marisha Zeffer, Lynn Davis, Bill Hawn, Laura Mack, Lisa Huber, Linda Mcsweyn-Meyer, Andrew Casey, and hosts Marie and Dennis Giacalone set out to put together a dinner that that would cost an average of $5 per person.  Each person endeavored to prepare one dish which was healthy, local, and affordable. Instead of a potluck where everyone brought a $5 dish, the group worked together to make one coherent meal with each element costing $5 or less.

The dinner’s menu included two appetizers, green salad, scalloped potatoes, roast pork “porchetta”, bread, butter, cheese, Meyer lemon meringue pie and home brewed beer. No one felt that any corners had been cut; in fact, quite the opposite.  Since the members of the group like to cook, all the items were homemade.  We all felt that the meal was wonderful, and quite easy to put together.

Now for the results! The meal ended up costing $5.65 per person. We discussed what items might have put us over the limit and where we could cut to make our goal. For instance, Marie suggested taking fresh and simple vegetables (which are less expensive in season) and dressing them up for the occasion. Having it be a challenge ended up being fun … to see if we could do it.

Why not give it a try? Get a group together, set the $5 goal and have a fun and wonderful dinner. Then, let us know how it went.  We would love to hear your story.