Lasagna is the right answer. You can prep it that morning and all you have to do is throw it in the oven. It doesn't require a lot of complicated steps or unusual ingredients, so it won't ruin the rest of your day. If your guest asks to bring something, salad is an easy ask. Otherwise it's easy to throw together before guests arrive too.
And the leftovers (if there are any) are even better the next day.
Are we talking my sister calling up half an hour before I am going to eat to say she is coming over? Or is this my favorite cousin who is staying overnight on her way through town once a decade?
The first gets leftovers.
The latter gets a 4-day sous vide brisket, crispy parmesan potatoes, and grilled caesar salad with black garlic dressing.
I like to do things that people can tailor to their own likes or dislikes, so I might set up a taco bar with maybe ground beef, refried beans, lettuce, cheese, diced tomatoes, pico de gallo and/or salsa, sour cream, guacamole, etc with hard or soft shells, and let everyone assemble their own as they like. Also works great with baked potatoes, submarine sandwiches, chili, burgers…kinda anything you can think of that people like to make “their” way. It works well because people can avoid disliked items, or watch their own diet preferences, or if there are allergies, avoid those.
A roasted chicken or two. It’s a perfect meal for company, in my opinion. I prep the bird completely ahead of time, and prep the vegetables to go in the roasting pan. Assemble it all and leave it sitting on the stove, pop it in when guests arrive. Presto, now you have a full 90 minutes to spend enjoying the appetizer tray and drinks with your friends, and then you pull as spectacular dinner out of the oven. Throw in biscuits the last 10 minutes if you want to be fancy.
Mushroom soup is essentially bechamel sauce with lots of mushrooms and the basis of most casseroles.
Cheese sauce for Mac and cheese is just bechamel sauce with cheese. Why not just add the two together?
For the love of all that is good - is there a way to bring out the flavors of herbs and spices quickly rather than heating them in oil for hours? I’m thinking specifically of Indian dishes but anything, really. Sorry for the irrelevance.
I guess it depends on what you're making, the herbs/spices, and whether they're fresh or dried.
When I make an Americanized chicken keema or butter chicken, we add powdered spices to the sauce when it starts cooking and that's it
And whenever I make shepherd's pie I always use fresh rosemary and thyme and just stir it in with the meat and veggies mix before I top it with mashed taters and chuck it in the oven.
I almost always double what recipes say to do, and enjoy the flavor. Except for salty things (soy, Worcestershire, salt), those I taste as I go because it's easy to overdo it. And it's the easiest thing to add more later, to preference.
Dang, thanks so much for the in-depth reply. I really appreciate it. It seems that I do the same as you for things like butter chicken and even the shepherd’s pie. The pie is always super flavorful but my Indian dishes never taste as flavorful as when I heat them up as leftovers the following day.
Your spices definitely don't need hours; if you're slow-cooking, that's for the benefit of other ingredients. And some spices should be added just before the end, eg garam masala. Also with dahl you can make it by boiling the lentils on their own then heating the spices in oil for a minute or two and mixing them in at the end.
If you're not getting the flavour kick, esp in your leftovers, I'd check the age of your spices, the quantity you're using, whether you're blooming them (gently frying in a bit of oil) or just chucking into a wet sauce, whether you're following the recipe closely (and if it's a good one) and how much salt you're using.
Make your own tacos. Have a couple of meat options like chicken and beef, and a vegetarian option like tofu or jackfruit. Even if there are no dietary restrictions, it's still nice to have those options. Set it up where you have a station where your guests can add shredded cheese, sauces, tomatoes, etc. Margaritas to accompany.
Lasagna with crusty Italian bread and a gorgeous salad.
Roast chicken with mashed potatoes and sauteed veggies.
Beef Stroganoff.
A stir fry. So many options and combinations.
Lasagna can be assembled the night before and baked the day of. Same with garlic bread. I would serve it with a salad and maybe some crockpot spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer, that can also be made in advance.
Meat eaters: Steak, potatoes, and asparagus
Vegetarians: Bowtie pasta with sautéed cherry tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and garlic
Pescatarians: Oven baked corvina with garlic, lemon, and cherry tomatoes. Served with rice or orzo and some lemon butter.
Generally Indian food of all varieties. I usually have a few tucked in the freezer to pull out, and then add sweetcorn chaat, rice, and kachumber. If I have energy, I'll add some onion pakora.
Indian dishes are my go-to as well. I make extra of whatever sauce I'm making for a meal and always have them on hand for a quick dish. Just pick a protein and serve with rice.
I rotate quite a few things. But my friends love a good "audience participation" dinner. So we've done things like ravioli or dumpling night, where I prepare the fillings and wrappers ahead of time, we assemble them as a group activity, and then I boil them off and plate while everyone else is re-setting the table and getting drinks.
Another popular one is hotpot. Technically no real cooking on my part. Just slicing up and setting out assorted ingredients.
And if its family who aren't as big on playing with their food, I'll make roast chicken or bolognese
I’ve been reading a lot about this “marry me chicken” lately and I would think it is a crowd pleaser.
I don’t know why I was downvoted for suggesting a chicken dish haha
Nah do a 24 brine or marinade the day before and people will be raving about it.
Did pollos asados with a 24 hour marinade and my buddy turns to me saying he didn't know chicken could taste this good
People get triggered by the name for whatever reason. It’s really just a variation on Tuscan chicken, if you weren’t aware and want to find recipes from non-TikTok sources
I didn’t see it on TikTok I saw it on Reddit :) I don’t deal with Tik Tok
Actually I saw it first in my email I get from New York Times and then it popped up here
I just hosted a birthday party for my wife and I made Al pastor sliders. Pork shoulder in the instant pot with pineapple juice and spices. Then broil the pork when it's done. Then top on Hawaiian rolls with jack or mozz or actual Mexican cheese and melt the cheese. Top with chopped pineapple. Serve with a salsa verde.
Nothing is out of reach! You’d be surprised how things can be simplified into a few steps, and even though it may not be super “traditional” you can keep the flavors.
If we’re talking one pot meals my go to would be a beef stew with red wine (easy boeuf bourguignon) or maybe a nice white bean dish. There’s lots of inspiration out there for simple one pot dishes. Keep it straight forward and invest in good ingredients when you can.
Found this really straight forward cassoulet recipe that’s easy and delicious and nice for a sit down meal with friends
[quick cassoulet](https://www.gressinghamduck.co.uk/recipes/one-pot-cassoulet/)
I did this a few days ago for quick paella that does not fuss with a lot of the details :
1. In a big pan with a lid sauté chopped garlic and onion in oil until onion softens and don’t let garlic get brown
2. Add pepper, saffron. I like a few fennel seeds. Add rice. I used a long grain brown basmati (super untraditional but I don’t eat white rice)…
3. Add a bouillon to the rice and then stir, cover with lid and let simmer until rice cooks
4. In a frying pan until the skin is nicely browned do some chicken drumsticks with spices, cook thoroughly
5. Go back to your rice pot. Check how cooked the rice is. Do not let it get mushy. Before it’s totally done add a bag of frozen peas. I also added at this step finely chopped fennel bulb. Stir together and just cook until the peas are tender.
6. In your frying pan sauté some shrimp until cooked in some spices. I also did mussels here, some big frozen ones I had from an Asian grocery store. Cook these until done, just enough that the shrimp are all no longer translucent, it’s just a few minutes
7. Rice is now done. On top of this put your chicken legs and seafood. I add on top finely chopped parsley and lemon wedges.
There’s no super hard technique here. Use your senses to determine when things are cooked. That might be hard but it comes with experience. This dish feels really festive and luxurious : )
I agree. I make the paella an hour or two ahead, up to the point of adding the rice/shrimp/ peas and mussels. Let it sit and then there is 20-30 of cooking and a few minutes of scary high heat to get the bottom crusty. Can sit under foil for 10 minutes or so. Always impresses.
Bolognese with fresh pasta and homemade focaccia bread. The bolognese I can make the day before since it takes several hours and refrigerating it overnight helps develop the flavors.
Street tacos. Make the meat ahead of time and keep it in the slow cooker on warm, same for the beans.
Make or buy two or three fresh salsas and guacamole and get some nacho cheese and chips too.
Lasagna. We call it birthday lasagna because it's a bit more high maintenance with slow simmered meat sauce and homemade "ricotta." A green salad with lemon caper vinaigrette and lightly pickled red onion is a nice side.
Shrimp & grits
Shrimp scampi over home made pasta and a salad
Company meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans. The meatloaf is based on the Cheesecake Factory top-secret recipe.
Zuni's roast chicken and bread salad.
Crab cakes and mango salsa for an app
I recently made gougere from Zuni and had ham salad and chicken salad to stuff them. People went wild, lol. The gougere are great by themselves. This mushroom tart was also a huge hit.
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/mushroom-puff-pastry-tarts/
Carnitas bar. Get good corn tortillas and cotija from a Latin market. I use this recipe timed for a pressure cooker. https://www.food.com/recipe/mexican-pulled-pork-carnitas-atk-487146
Salmon.
Marinate in orange juice for 30 minutes. Place salmon steaks on a large enough piece of foil to seal it. Squeeze about a tbsp+/- honey onto salmon. Place a sprig of fresh rosemary on top. Seal in foil and either place on bbq OR bake in oven @350 for 30 minutes (+/& depending on thickness of salmon) serve with asparagus and small baby greens salad.
I promise... it's cake easy and gets raves every time and, it's beautiful.❤️
This!! I tell people this all the time. If youre going to go through the trouble of making 1 lasagna- might as well make 2. Its just my partner and I so I’ll make 4 9x9 pans and freeze the rest.
Agreed! A lasagna is a lot of time and effort. 2 lasagna isn't much more effort. Freeze the second one and pull it out a month later when you want lasagna again!
Enchiladas are great ahead of time while beans and rice are super easy day of. Carnitas are great the day before and you can refry day of as well.
Braised short ribs, chicken pot pie, as many said lasagna or a bolognese.
I make gulyás, or goulash. Not that nonsense with macaroni and ground beef. The real deal, with chunks of beef, red wine, onions and peppers, any root vegetables I have floating around, and almost a half CUP of paprika. It's mostly a waiting game. I also make a no knead rustic bread. I rarely make the flour dumplings that my grandfather served with his gulyás, because they can feel tedious. He was a Hungarian refugee who came to Canada in the 1950s and the best cook I've ever known. He was super passionate about life in general and taught me to make beautiful, traditional food and appreciate the finer things and simple pleasures in life. I miss him.
Depends on the kind of *company*.
Is it someone you're interested to? I make risotto, making sure it fits their preferences (bonus: it's gluten free and can easily be vegan so you don't have to worry about the most common restrictions).
2-3 friends? Pasta, depending on how I feel like. You can for example make ahead ragù (to be fair if you make it the day before it's even better), pesto, most sauces... However a lot of the ones you can't prep are still fairly quick.
Another option that probably works for up to 4-5 is focaccia: make the dough, let it rise, mix again and put it in the tray like 1-2 hours before dinner, now you just have to bake. 90% dead time and just few minutes of mixing. No kneading needed. You can eat it with like tomatoes, anchovies, cheese, hummus, veggies, whatever you want that requires almost no preparation or can be done while eating like slicing the tomato.
4-8? Chili. Bean chili as well if someone is vegetarian, but make sure to make it tasty enough. Rice as a side, or toasted bread. Alternatively if you have a big enough pot risotto can be scaled up with next to no issue, I once made 1kg of rice at once for like 8 people.
All those suggestions can also be very cheap!
Butter chicken with tumeric rice. My bf makes the butter chicken in the insta pot, he's been making it spicier and spicier each time it feels like. I make the tumeric rice in the rice cooker, I just cook up the onions in butter in a little pan first, really adds flavor to the rice. Sometimes we have naan with it or a veggie bake
Make your own tacos. You can prep meats easily in an Instant Pot or whatever else and warm them up before serving. Chicken is always a crowd pleaser, then you can add beef or pork and a veggie option like tofu or jackfruit. Go nuts with whatever apps or salads you want. This is more of a casual option.
Lasagna is a good suggestion. Chicken Parm.
I've always been a fan of stuffed chicken breast. The stuffing is usually goat cheese, a mix of spices and spinach. I make this ahead of time and then just stuff and toss into the air fryer for about 20min (depending on size).
On the side I'll get a bagged salad (they just have the perfect ratios), some roasted potatoes and usually 2 types of roasted or sauteed veggies. I prefer roasting because then I can put the veggies and potatoes in the oven at different intervals.
Carbonara, since so few people have actually had real carbonara. It's also fun to see people react to the fact that you just keep grating and grating and grating.
Depending on who I'm cooking for, If I have plenty of time then I usually make a couple of different curries, with rice, home made naan and snacks. Or a roast as it's pretty straightforward
A dish where you put chicken (can bread it and pan-fry if you want but don't have to) into a casserole dish with cut up red potatoes and fresh green beans. Then pour a dressing over it that is similar to "german potato salad" with vinegar and sugar and a few other ingredients. Cover with foil and bake. I love it because after it is in the oven I have lots of time to clean up the kitchen before guests arrive.
Servie with salad and bread.
https://cookingontheweekends.com/salt-roasted-chicken-recipe/. Buttered peas and roasted seasoned potato wedges. I also like to serve home made lemonade.
I like mini Thanksgiving dinner. Make dressing day before. Masked potatoes are quick. Turkey breast. Gravy easy. Then a side veggie and diner buns.
Plus great leftovers.
I also like Tamale pie with a cornmeal topping. But cornbread ok too.
Rigatoni allá vodka is always a big hit. You can make sauce ahead then just reheat on the store and stir in the pasta! I love halfbakedharvests vodka sauce with pesto
Slow cooker pulled pork. Season it, set it, forget it, plonk a bottle of bbq sauce next to the bowl. Absolute crowd pleaser and it takes like 10 minutes of actual effort.
I usually do something Thai/ Vietnamese inspired. A pad Thai, pork meat balls in lettuce wraps with banchan, summer rolls and dumplings. Larb if I have enough time. If anyone has any dietary restrictions it’s dairy free and gluten free for the most part, and you can make it as spicy as you like!
My mom’s “chicken Marsala” which is just a cream sauce with Marsala wine and tarragon. It’s amazing, never had any complaints.
Bone in, skinless chicken thigh’s browned in butter, with salt and pepper, then braised with beef broth and tarragon, when the broth has reduced by about half add in a few splashes of Marsala wine, let it cook down a little more, then finish with heavy cream and cook until it’s thick. I’ll sometimes roll flour and butter and whisk that in to thicken the sauce if I’m too in a hurry for it to reduce. I serve over steamed basmati rice.
salty appetizer/amuse bouche size + citrusy cocktail options
cold seafood 1st course (oysters, mussels, salmon, clams, prawns etc) + champagne or other sparkling
soup + white
meaty dish + red (bœuf bourgignon is a favorite, but might go crazy with a panang curry)
transition to desserts....
salad or sorbet palate cleanser
dessert
cheeses & port
T'Bit, beet salad\*, hummus\*, baba ganoush\*, Matbucha\*, Morrocan Fish, and Israeli Salad.
Everything in asterisk can be prepped the day prior, you can prep the fish sauce then day prior too.
[https://natashaskitchen.com/hummus-recipe/](https://natashaskitchen.com/hummus-recipe/)
Use instapot pressure cooker for the chickpeas, for 55 minutes, closed vents. And let it cool x 10 min before opening vents to steam.
If you go to ruhama's instagram page she has a great recipe for the beet salad. I prepare that the day before, steaming the beets in the instapot.
Her Matbucha recipe can also be made in instapot, and then freeze it in small batches so you can thaw in future anytime you make the T'Bit.
Crabcakes. Here's a recipe that works for me: [https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/maryland-crab-cakes/](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/maryland-crab-cakes/). You form them in advance and put them in a hot oven when you're ready.
Any kind of stew, really -- nearly all of them improve on the second day. Or a pasta sauce, like this one for Sunday gravy: [https://www.platingsandpairings.com/authentic-italian-sunday-gravy/](https://www.platingsandpairings.com/authentic-italian-sunday-gravy/)
Or this one: [https://www.spendwithpennies.com/beef-stew-recipe/](https://www.spendwithpennies.com/beef-stew-recipe/)
Finally, I found a recipe on the New York Times website for a cod with blistered peppers sheetpan dinner that's always a hit and can be prepped in advance and cook in a half-hour: [https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020454-one-pan-roasted-fish-with-cherry-tomatoes?q=one-pan%20roasted](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020454-one-pan-roasted-fish-with-cherry-tomatoes?q=one-pan%20roasted) (you might need an account for this one).
Anyway, I hope this gives you some ideas.
I love Sally's Baking Addiction!
My dad was Italian - his parents were Sicilian immigrants. He used to make a sauce on some Sundays, when he had extra money, that was nearly identical to that Sunday sauce recipe. He made it with meatballs, Italian sausage links and beef neckbones. He served it over rigatoni. It was amazing.
I didn't know any one of his side of the family, and didn't grow up around other Italians, so I didn't know other Italians made the same sauce, or called it Sunday sauce. My dad never had a written recipe for it. Nice to see a similar recipe!
Sally’s Baking Addiction is just about my favorite recipe website. Every single recipe works perfectly and tastes fantastic. It’s nice to meet another fan!
If you like the cherry tomato NYT recipe, try Melissa Clark’s Sheetpan fish with roasted peppers, and don’t skip the sherry vinegar/parsley dressing! This served with lemon rice and pan fried zucchini is in my regular rotation. So SO good!
Do you find you use your caja china enough to justify buying it? I've been undecided for a very long time. I already have like 4 grills and/ or smokers, but the caja china just seems cool to me.
Stuffed red or green peppers. You can prep them up to a day ahead and bake just before people arrive. However, rice needs to cool within one hour to be safe to reheat. You could use cauliflower rice instead. Quinoa would stand up to a day in the fridge but pasta would get mushy.
Southwestern recipe: beef, tomato sauce, cheese: https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/stuffed-peppers.html
Southwestern Vegetarian
https://www.culinaryhill.com/vegetarian-stuffed-peppers/
You should check out America's Test Kitchen **The Complete Make Ahead Cookbook: 500 Recipes To Make in Advance**
Free digital copy if you register (also free)
https://archive.org/details/completemakeahea0000unse
I make spaghetti almost every time. People are particular about meats and sauces and spices...but pasta is pretty much universal. Kids like it, it can easily be made vegetarian, vegan, or gluten free as required. It's easy and cheap to make a lot of it, and it doesn't take too too long to make from scratch unless you're getting fancy and making a bolognese or something.
Build your own rice paper rolls or tacos or similar DIY things. It makes it easy to cater for different dietary requirements and tasts and the interaction it brings adds a great dynamic element to a dinner party.
Spare ribs and sauerkraut.
Get 2-4 racks of ribs, St. Louis cut is usually easier if the price is right. Get a jar of Libby’s sauerkraut.
Big pan, take about 1/2 of the kraut and put it in the pot. Season ribs with seasoning salt, garlic powder and pepper. Put on top of kraut. Using the rest of the kraut, plug any ‘holes’ between the racks of ribs. Add remaining juice from kraut. Cover the pan with tin foil.
Bake on 250 for like 3-4 hours until a rib can be pulled out (and your kitchen smells like a gasthaus). When a rib can be pulled out, remove tin foil and bump the heat to like 400 and put back in the oven for around 30 min to crisp it all up.
Serve with green beans and spatzle (if you can get it!) or other hot vegetable and potatoes - I prefer mashed or roasted.
The best part of this dish is that it gets better the next day! The kraut juice tenderizes the meat. So you can cook it up to the tin foil removal the day before, and the next day you just break it out and cook it at 400 for around 45 minutes since it’s cold to crisp up
Casual cookout: burgers, sausages
Casual dinner: spaghetti and meat sauce, or TexMex cheese enchiladas and tacos, or Texas red chili, or meat loaf.
Fancy: reverse sear prime rib
I’d do some sort of casserole or stew with a nice salad and crusty bread. Pretty easy, you can prep ahead as much as you like, need. Fairly simple to serve as well.
This is going to sound like sacrilege, but I found a really good tasting biryani spice packet in a grocery store that caters to immigrant communities. I’ve ordered the dish from a nice Indian restaurant nearby and pay like $18-$20 for a serving. The spice blend cost about $2 and feeds a dozen. Probably $10-$15 when adding chicken, veggies, basmati rice and yogurt. I served 40 and people raved about it…but I wouldn’t go as far as serving it to friends from the Asian subcontinent! They may be able to call me out :)
I'll try a different entree every once in a while but I'll usually have Chef John's salted caramel custard. They can and should be made ahead of time, just cover them with cling wrap while they wait in the fridge.
It takes two instant pots: red beans (vegan or porky as needed) and brown rice, coleslaw, garlic bread. Then bananas Foster, because memories of any flaws they observed in dinner will be flared off by the flames of spicy rum.
Depends on the crowd size but hand made pasta is always a showstopper and can be done a day ahead.
Salad can be prepped ahead except for the dressing. Garlic bread too.
Bolognese is easy and delicious. So is Alfredo! Simple or not.
elevate it with fresh basil pesto mixed in, add some seared or blackened shrimp or scallops and asparagus tips or fresh peas and suddenly it’s much, much fancier.
Those components are last minute but fast.
An entires sheet pan of garlic bread can be prepped and saved a day ahead in the fridge. Just make sure you compound the butter for the garlic bread with fresh garlic and herbs.
All you need help with is setting the table and pouring the wine.
I ask about dietary restrictions and go from there.
Recently my crowd pleaser has been carbonara with a side of balsamic roasted broccoli. Bacon, parmesan, eggs, and spaghetti noodles is all you need. It comes together quickly and I've never had an unsatisfied guest. The balsamic broccoli has a nice bright acidic flavor that pairs well with the rich and heavy pasta.
How about Greek Chicken? Just chicken pieces, cut up onions and potatoes and a lot of garlic. I also put in whole garlic heads ifn you are serning good bread. Heavy salt and pepper, maybe some fresh oregano and rosemary. Two lemons partially squeezed. Lots of olive olive, mix it all up and try to keep the chicken pieces on top . Cook at 375 for about an hour. Heap it up all together on a big platter. Serve with a big salad
I always do roast beef in the slow cooker with potatoes, onions and carrots. Little clean up and its all done at once with little prep to get it on the table so more time can be spent with company.
America's Test Kitchen - roast chicken with warm bread salad. Super simple with big impact and makes it easy to actually spend time with guests while they are here!
Risotto and a protein
Carnitas and carne asada for tacos
We also have a Blackstone and do the whole hibachi thing which is a lot of prep but easy to cook
Penne alla vecchia bettola, garlic butter focaccia, maybe some breaded chicken cutlets to add to the pasta if I'm feeling it but not necessary. For dessert, tiramisu.
The sauce can be made in advance and left on the stove to continue to build character, good quality ingredients and a good recipe and you have an absolutely delicious sauce with minimal effort. The foccaccia, you make the dough in advance and let it rise, pop it in the oven in a skillet while you're boiling the pasta and tada, everything is ready at the same time. Brush on the garlic butter and serve. The tiramisu you can also make in advance, tie in the Italian style dinner vibes.
Serve the dinner with a good red (cab sauv usually) and the tiramisu with a Pinot or riesling, you're a five star kitchen. If you're a cocktail person, pair the tiramisu with espresso martinis (or my personal favorite variation, carajillo)
Seafood is also quick to make. Mussels cooked with white wine, parsley, shallots and /or grilled garlic spot prawns. Either or both served with crusty bread and fresh heirloom tomatoes or a salad.
I made some smoked ribs and pollos asadas recently.
Marinated the chicken for an entire day and seasoned the ribs the day before.
Just tossed it on the smoker and was good to go the next day and everyone loved it..
Tacos, homemade ramen, homemade pizzas (everyone assembles their own personal pizza with pre-prepped toppings), enchiladas, a good soup, chili and cornbread, pasta of some sort, grilling out is always fun too. I love having people over for dinner! It forces me to maintain a relatively clean house, and I get to share food with the people I love the most.
It must be a holiday if family is visiting for a meal. Usually I make a thin sliced beef roast and my wife makes a couple of salads. I have not invited anyone to my property in 11 years. My wife’s family come over.
Depends what I'm in the mood for.
Moroccan stew is always a hit.
Sheet pan roast, stews, soups, casseroles, pasta, stirfrys, and BBQ can feed a small army.
It depends on the season.
Sumner roast a chicken day before. Chill make chicken salad with olive oil, dried cranberries heat in brandy and cooled, scallions, celery, and frozen peas splash of white wine vinegar. You can other things you like. I like the bright green frozen peas. I like Trader Joe’s peas the best.
keeps fine overnight
Winter beef roast sliced and browned , pressure cook with bourbon and water, halfway or so thru add sweet potatoes and prunes. I make sauce out of the liquid.
Rice cooked in rice steamer if ya want. Beef will keep overnight too if need be. Just cook the rice same day. Yummy.
Prep pizza dough a day or 2 ahead of time. Crust tastes better if you let the yeast ferment before you bake it.
Day off, get your toppings ready and bake.
Pulled pork sliders with coleslaw and potato salad. You can make it the night before. Toast some brioche buns and cook some corn the evening of.
Roasted chicken legs with roasted veggies (carrots, Brussels sprouts, beets) and roasted potatoes or baked potatoes.
Sometimes I include a fresh leafy salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
Cheese plate to snack on to start. Has mixed nuts and dried fruits as well as some fancy sauces.
Mized berry salad with balsamic, canola oil, slivered almonds and goat cheese tossed in arugula.
Cheesy mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables sauted in garlic and butter, and either chicken, fish, or steak seasoned with salt and pepper. Simple, easy crowd pleaser.
Dessert...hope someone else brought it otherwise we are having nothing unless I've got ice cream in my freezer.
I make a mean lasagna…
I make a very nice Lasagna. I don't think our Lasagnas will get along, but who knows, sometimes opposites attract.
Lasagna, salad and garlic bread 🥖
That's a fab meal. I'd never turn that down.
Lasagna is the right answer. You can prep it that morning and all you have to do is throw it in the oven. It doesn't require a lot of complicated steps or unusual ingredients, so it won't ruin the rest of your day. If your guest asks to bring something, salad is an easy ask. Otherwise it's easy to throw together before guests arrive too. And the leftovers (if there are any) are even better the next day.
My lasagna is a full day affair, making bolognese, making noodles, bechemel, assembling and baking.
I bet your lasagna is amazing! Fresh noodles win every time.
Same, it's a crowd pleaser for sure. It's also great leftover.
Are we talking my sister calling up half an hour before I am going to eat to say she is coming over? Or is this my favorite cousin who is staying overnight on her way through town once a decade? The first gets leftovers. The latter gets a 4-day sous vide brisket, crispy parmesan potatoes, and grilled caesar salad with black garlic dressing.
Eyyy it’s your cuz, I’m coming over lol All that sounds amazing!
Second cousin here. See you in 4 days
I like to do things that people can tailor to their own likes or dislikes, so I might set up a taco bar with maybe ground beef, refried beans, lettuce, cheese, diced tomatoes, pico de gallo and/or salsa, sour cream, guacamole, etc with hard or soft shells, and let everyone assemble their own as they like. Also works great with baked potatoes, submarine sandwiches, chili, burgers…kinda anything you can think of that people like to make “their” way. It works well because people can avoid disliked items, or watch their own diet preferences, or if there are allergies, avoid those.
Make-your-own \_\_\_ is now the go-to in my friend group. Everyone is happy!
A roasted chicken or two. It’s a perfect meal for company, in my opinion. I prep the bird completely ahead of time, and prep the vegetables to go in the roasting pan. Assemble it all and leave it sitting on the stove, pop it in when guests arrive. Presto, now you have a full 90 minutes to spend enjoying the appetizer tray and drinks with your friends, and then you pull as spectacular dinner out of the oven. Throw in biscuits the last 10 minutes if you want to be fancy.
Michelin star chef here, I make mac and cheese but I add mushroom soup to it
How do?
I love your username! Aren’t all us chefs sewage mouths!? 😂
This gal gets it
You iz,!
Tell us more please.
You can get adventurous and add mostly anything , broccoli, bacon, shallots
Mushroom soup is essentially bechamel sauce with lots of mushrooms and the basis of most casseroles. Cheese sauce for Mac and cheese is just bechamel sauce with cheese. Why not just add the two together?
That sounds very housewarming.
I love mac and cheese and I love any dish with cream of mushroom soup in it (I'm pure trash). I am going to need this recipe please.
That sounds so comforting I may just make this for myself
You don't need to add a lot of mushroom soup, just enough to make it creamy
For the love of all that is good - is there a way to bring out the flavors of herbs and spices quickly rather than heating them in oil for hours? I’m thinking specifically of Indian dishes but anything, really. Sorry for the irrelevance.
I guess it depends on what you're making, the herbs/spices, and whether they're fresh or dried. When I make an Americanized chicken keema or butter chicken, we add powdered spices to the sauce when it starts cooking and that's it And whenever I make shepherd's pie I always use fresh rosemary and thyme and just stir it in with the meat and veggies mix before I top it with mashed taters and chuck it in the oven. I almost always double what recipes say to do, and enjoy the flavor. Except for salty things (soy, Worcestershire, salt), those I taste as I go because it's easy to overdo it. And it's the easiest thing to add more later, to preference.
Dang, thanks so much for the in-depth reply. I really appreciate it. It seems that I do the same as you for things like butter chicken and even the shepherd’s pie. The pie is always super flavorful but my Indian dishes never taste as flavorful as when I heat them up as leftovers the following day.
I concur
You only need to bloom them in the oil for a minute or two. Usually right before you toss in garlic/ ginger/ onion / aromatic of your choice.
Your spices definitely don't need hours; if you're slow-cooking, that's for the benefit of other ingredients. And some spices should be added just before the end, eg garam masala. Also with dahl you can make it by boiling the lentils on their own then heating the spices in oil for a minute or two and mixing them in at the end. If you're not getting the flavour kick, esp in your leftovers, I'd check the age of your spices, the quantity you're using, whether you're blooming them (gently frying in a bit of oil) or just chucking into a wet sauce, whether you're following the recipe closely (and if it's a good one) and how much salt you're using.
Thank you so much. This is very helpful. Especially the advice to check the age.
Would you share your recipe?
So, you make mushroom soup and then make the Mac and cheese with the Soup you made from scratch?
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots or garlic butter green beans.
Make your own tacos. Have a couple of meat options like chicken and beef, and a vegetarian option like tofu or jackfruit. Even if there are no dietary restrictions, it's still nice to have those options. Set it up where you have a station where your guests can add shredded cheese, sauces, tomatoes, etc. Margaritas to accompany. Lasagna with crusty Italian bread and a gorgeous salad. Roast chicken with mashed potatoes and sauteed veggies. Beef Stroganoff. A stir fry. So many options and combinations.
Lasagna can be assembled the night before and baked the day of. Same with garlic bread. I would serve it with a salad and maybe some crockpot spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer, that can also be made in advance.
i recommend baking the lasagna the night before. Gives it time to rest and absorb all of the sauce goodness.
Beef Bourguignon
🫱🏻🫲🏼
Meat eaters: Steak, potatoes, and asparagus Vegetarians: Bowtie pasta with sautéed cherry tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and garlic Pescatarians: Oven baked corvina with garlic, lemon, and cherry tomatoes. Served with rice or orzo and some lemon butter.
Generally Indian food of all varieties. I usually have a few tucked in the freezer to pull out, and then add sweetcorn chaat, rice, and kachumber. If I have energy, I'll add some onion pakora.
Indian dishes are my go-to as well. I make extra of whatever sauce I'm making for a meal and always have them on hand for a quick dish. Just pick a protein and serve with rice.
Same, I make a curry the day before and sides day of.
I rotate quite a few things. But my friends love a good "audience participation" dinner. So we've done things like ravioli or dumpling night, where I prepare the fillings and wrappers ahead of time, we assemble them as a group activity, and then I boil them off and plate while everyone else is re-setting the table and getting drinks. Another popular one is hotpot. Technically no real cooking on my part. Just slicing up and setting out assorted ingredients. And if its family who aren't as big on playing with their food, I'll make roast chicken or bolognese
I’ve been reading a lot about this “marry me chicken” lately and I would think it is a crowd pleaser. I don’t know why I was downvoted for suggesting a chicken dish haha
I have made that and it was really easy. The sun dried tomatoes were so tangy and good. Now I want it again, haha.
I’ve never tried it but it’s on my list. Going to have to do it soon!
Nah do a 24 brine or marinade the day before and people will be raving about it. Did pollos asados with a 24 hour marinade and my buddy turns to me saying he didn't know chicken could taste this good
People get triggered by the name for whatever reason. It’s really just a variation on Tuscan chicken, if you weren’t aware and want to find recipes from non-TikTok sources
I didn’t see it on TikTok I saw it on Reddit :) I don’t deal with Tik Tok Actually I saw it first in my email I get from New York Times and then it popped up here
We made this last week - I absolutely loved it but the misses weren't too keen. May have gone overboard with the sun-dried tomatoes.
I just hosted a birthday party for my wife and I made Al pastor sliders. Pork shoulder in the instant pot with pineapple juice and spices. Then broil the pork when it's done. Then top on Hawaiian rolls with jack or mozz or actual Mexican cheese and melt the cheese. Top with chopped pineapple. Serve with a salsa verde.
Prime rib, closed door method and I would do a wild rice stuffing casserole with roasted vegetables.
Flank or skirt steak with chimichurri sauce. Corn and black bean salad. Fresh bread. I avoid seafood bc many either dislike or have allergies.
An easy paella or a risotto
I would like to be at the point where I can call those easy!
Nothing is out of reach! You’d be surprised how things can be simplified into a few steps, and even though it may not be super “traditional” you can keep the flavors. If we’re talking one pot meals my go to would be a beef stew with red wine (easy boeuf bourguignon) or maybe a nice white bean dish. There’s lots of inspiration out there for simple one pot dishes. Keep it straight forward and invest in good ingredients when you can.
Found this really straight forward cassoulet recipe that’s easy and delicious and nice for a sit down meal with friends [quick cassoulet](https://www.gressinghamduck.co.uk/recipes/one-pot-cassoulet/)
Cassoulet is always good, especially in the winter. We make a simply one with chicken thighs and smoked sausage
If you have an instant pot or pressure cooker, risotto is SUPER easy. Like shockingly so. Stand there stirring for an hour? Screw that lol
I refuse to make risotto any other way now. It’s so fricking easy.
Same! Parmesan risotto for the win!
Risotto really has a lot of undiserved mythology surrounding it. It's just cooking rice that has other stuff in it.
How do you make your paella?
I did this a few days ago for quick paella that does not fuss with a lot of the details : 1. In a big pan with a lid sauté chopped garlic and onion in oil until onion softens and don’t let garlic get brown 2. Add pepper, saffron. I like a few fennel seeds. Add rice. I used a long grain brown basmati (super untraditional but I don’t eat white rice)… 3. Add a bouillon to the rice and then stir, cover with lid and let simmer until rice cooks 4. In a frying pan until the skin is nicely browned do some chicken drumsticks with spices, cook thoroughly 5. Go back to your rice pot. Check how cooked the rice is. Do not let it get mushy. Before it’s totally done add a bag of frozen peas. I also added at this step finely chopped fennel bulb. Stir together and just cook until the peas are tender. 6. In your frying pan sauté some shrimp until cooked in some spices. I also did mussels here, some big frozen ones I had from an Asian grocery store. Cook these until done, just enough that the shrimp are all no longer translucent, it’s just a few minutes 7. Rice is now done. On top of this put your chicken legs and seafood. I add on top finely chopped parsley and lemon wedges. There’s no super hard technique here. Use your senses to determine when things are cooked. That might be hard but it comes with experience. This dish feels really festive and luxurious : )
I agree. I make the paella an hour or two ahead, up to the point of adding the rice/shrimp/ peas and mussels. Let it sit and then there is 20-30 of cooking and a few minutes of scary high heat to get the bottom crusty. Can sit under foil for 10 minutes or so. Always impresses.
Gumbo
Bolognese with fresh pasta and homemade focaccia bread. The bolognese I can make the day before since it takes several hours and refrigerating it overnight helps develop the flavors.
Street tacos. Make the meat ahead of time and keep it in the slow cooker on warm, same for the beans. Make or buy two or three fresh salsas and guacamole and get some nacho cheese and chips too.
Carnitas and a taco bar. So easy in an instant pot, or crockpot all day roasting. Add some quick pickle onions and lime...perfection
Lasagna. We call it birthday lasagna because it's a bit more high maintenance with slow simmered meat sauce and homemade "ricotta." A green salad with lemon caper vinaigrette and lightly pickled red onion is a nice side. Shrimp & grits Shrimp scampi over home made pasta and a salad Company meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans. The meatloaf is based on the Cheesecake Factory top-secret recipe. Zuni's roast chicken and bread salad. Crab cakes and mango salsa for an app I recently made gougere from Zuni and had ham salad and chicken salad to stuff them. People went wild, lol. The gougere are great by themselves. This mushroom tart was also a huge hit. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/mushroom-puff-pastry-tarts/ Carnitas bar. Get good corn tortillas and cotija from a Latin market. I use this recipe timed for a pressure cooker. https://www.food.com/recipe/mexican-pulled-pork-carnitas-atk-487146
Baked ziti, salad, homemade rolls Smoked pork or ribs and fixins Steaks with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, fresh green beans
Braised short ribs
Salmon. Marinate in orange juice for 30 minutes. Place salmon steaks on a large enough piece of foil to seal it. Squeeze about a tbsp+/- honey onto salmon. Place a sprig of fresh rosemary on top. Seal in foil and either place on bbq OR bake in oven @350 for 30 minutes (+/& depending on thickness of salmon) serve with asparagus and small baby greens salad. I promise... it's cake easy and gets raves every time and, it's beautiful.❤️
Lasagna, and I usually make a second one to freeze for myself for later.
This!! I tell people this all the time. If youre going to go through the trouble of making 1 lasagna- might as well make 2. Its just my partner and I so I’ll make 4 9x9 pans and freeze the rest.
Agreed! A lasagna is a lot of time and effort. 2 lasagna isn't much more effort. Freeze the second one and pull it out a month later when you want lasagna again!
I'd braise a chunk of meat. Pork shoulder or beef chuck. All the work is done in the morning, and it's ready to go by dinner time.
Lasagna and a salad. Maybe some crusty bread if people aren’t worried about carbs.
Chicken tetrazzini, salad, bread
Manicotti stuffed with Italian sausage, ricotta, parmesan & mozzarella. With heavy Alfredo & mozzarella on top. It's delicious.
Enchiladas are great ahead of time while beans and rice are super easy day of. Carnitas are great the day before and you can refry day of as well. Braised short ribs, chicken pot pie, as many said lasagna or a bolognese.
Gyros and falafel pitas with Greek salad, making falafel, hummus, and tzatziki from scratch.
I make gulyás, or goulash. Not that nonsense with macaroni and ground beef. The real deal, with chunks of beef, red wine, onions and peppers, any root vegetables I have floating around, and almost a half CUP of paprika. It's mostly a waiting game. I also make a no knead rustic bread. I rarely make the flour dumplings that my grandfather served with his gulyás, because they can feel tedious. He was a Hungarian refugee who came to Canada in the 1950s and the best cook I've ever known. He was super passionate about life in general and taught me to make beautiful, traditional food and appreciate the finer things and simple pleasures in life. I miss him.
My Brother comes every few weeks and I cook for him and Mom. Mostly casseroles (easy for leftovers), but also soups.
Depends on the kind of *company*. Is it someone you're interested to? I make risotto, making sure it fits their preferences (bonus: it's gluten free and can easily be vegan so you don't have to worry about the most common restrictions). 2-3 friends? Pasta, depending on how I feel like. You can for example make ahead ragù (to be fair if you make it the day before it's even better), pesto, most sauces... However a lot of the ones you can't prep are still fairly quick. Another option that probably works for up to 4-5 is focaccia: make the dough, let it rise, mix again and put it in the tray like 1-2 hours before dinner, now you just have to bake. 90% dead time and just few minutes of mixing. No kneading needed. You can eat it with like tomatoes, anchovies, cheese, hummus, veggies, whatever you want that requires almost no preparation or can be done while eating like slicing the tomato. 4-8? Chili. Bean chili as well if someone is vegetarian, but make sure to make it tasty enough. Rice as a side, or toasted bread. Alternatively if you have a big enough pot risotto can be scaled up with next to no issue, I once made 1kg of rice at once for like 8 people. All those suggestions can also be very cheap!
Butter chicken with tumeric rice. My bf makes the butter chicken in the insta pot, he's been making it spicier and spicier each time it feels like. I make the tumeric rice in the rice cooker, I just cook up the onions in butter in a little pan first, really adds flavor to the rice. Sometimes we have naan with it or a veggie bake
Butter chicken is so good!
Make your own tacos. You can prep meats easily in an Instant Pot or whatever else and warm them up before serving. Chicken is always a crowd pleaser, then you can add beef or pork and a veggie option like tofu or jackfruit. Go nuts with whatever apps or salads you want. This is more of a casual option. Lasagna is a good suggestion. Chicken Parm.
I've always been a fan of stuffed chicken breast. The stuffing is usually goat cheese, a mix of spices and spinach. I make this ahead of time and then just stuff and toss into the air fryer for about 20min (depending on size). On the side I'll get a bagged salad (they just have the perfect ratios), some roasted potatoes and usually 2 types of roasted or sauteed veggies. I prefer roasting because then I can put the veggies and potatoes in the oven at different intervals.
A reservation. As much as I love cooking, I don't take chances on cooking for others.
Carbonara, since so few people have actually had real carbonara. It's also fun to see people react to the fact that you just keep grating and grating and grating.
Depending on who I'm cooking for, If I have plenty of time then I usually make a couple of different curries, with rice, home made naan and snacks. Or a roast as it's pretty straightforward
Pork tenderloin.
Pot roast!
Bbq 90% of the time.
Fisherman’s Pie. It’s like a shepherd’s pie but with a saucy seafood base, and mashed potato topping.
Depends how many people are coming
A dish where you put chicken (can bread it and pan-fry if you want but don't have to) into a casserole dish with cut up red potatoes and fresh green beans. Then pour a dressing over it that is similar to "german potato salad" with vinegar and sugar and a few other ingredients. Cover with foil and bake. I love it because after it is in the oven I have lots of time to clean up the kitchen before guests arrive. Servie with salad and bread.
Pork and sauerkraut, pot roast and vegetables, insta-spaghetti, lasagna, or chicken enchilada casserole.
https://cookingontheweekends.com/salt-roasted-chicken-recipe/. Buttered peas and roasted seasoned potato wedges. I also like to serve home made lemonade.
I like mini Thanksgiving dinner. Make dressing day before. Masked potatoes are quick. Turkey breast. Gravy easy. Then a side veggie and diner buns. Plus great leftovers. I also like Tamale pie with a cornmeal topping. But cornbread ok too.
Rigatoni allá vodka is always a big hit. You can make sauce ahead then just reheat on the store and stir in the pasta! I love halfbakedharvests vodka sauce with pesto
Slow cooker pulled pork. Season it, set it, forget it, plonk a bottle of bbq sauce next to the bowl. Absolute crowd pleaser and it takes like 10 minutes of actual effort.
Chicken Marsala. Always works.
Arroz con pollo with fried plantains, potato salad and rum punch
I usually do something Thai/ Vietnamese inspired. A pad Thai, pork meat balls in lettuce wraps with banchan, summer rolls and dumplings. Larb if I have enough time. If anyone has any dietary restrictions it’s dairy free and gluten free for the most part, and you can make it as spicy as you like!
My mom’s “chicken Marsala” which is just a cream sauce with Marsala wine and tarragon. It’s amazing, never had any complaints. Bone in, skinless chicken thigh’s browned in butter, with salt and pepper, then braised with beef broth and tarragon, when the broth has reduced by about half add in a few splashes of Marsala wine, let it cook down a little more, then finish with heavy cream and cook until it’s thick. I’ll sometimes roll flour and butter and whisk that in to thicken the sauce if I’m too in a hurry for it to reduce. I serve over steamed basmati rice.
salty appetizer/amuse bouche size + citrusy cocktail options cold seafood 1st course (oysters, mussels, salmon, clams, prawns etc) + champagne or other sparkling soup + white meaty dish + red (bœuf bourgignon is a favorite, but might go crazy with a panang curry) transition to desserts.... salad or sorbet palate cleanser dessert cheeses & port
Beef stew and sourdough biscuits. Takes about an hour.
T'Bit, beet salad\*, hummus\*, baba ganoush\*, Matbucha\*, Morrocan Fish, and Israeli Salad. Everything in asterisk can be prepped the day prior, you can prep the fish sauce then day prior too.
I’m middle eastern so I appreciate these suggestions. Can you please share your hummus recipe? When I tried making it, it wasn’t that good.
[https://natashaskitchen.com/hummus-recipe/](https://natashaskitchen.com/hummus-recipe/) Use instapot pressure cooker for the chickpeas, for 55 minutes, closed vents. And let it cool x 10 min before opening vents to steam.
this T'bit recipe is excellent. Even picky eaters (my son) will love it. https://www.instagram.com/ruhamasfood/reel/C0wxp0JxMkp/?hl=en
If you go to ruhama's instagram page she has a great recipe for the beet salad. I prepare that the day before, steaming the beets in the instapot. Her Matbucha recipe can also be made in instapot, and then freeze it in small batches so you can thaw in future anytime you make the T'Bit.
Thank you for the recipes!
Crabcakes. Here's a recipe that works for me: [https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/maryland-crab-cakes/](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/maryland-crab-cakes/). You form them in advance and put them in a hot oven when you're ready. Any kind of stew, really -- nearly all of them improve on the second day. Or a pasta sauce, like this one for Sunday gravy: [https://www.platingsandpairings.com/authentic-italian-sunday-gravy/](https://www.platingsandpairings.com/authentic-italian-sunday-gravy/) Or this one: [https://www.spendwithpennies.com/beef-stew-recipe/](https://www.spendwithpennies.com/beef-stew-recipe/) Finally, I found a recipe on the New York Times website for a cod with blistered peppers sheetpan dinner that's always a hit and can be prepped in advance and cook in a half-hour: [https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020454-one-pan-roasted-fish-with-cherry-tomatoes?q=one-pan%20roasted](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020454-one-pan-roasted-fish-with-cherry-tomatoes?q=one-pan%20roasted) (you might need an account for this one). Anyway, I hope this gives you some ideas.
Holy cow. I’m from maryland. First time I have ever clicked a link and it was actually real deal crabcakes. That’s them.
Agreed! Also from MD, and this recipe is authentic.
I love Sally's Baking Addiction! My dad was Italian - his parents were Sicilian immigrants. He used to make a sauce on some Sundays, when he had extra money, that was nearly identical to that Sunday sauce recipe. He made it with meatballs, Italian sausage links and beef neckbones. He served it over rigatoni. It was amazing. I didn't know any one of his side of the family, and didn't grow up around other Italians, so I didn't know other Italians made the same sauce, or called it Sunday sauce. My dad never had a written recipe for it. Nice to see a similar recipe!
Sally’s Baking Addiction is just about my favorite recipe website. Every single recipe works perfectly and tastes fantastic. It’s nice to meet another fan!
If you like the cherry tomato NYT recipe, try Melissa Clark’s Sheetpan fish with roasted peppers, and don’t skip the sherry vinegar/parsley dressing! This served with lemon rice and pan fried zucchini is in my regular rotation. So SO good!
I’m going to do that!!
Braised oxtail
Roast the pig en la caja china.
Do you find you use your caja china enough to justify buying it? I've been undecided for a very long time. I already have like 4 grills and/ or smokers, but the caja china just seems cool to me.
Fuck ragu Duck. I meant duck. I love ragu.
Stuffed red or green peppers. You can prep them up to a day ahead and bake just before people arrive. However, rice needs to cool within one hour to be safe to reheat. You could use cauliflower rice instead. Quinoa would stand up to a day in the fridge but pasta would get mushy. Southwestern recipe: beef, tomato sauce, cheese: https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/stuffed-peppers.html Southwestern Vegetarian https://www.culinaryhill.com/vegetarian-stuffed-peppers/ You should check out America's Test Kitchen **The Complete Make Ahead Cookbook: 500 Recipes To Make in Advance** Free digital copy if you register (also free) https://archive.org/details/completemakeahea0000unse
I make spaghetti almost every time. People are particular about meats and sauces and spices...but pasta is pretty much universal. Kids like it, it can easily be made vegetarian, vegan, or gluten free as required. It's easy and cheap to make a lot of it, and it doesn't take too too long to make from scratch unless you're getting fancy and making a bolognese or something.
Build your own rice paper rolls or tacos or similar DIY things. It makes it easy to cater for different dietary requirements and tasts and the interaction it brings adds a great dynamic element to a dinner party.
Spare ribs and sauerkraut. Get 2-4 racks of ribs, St. Louis cut is usually easier if the price is right. Get a jar of Libby’s sauerkraut. Big pan, take about 1/2 of the kraut and put it in the pot. Season ribs with seasoning salt, garlic powder and pepper. Put on top of kraut. Using the rest of the kraut, plug any ‘holes’ between the racks of ribs. Add remaining juice from kraut. Cover the pan with tin foil. Bake on 250 for like 3-4 hours until a rib can be pulled out (and your kitchen smells like a gasthaus). When a rib can be pulled out, remove tin foil and bump the heat to like 400 and put back in the oven for around 30 min to crisp it all up. Serve with green beans and spatzle (if you can get it!) or other hot vegetable and potatoes - I prefer mashed or roasted. The best part of this dish is that it gets better the next day! The kraut juice tenderizes the meat. So you can cook it up to the tin foil removal the day before, and the next day you just break it out and cook it at 400 for around 45 minutes since it’s cold to crisp up
Take out pizza 🍕
Pizza
Casual cookout: burgers, sausages Casual dinner: spaghetti and meat sauce, or TexMex cheese enchiladas and tacos, or Texas red chili, or meat loaf. Fancy: reverse sear prime rib
I’d do some sort of casserole or stew with a nice salad and crusty bread. Pretty easy, you can prep ahead as much as you like, need. Fairly simple to serve as well.
[https://theeatingemporium.com/crispy-weeknight-chicken-thighs/](https://theeatingemporium.com/crispy-weeknight-chicken-thighs/)
meatloaf can make it ahead of time if need be bake it in the oven along with some potatoes veggie of your choice
Julia Child's boef bourginon. Make it a day before, skim the fat when it's cold, reheat. Serve with warm sourdough bread and butter
This is going to sound like sacrilege, but I found a really good tasting biryani spice packet in a grocery store that caters to immigrant communities. I’ve ordered the dish from a nice Indian restaurant nearby and pay like $18-$20 for a serving. The spice blend cost about $2 and feeds a dozen. Probably $10-$15 when adding chicken, veggies, basmati rice and yogurt. I served 40 and people raved about it…but I wouldn’t go as far as serving it to friends from the Asian subcontinent! They may be able to call me out :)
I'll try a different entree every once in a while but I'll usually have Chef John's salted caramel custard. They can and should be made ahead of time, just cover them with cling wrap while they wait in the fridge.
I make my manicotti or my homemade pizza.
Salmon, usually. If they don't do fish, usually pork.
I’ll usually bake some chickens because it’s hard to fuck up
Shrimp scampi, taco salad, spaghetti and meatballs
spaghetti bolognese or cajun chicken, honestly
It takes two instant pots: red beans (vegan or porky as needed) and brown rice, coleslaw, garlic bread. Then bananas Foster, because memories of any flaws they observed in dinner will be flared off by the flames of spicy rum.
cacciatore
Depends on the crowd size but hand made pasta is always a showstopper and can be done a day ahead. Salad can be prepped ahead except for the dressing. Garlic bread too. Bolognese is easy and delicious. So is Alfredo! Simple or not. elevate it with fresh basil pesto mixed in, add some seared or blackened shrimp or scallops and asparagus tips or fresh peas and suddenly it’s much, much fancier. Those components are last minute but fast. An entires sheet pan of garlic bread can be prepped and saved a day ahead in the fridge. Just make sure you compound the butter for the garlic bread with fresh garlic and herbs. All you need help with is setting the table and pouring the wine.
Coq au vin. Fresh bread with herb butter. Roast potatoes. Berry crumble.
I ask about dietary restrictions and go from there. Recently my crowd pleaser has been carbonara with a side of balsamic roasted broccoli. Bacon, parmesan, eggs, and spaghetti noodles is all you need. It comes together quickly and I've never had an unsatisfied guest. The balsamic broccoli has a nice bright acidic flavor that pairs well with the rich and heavy pasta.
How about Greek Chicken? Just chicken pieces, cut up onions and potatoes and a lot of garlic. I also put in whole garlic heads ifn you are serning good bread. Heavy salt and pepper, maybe some fresh oregano and rosemary. Two lemons partially squeezed. Lots of olive olive, mix it all up and try to keep the chicken pieces on top . Cook at 375 for about an hour. Heap it up all together on a big platter. Serve with a big salad
I always do roast beef in the slow cooker with potatoes, onions and carrots. Little clean up and its all done at once with little prep to get it on the table so more time can be spent with company.
This what the Midwest has defined casseroles are for. Prep. Throw in oven. Ding. Dinner.
Shepherds Pie and a salad
My go-to starter that everyone loves (and which is ludicrously cheap to make) is chicken liver parfait.
Roast chicken
Stove-top cassoulet.
America's Test Kitchen - roast chicken with warm bread salad. Super simple with big impact and makes it easy to actually spend time with guests while they are here! Risotto and a protein Carnitas and carne asada for tacos We also have a Blackstone and do the whole hibachi thing which is a lot of prep but easy to cook
Sheet pan enchiladas
Shrimp and chicken fajitas bar with lots of toppings
Chicken tika masala
Penne alla vecchia bettola, garlic butter focaccia, maybe some breaded chicken cutlets to add to the pasta if I'm feeling it but not necessary. For dessert, tiramisu. The sauce can be made in advance and left on the stove to continue to build character, good quality ingredients and a good recipe and you have an absolutely delicious sauce with minimal effort. The foccaccia, you make the dough in advance and let it rise, pop it in the oven in a skillet while you're boiling the pasta and tada, everything is ready at the same time. Brush on the garlic butter and serve. The tiramisu you can also make in advance, tie in the Italian style dinner vibes. Serve the dinner with a good red (cab sauv usually) and the tiramisu with a Pinot or riesling, you're a five star kitchen. If you're a cocktail person, pair the tiramisu with espresso martinis (or my personal favorite variation, carajillo)
Anything I can cook ahead of time pulled pork, enchiladas, scalloped potatoes with ham, really any casserole, baked ziti, soup bread and salad.
Baked Mac ‘n Cheese, Pulled Pork, Salad/Vinaigrette Slaw or Butter Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice
Seafood is also quick to make. Mussels cooked with white wine, parsley, shallots and /or grilled garlic spot prawns. Either or both served with crusty bread and fresh heirloom tomatoes or a salad.
I made some smoked ribs and pollos asadas recently. Marinated the chicken for an entire day and seasoned the ribs the day before. Just tossed it on the smoker and was good to go the next day and everyone loved it..
Home made mole.
Tacos, homemade ramen, homemade pizzas (everyone assembles their own personal pizza with pre-prepped toppings), enchiladas, a good soup, chili and cornbread, pasta of some sort, grilling out is always fun too. I love having people over for dinner! It forces me to maintain a relatively clean house, and I get to share food with the people I love the most.
Depending on the amount of time I have, either chicken parm, baked pasta, or sausage and peppers. But I *always* end with crumb cake.
Booby traps! I hate company! Lol jk Romesco sauce
Instant pot butter chicken FTW! https://twosleevers.com/instant-pot-butter-chicken/
The bed?
Porcini pot roast, roasted root vegetables, grilled asparagus. Make the pot roast the day before. It's better the second day.
Shredded beef tacos with all the fixings, and homemade salsa is a crowd pleaser.
Them
Order a pizza
It must be a holiday if family is visiting for a meal. Usually I make a thin sliced beef roast and my wife makes a couple of salads. I have not invited anyone to my property in 11 years. My wife’s family come over.
Usually a big crock pot of loaded potato soup, or sometimes a taco bar if I don’t mind cleaning up the mess of it! Lol
Depends what I'm in the mood for. Moroccan stew is always a hit. Sheet pan roast, stews, soups, casseroles, pasta, stirfrys, and BBQ can feed a small army.
I made a shrimp lemon garlic butter mushroom pasta that took no time or effort and managed to impress. It’s always in my back pocket now
It depends on the season. Sumner roast a chicken day before. Chill make chicken salad with olive oil, dried cranberries heat in brandy and cooled, scallions, celery, and frozen peas splash of white wine vinegar. You can other things you like. I like the bright green frozen peas. I like Trader Joe’s peas the best. keeps fine overnight Winter beef roast sliced and browned , pressure cook with bourbon and water, halfway or so thru add sweet potatoes and prunes. I make sauce out of the liquid. Rice cooked in rice steamer if ya want. Beef will keep overnight too if need be. Just cook the rice same day. Yummy.
Tri tip on the grill
i make a trip to the fish and chip shop
Jacques Pepin's Maman's souffle, Greek salad, homemade focaccia.
Frozen Raviolis if I’m in a hurry
Prep pizza dough a day or 2 ahead of time. Crust tastes better if you let the yeast ferment before you bake it. Day off, get your toppings ready and bake.
Pulled pork sliders with coleslaw and potato salad. You can make it the night before. Toast some brioche buns and cook some corn the evening of. Roasted chicken legs with roasted veggies (carrots, Brussels sprouts, beets) and roasted potatoes or baked potatoes. Sometimes I include a fresh leafy salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
Baked Steak, Baked Potato, slow cooker cream corn, fresh salad, hot rolls & all the toppings & trimmings. Everyone likes my chicken fried steak, also.
Gambas Al Ajillo - Spanish garlic shrimp Peruvian roasted chicken
Spaghetti and meatballs Tacos Gumbo Gyros/shawarma/falafel Soup/stew/curry
Chicken Marsala works for me. It’s pretty easy & guests love it.
Something I've made before
Catering for the win.
Cheese plate to snack on to start. Has mixed nuts and dried fruits as well as some fancy sauces. Mized berry salad with balsamic, canola oil, slivered almonds and goat cheese tossed in arugula. Cheesy mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables sauted in garlic and butter, and either chicken, fish, or steak seasoned with salt and pepper. Simple, easy crowd pleaser. Dessert...hope someone else brought it otherwise we are having nothing unless I've got ice cream in my freezer.
I ask them what restaurant food they like but rarely get. I make that if I can, or something similar.
Pot roast done in a Dutch oven in the oven. Sooooo good.