Give me your best small dinner party menu for a new guest who says ‘I like everything’

[Anonymous]

We like mexican food and I think it's fun to make.

I would have:
- chicken enchiladas with red and green sauce (some with melted monterrey jack cheese, some without)
- cilantro lime rice
- chipotle beans (pinto probably, maybe black)
- a simple salad with lettuce, cilantro, lots of fresh corn, red pepper, radish, and a lime vinaigrette
- homemade pico and homemade guacamole for toppings, sour cream, and a variety of hot sauces maybe some additional cheese because some people love cheese

Pico, Guac, and texas caviar with chips for appetizers. Maybe something cheesy also.

Margaritas, beers, wine, seltzer, limeade as drink options.

Something lemon or caramel or coconut for dessert.

[Anonymous]

^I would ask the guest to confirm their cilantro opinions first!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^I would ask the guest to confirm their cilantro opinions first!

The guest "likes everything" so I would take them at their word.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baked ziti? Pasta salad? Chicken salad? 😂

These suggestions are all bad. Just take this poor person out for dinner and feed them something decent.

That poster is making a DCUM joke

I got the joke, the poster is clearly summarizing the terrible suggestions throughout this thread and I'm fully agreeing.

You did not get the joke, which is not about this thread at all

Are you for real? The emoji makes it perfectly clear. There are the usual bad suggestions in here. We all get it except for you apparently. Baked ziti, lasagna, hamburgers, wash rinse repeat. You must be new here.

Lol no.

I’ve been here for 17 years now and hamburgers are not part of the joke, moron.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baked ziti? Pasta salad? Chicken salad? 😂

These suggestions are all bad. Just take this poor person out for dinner and feed them something decent.

That poster is making a DCUM joke

I got the joke, the poster is clearly summarizing the terrible suggestions throughout this thread and I'm fully agreeing.

You did not get the joke, which is not about this thread at all

Are you for real? The emoji makes it perfectly clear. There are the usual bad suggestions in here. We all get it except for you apparently. Baked ziti, lasagna, hamburgers, wash rinse repeat. You must be new here.

Lol no.

I’ve been here for 17 years now and hamburgers are not part of the joke, moron.

You don't seem to have a refined sense of humor. Maybe touch grass and get out more than spending 17 sad years here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like serving beef bourguignon this time of year. It’s not that hard to make, can be done a day in advance and reheated, and people seem to think it’s fancy. I use the Julia Child recipe and serve over mashed potatoes with a green vegetable on the side.

I think it's really tacky to serve someone reheated leftovers. That's what you feed the family when you're sick or rushing around, not a guest for a special dinner.

oh, bullsh!t. making something ahead for a party is not leftovers, ding-a-ling! i have a friend that makes about 30 dishes for a fancy gourmet dinner party. do you think she does all that day of?

I know...I want to ask if PP has ever been to a restaurant since pretty much everything is pre-cooked to some degree and just flash-finished. I worked in a high end French restaurant and this was certainly the case, especially with all the sauces that are very labor-intensive to make. All the sous vide steaks, fish and chicken are made ahead except being run through an extremely hot broiler or flash seared in a pan. They aren't starting back in the kitchen with raw ingredients when you order. Even pasta is par cooked. They wouldn't be able to function without precooked food.

DP / similar BOH experience

The original bolded statement was this:

I think it's really tacky to serve someone reheated leftovers.

A restaurant will prepare a baked pasta dish prior to service and hold it at temp on the steam table. This is of course fine and common.

I take "reheated leftovers" to mean lasagna prepared on Wednesday, refrigerated overnight, then reheated and served on Thursday or Friday. If you find this in a restaurant kitchen, it likely isn't a quality restaurant, and it likely isn't because it enhances the flavor of the dish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We like mexican food and I think it's fun to make.

I would have:
- chicken enchiladas with red and green sauce (some with melted monterrey jack cheese, some without)
- cilantro lime rice
- chipotle beans (pinto probably, maybe black)
- a simple salad with lettuce, cilantro, lots of fresh corn, red pepper, radish, and a lime vinaigrette
- homemade pico and homemade guacamole for toppings, sour cream, and a variety of hot sauces maybe some additional cheese because some people love cheese

Pico, Guac, and texas caviar with chips for appetizers. Maybe something cheesy also.

Margaritas, beers, wine, seltzer, limeade as drink options.

Something lemon or caramel or coconut for dessert.

I would eat nothing. And this seems more appropriate for a summer party for kids (minus the caviar). This doesn’t scream fancy and elevated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We like mexican food and I think it's fun to make.

I would have:
- chicken enchiladas with red and green sauce (some with melted monterrey jack cheese, some without)
- cilantro lime rice
- chipotle beans (pinto probably, maybe black)
- a simple salad with lettuce, cilantro, lots of fresh corn, red pepper, radish, and a lime vinaigrette
- homemade pico and homemade guacamole for toppings, sour cream, and a variety of hot sauces maybe some additional cheese because some people love cheese

Pico, Guac, and texas caviar with chips for appetizers. Maybe something cheesy also.

Margaritas, beers, wine, seltzer, limeade as drink options.

Something lemon or caramel or coconut for dessert.

I would eat nothing. And this seems more appropriate for a summer party for kids (minus the caviar). This doesn’t scream fancy and elevated.

Don’t worry, she’ll put out a few almonds for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Baked ziti? Pasta salad? Chicken salad? 😂

These suggestions are all bad. Just take this poor person out for dinner and feed them something decent.

That poster is making a DCUM joke

I got the joke, the poster is clearly summarizing the terrible suggestions throughout this thread and I'm fully agreeing.

You did not get the joke, which is not about this thread at all

Are you for real? The emoji makes it perfectly clear. There are the usual bad suggestions in here. We all get it except for you apparently. Baked ziti, lasagna, hamburgers, wash rinse repeat. You must be new here.

Lol no.

I’ve been here for 17 years now and hamburgers are not part of the joke, moron.

You don't seem to have a refined sense of humor. Maybe touch grass and get out more than spending 17 sad years here.

Where did you come up with “touch grass”? Never heard that before.

[Anonymous]

Go out for dinner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I made Thai food recently to celebrate my son-in-law's promotion. 12 people. We also had one vegan, one dairy-free, one sesame allergy and one nut-allergy person.

Appetizers -
- Fish cake - Tod Mun Pla,
- Triple mushroom salad
- Creamy coconut soup - Tom kha kai

Mains -
- Chicken, potatoes, veggis, corn, and shallots in green curry
- Pumpkin and eggplant in panang curry
- Whole fried fish in tamarind sauce

served with rice and assorted dips/sauces

Dessert was homemade mango ice cream.

Great job, Indian home cook who spells veggies weird. I recognize you and admire your cooking skills!

Thank you! Yes, this is one of the forums where I have posted for many years. .

I do have very formulaic menus. I rarely try out new dishes nowadays. Over the years, I have maintained an exhaustive spreadsheet of all of my parties, including menus. So, I have learned to avoid the many items that have bombed. I am sure I have posted similar Thai menus before (minus the fish)? My SIL loves my fried fish and it is a bit performative to serve it - so I made it especially for him.

Cooking skills developed in my 20s, when we were too poor to afford restaurants and had to rely on recipe books to recreate restaurant quality meals. Anyone buys recipe books nowadays?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We like mexican food and I think it's fun to make.

I would have:
- chicken enchiladas with red and green sauce (some with melted monterrey jack cheese, some without)
- cilantro lime rice
- chipotle beans (pinto probably, maybe black)
- a simple salad with lettuce, cilantro, lots of fresh corn, red pepper, radish, and a lime vinaigrette
- homemade pico and homemade guacamole for toppings, sour cream, and a variety of hot sauces maybe some additional cheese because some people love cheese

Pico, Guac, and texas caviar with chips for appetizers. Maybe something cheesy also.

Margaritas, beers, wine, seltzer, limeade as drink options.

Something lemon or caramel or coconut for dessert.

I disagree with some other posters that this is not a good menu. I think Latin American food is amazing and complex. To "elevate" this - I would include a shrimp or fish in tomato/garlic sauce dish. I would not bother to make white rice with it - serve it with the cilantro lime rice.

Also, some fried crispy plantains.

[Anonymous]

So many chicken suggestions. For someone who eats anything, chicken is so boring and pedestrian. Anything but chicken for an adventurous eater. And it doesn't scream celebratory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like serving beef bourguignon this time of year. It’s not that hard to make, can be done a day in advance and reheated, and people seem to think it’s fancy. I use the Julia Child recipe and serve over mashed potatoes with a green vegetable on the side.

I think it's really tacky to serve someone reheated leftovers. That's what you feed the family when you're sick or rushing around, not a guest for a special dinner.

Have you made this dish? Most chefs recommend letting it sit for a day because it lets the flavors meld together. It also lets you remove about 1/2” of congealed fat from the top in my experience. I’ve made it day-of and the day before and have generally found it to taste better when it’s been refrigerated overnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like serving beef bourguignon this time of year. It’s not that hard to make, can be done a day in advance and reheated, and people seem to think it’s fancy. I use the Julia Child recipe and serve over mashed potatoes with a green vegetable on the side.

I think it's really tacky to serve someone reheated leftovers. That's what you feed the family when you're sick or rushing around, not a guest for a special dinner.

Have you made this dish? Most chefs recommend letting it sit for a day because it lets the flavors meld together. It also lets you remove about 1/2” of congealed fat from the top in my experience. I’ve made it day-of and the day before and have generally found it to taste better when it’s been refrigerated overnight.

Different PP - Bourguinon is allowed a sit overnight exception.