Need dinner party inspo!

[Anonymous]

What do you make when you're having people over for dinner? Not the 'close friends everyone bring a dish' party but the business associate + wife, or meet the son's serious girlfriend's parents for the first time kind of event. I'll often do a big roast chicken, maybe salmon, with a starch, a veg or salad, and a dessert (usually brownies or a cheesecake), maybe a big stew and homemade bread in the winter, but I'm bored with my usuals. What do you make for semi-formal-ish entertaining?

[Anonymous]

Lamb chops as main.
Maybe a gazpacho starter.
Definitely not stew - too peasantish.

[Anonymous]

And not brownies either - way too casual. Perhaps a fruit tart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lamb chops as main.
Maybe a gazpacho starter.
Definitely not stew - too peasantish.

Not everyone eats Lamb and not everyone likes cold soup. This is not a meal I would make for people whose taste I don’t know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lamb chops as main.
Maybe a gazpacho starter.
Definitely not stew - too peasantish.

Not everyone eats Lamb and not everyone likes cold soup. This is not a meal I would make for people whose taste I don’t know.

+1
And not everybody eats Salmon for the love of all things pink and gross!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lamb chops as main.
Maybe a gazpacho starter.
Definitely not stew - too peasantish.

Not everyone eats Lamb and not everyone likes cold soup. This is not a meal I would make for people whose taste I don’t know.

Okay, so what 'would' you make?

[Anonymous]

Baked ziti, garlic bread, and salad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baked ziti, garlic bread, and salad

[Anonymous]

I like the Barefoot Contessa updated chicken marbella recipe (serve with couscous and a green veg). I don't bake so I would buy a cake or pie from a nice bakery. I wouldn't do seafood or a polarizing meat like lamb or pork for people whose tastes I don't know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lamb chops as main.
Maybe a gazpacho starter.
Definitely not stew - too peasantish.

Not everyone eats Lamb and not everyone likes cold soup. This is not a meal I would make for people whose taste I don’t know.

I don’t think there are any foods that everyone eats. I think that asking about restrictions and then having something where the components are separate is the best, and gazpacho and lamb are both great components.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t make lamb for someone whose tastes I don’t know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you make when you're having people over for dinner? Not the 'close friends everyone bring a dish' party but the business associate + wife, or meet the son's serious girlfriend's parents for the first time kind of event. I'll often do a big roast chicken, maybe salmon, with a starch, a veg or salad, and a dessert (usually brownies or a cheesecake), maybe a big stew and homemade bread in the winter, but I'm bored with my usuals. What do you make for semi-formal-ish entertaining?

In the summer? Or is this hypothetical?

[Anonymous]

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/linguine-with-shrimp-scampi-recipe3-1916619

This is always a winner. Non shrimp eaters can eat around the shrimp, but I've never seen anyone do that.

[Anonymous]

I would make a chicken souvlaki platter with lots of roasted vegetables for anyone who doesn't eat meat (the platter would include grilled chicken skewers, grilled vegetable skewers, pita bread, Greek potato wedges, hummus, melitzanosalata, kalamata olives, feta), along with tzatziki sauce, chopped Greek salad, rice pilaf, and pita bread.

I would buy baklava for dessert and if I could find some other theme-appropriate desserts would provide an assortment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/linguine-with-shrimp-scampi-recipe3-1916619

This is always a winner. Non shrimp eaters can eat around the shrimp, but I've never seen anyone do that.

I would avoid shrimp along with pork and lamb.