Dream Dinners… just the words by themselves sound so nice, like someone else is making me dinner. Close, but not quite. Dream Dinners is a place where you assemble dinners for freezing and cooking later. There are other places similar to this particular company (it’s in 29 states) and there are many other  franchises throughout the US – Sous Kitchen is another meal assembly place that is local to us in San Carlos.

What started tonight’s adventure was a Juice in the City coupon which was $37 for $75 of the dinners. I tried for several weeks to book an assembly date with a friend of mine. Baseball schedules and other life events got in the way and we haven’t been able to do book a date together. So, I finally just picked a date that worked for me. I had to go online to figure out available dates and the only way to do that is to pick the meals you want to assemble. The menu changes every month so what I thought I would get in May, wasn’t available in July. I picked other meals and tried to pick a date, which of course I had to change once I realized I would be out of town. I scheduled another date and then was told that I could only pick meals from a sample menu of meals, which consisted of all chicken but two of the meals (one of which was stuffed french bread.) I traded a few emails with Jill, the owner, about the coupon specifics – like the limitation to the sample menu which included no beef or fish. Thankfully, she was able to accommodate a food allergy and I chose 18 (3 x 6 servings or 6 x 3 servings) meals and a date. The back end is seamless and automated. I got a confirmation/reminder email specifying the date and the meals.

Actual meal assembly is quick and fun, plus, it smells good in there. Leslie welcomed me in and had me put my stuff in a numbered cubby and took the bag I was requested to bring (to carry the meals home). You start by washing your hands and putting on an apron. Then you start at a station with one of your specified meals and start assembling. If you haven’t been there before, Leslie would explain everything to you on the assembly. Basically follow the color coded instructions for 3 serving or 6 serving meals. If you don’t like an ingredient (like capers), then you don’t have to include it. If like more garlic than specified, go ahead and put more garlic in. You use quart and gallon sized baggies for the assembly and the final thing that gets added is the label and cooking instructions. There is a freezer shelf with your # to store your meals as you assemble them. I also bought prepared garlic mashed potatoes and blueberry scones that were baked already. If you don’t have time to do the assembly, there is a walk-in Wednesday where you can buy pre-assembled meals (for an extra $25).

I had assembled meals here before – for a new mom. A group of us went and assembled a ton of meals (basically whatever would fit in her freezer) and it was quick and fun (we brought wine and chatted and hung out). This week there was a husband and wife team and several newbies (with their Juice in the City coupons) and a few regulars who come every month and have their own monogramed apron, which you can earn after a year of monthly meal making. The sample meal to try tonight was the Canadian bacon stuffed French bread, which was very tasty. The set up works nicely. Even given the snafu with the Juice in the City coupon details, I would come in to assemble meals again (or more likely, buy the preassembled ones). During the Fall/Spring when we have three different football/baseball teams and schedules to keep pace with – this only makes sense. Otherwise, no one is eating well! Dream Dinners gives us the opportunity to eat regular meals, quickly assembled, and home-cooked!

Details: This Dream Dinners is owned by Jill and Greg Jacobson and is located at 390 El Camino Real, Suite R, Belmont, CA 94002. dreamdinners.com belmontplazaCA@dreamdinners.com 650-595-4545

Leave a comment if you have tried Dream Dinners, Sous Kitchen or another similar meal assembly place and let me know what you liked/didn’t like about it!