So, we’ve moved to a new house in a new town. Some people were and are very nice and helpful and friendly and we want to have them over for dinner. This is daunting.
Here are the parameters of the situation.
-We’ve got about a month to prepare.
I’d guesstimate 8-10 people total.
The physical infrastructure: 1 kitchen, 1 stove/oven, 1 microwave, 1 slow cooker, 1 vitamix, 1 tortilla press, 1 fridge and various pots and pans.
The restrictions: 1 anaphalactic egg allergy. I personally don’t like fish, and my kid once got sick after eating scallops, my spouse hates and is allergic to tofu, but otherwise it’s wide open. I don’t think there are any vegan/vegetarian issues.
I’d like to be able to be out of the kitchen to mingle, and keep it simple for timing and cleanup.
How crazy are you looking to get? Simple meals or crazy stuff?
Slow cook some brisket.
Pot roast with lots of veggies.
Mashed potatoes.
Burn some burgers for the kids.
Grill some veggies for brisket/veggies in tortillas.
Flank steak fajitas.
Potato or macaroni salad. Maybe crab salad if people want some type of seafood.
Simple salad with fixings.
If it is cold enough there is nothing like meat and potatoes to keep the chill away and stick to your bones.
Casseroles allow you to be a casual and happy mingling cook. Potatoes are more “forgiving” than pasata. A colouful mixed salad can be prepared inadvance. Starter can be soup, not delicate in terms of attention and time, or toast and pate (no real work). Dessert could be some mishmash of fruit and cream, or old-time nostalgia things like apple crumbl
e (foolproo,f and lets you mingle lots or cheat and buy in some. really nice patisserie stuff and I find I cannot realy type on this damn `phone, so I give up and Ihope you have alovely time.
Buy the most expensive roast you can afford, the top of the heap being IMO a boneless prime rib roast. It’s the easiest thing in the world:
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[li]It’ll probably be cold out of refrigeration, so sit it out on the counter for 90 minutes.[/li][li]Preheat oven to 500 degrees.[/li][li]Season liberally with kosher salt and pepper.[/li][li]Place in roasting pan, fat side up.[/li][li]Put in oven for 5 minute a pound.[/li][li]When that time is up, turn the oven off and just leave it in there. Set a timer for 2 hours and walk away. DO NOT do anything to it. DO NOT open the door for any reason. Do not even turn on the inside oven light. Just walk away.[/li][li]After two hours, take it out, let it rest for 10-15 minutes.[/li][li]Carve and serve.[/li][/ol]
It’s about 5 minutes of actual work for a delicious, amazing chunk of perfectly medium-rare roast beef.
I just did a similar gathering. A buffet, cocktail party style, is much easier than a sit-down dinner. Here is what we had:
A few nice cheeses, arranged with salami, crackers and grapes
Spinach-artichoke with bread ( made at home, but store bought can work)
Hummus with pita chips and carrots
Some hot appetizers from a caterer
Slow-cooker pulled pork, served with buns and coleslaw
A big giant bowl of my special pasta salad (can be a side dish or vegetarian entree- make the day before)
Cupcakes and truffles
Soft drinks, sparkling lemonade, beer and wine
This might be a bit casual for what you had in mind, but it’s easy, make-ahead and allows you to actually enjoy the gathering. When entertaining, I try to put most of my effort in to one or two dishes, and otherwise put out a bountiful spread of yummy non-prep items- fancy stuff from Whole Foods when I’m flush, bowls of nuts, candies and chips when I’m broke. People will still remember you as a good cook, and it makes it a lot easier to offer a bountiful spread.
Oh, and a nice selection of good cheeses plus oatcakes or savoury biscuits willplease people and require very little input from the mingling cooks.
Perhaps get insome cognac or similar as *digestf[/].
Really, the whole point is to have a pleasant, enjoyable and relaxing evening with your new friends/neighbours rather than to become a 5star chef for a day and your guests will , like most of us, be only too happy to have a nice diiner that they didn’t cook themselves.
Pick the dishes that you might do fora specialfamily diner and just tweak them a bit if needed.
Have you read “Bridget Jones’ Diary” and do you remember the dinner of blue. strng and marmalade?
If you’re looking for new recipes, try them out at least once before the dinner party itself. Never try preparing a brand-new dish for the first time on party day.
Make at least one dish that’s special to you and likely to be somewhat novel to your guests: something traditional from your ancestral culture and/or a treasured family recipe. The party is to show appreciation and strengthen connections with your new neighbors, so help them get to know you (and provide some conversation starters) by preparing something that you consider part of your identity.
When I was single, I gave a lot of dinner parties of that size. You know what the most successful and fun one was? The one where I made one big tray of Martha Stewart’s mac and cheese and one big tray of apple crisp.
People don’t want to be impressed, they want to be welcomed. Happily, welcoming food is some of the easiest to prepare en masse.
ETA: the second most successful involved homemade pretzels, a fast two-ingredient cheese sauce to dip them in, some hastily heated chicken sausage, and a big pot of minestrone.
I have many times done pork tenderloins for my parents’ huge Christmas party (40+ people) - it’s nice because they keep very well from earlier in the day and people tend to really like them. I use an America’s Test Kitchen recipe for them that’s super good - I don’t have it here with me now, though. In the past I’ve done that, a potato casserole (frozen potatoes, too, just mixing and baking - people love it), roasted green beans with goat cheese and sundried tomatoes, and a nice salad. People bring appetizers.
Apps - cheese and crackers, some kind of sliced cured meat, chips and veg w/dip.
Dinner - lasagna (familiar yet “ethnic”, nourishing, not complicated, but just enough work to “show you care”, can do ahead and bake while people are there, makes the house smell warm and inviting); green salad, garlic bread.
Desert - bake a double batch of chocolate chip cookies, put any left in zip lock bags for people to take with.
Here’s how caterers make it look so simple. Do every thing in advance that is possible. Everything!
If you’re serving coffee or tea later, the cups/mugs, spoons, etc should be gathered and set to go. This includes coffee and water in the coffee maker so you need only turn it on. Water in the kettle on the stovetop ready to be switched on. Creamer filled and in the fridge. Prep the closet to accept many coats/shoes/boots, as needed. Prep a smoking area? Table completely set, including a pitcher of water, for the water glasses at dinner, in the fridge, at the ready. Prep for dessert, gather plates, server, utensils, prep garnishes, even pre scoop ice cream, then refreeze, etc. You can put things all together on a tray, if need be.
Every single thing that can possibly be done in advance, gets done. This way you will be able to move seamlessly through your evening with way less fuss and stress. Think through your event to the very end. What will you need for each part? What can you do ahead of time to prep for that?
As for the meal, aim for an easy to plate dessert as you’ll likely be clearing plates and starting coffee/tea service at the same time. Also, I’d make sure at least one dish was slow cooker style easy. Something that can be served right from the cooker, no need to keep your eye on it.
Paying attention to these few things will make a big difference in your event! Good luck!
(Please return to tell us all the awesome details!)
Also, make lists! I like to write down everything I’m serving. Otherwise at 11 pm you might have an “I forgot the blah blah!” moment. Little slips of paper on each serving dish help ensure you have enough bowls and serving utensils.
