My husband’s boss is coming to dinner along with representatives from one of their vendors. Who knew this still happened? Anyway, I need advice for what to make. There will be about 8-10 people. The only dietary restriction is that I can’t make anything with added refined sugar, so the pulled pork BBQ that I was going to make is no longer an option. Thoughts? Ideas?
Three-eyed fish?
How long do you have to prepare, and what do you have on hand? Will there be time to go to the store? How fancy does it need to be on short notice?
Maybe - start with a salad. Red, green, yellow peppers, cucumbers, celery, red onion, carrots, lots of veggies. Pretty presentation, and somewhat filling.
Bread/dinner rolls.
Macaroni and cheese. Can make ahead, and reheat when needed. (And who doesn’t like mac-n-cheese?)
Green bean casserole. Again, can make ahead and reheat.
Baked potatoes. Sour cream, butter, bacon crumbles, chives. Mmm…
Chicken. Whatever style you do best. 
I should have clarified… dinner is next week, so I do have some time to shop, prepare, mull over recipes.
Steamed hams. That’s what I call hamburgers. It’s a regional dialect.
Well, he isn’t a nuclear safety engineer, so I don’t know if that is appropriate. There are geese in the pond beside his office, but serving them might be a violation of the migratory bird laws.
Besides, cooking fish is one of the few things in the kitchen that makes me nervous. 
Use honey instead. Or use regular sugar and tell them it’s honey. 
We’re not from Utica or Albany.
How do you make your pulled pork? Is it slathered in bbq sauce or something?
Make a pulled pork without any sauce and then serve sauce on the side. It’s of course amazing from a smoker but if you planned on making it in the oven, that’s ok too. This recipe doesn’t include sugar and is made in the oven. At the end the writer does mix in some sauce but it’s totally totally not necessary.
You can search for “low carb coleslaw” to go along with it. If the sugar-averse person isn’t averse to Splenda.
If you want to go a different route, this low carb meatloaf is to die for. And it’s huge.
The sauce is optional as I can serve it on the side. The dry rub has some brown sugar in it and I don’t know how good it would be if I left it out.
I make pulled pork all the time, and I almost never use sugar in my rubs. It’ll be fine. It’ll taste good even with a simple salt & pepper (aka “Dalmatian”) rub. I find the flavor of the rub usually gets lost in all that meat, anyway (which is why I tend to season it with a bit more rub after I pull it.)
Pot roast in foil.
Using wide aluminum foil, make up an airtight aluminum foil packet containing a four-pound chunk of chuck roast, cut-up potatoes, chunks of onion, carrots, with two packets of dry onion soup mix on top.
Cook at 350F for 4 hours in a roasting pan in case it leaks.
Utterly delicious. 
Don’t make a new recipe for the first time for important guests. Make something you’re comfortable and familiar with, that you know you’re good at. You know better than we do what that means for you.
I absolutely agree with this.
Wow, a wacky sitcom situation in real life!
<settles down with bowl of popcorn>
Oh, I don’t think I will try anything that I haven’t done before. Just looking for ideas that will go over well with a group of about 10 people that I haven’t met before. Here are some ideas that I’ve been batting around:
-turkey and trimmings – I’ve done the whole Thanksgiving thing and can pull it off. It just seems kinda heavy for late May.
-shrimp and grits – totally yummy, but not everyone likes shrimp
-carnitas – similar to pulled pork, but no sugar or BBQ sauce to worry about, but is it too messy since you eat it with your hands?
-pot roast – I make a great pot roast, but again seems kinda heavy for May.
I may just do the pulled pork and leave off the brown sugar and hope that it turns out. Just wish that I could try it before hand. I use a modified version of Tyler Florence’s recipe.
Actually, I was thinking more Mad Men and greeting them at the door in a dress and pearls with a tray of cocktails.
Some kind of fruit-based dessert would be a good idea.
Have a backup plan - like a good restaurant that you can quickly get takeout from just in case everything goes south in the kitchen.