What do you make when another family comes over for dinner?

[Anonymous]

i would like to be more social and invite friends of ours over for dinner. but, i also get apprehensive about what to cook. i am a novice cook, work FT and have two young children, so i don't have a lot of time to prep either. any ideas?

[Anonymous]

For family friendly meals that are casual:
I do Lasagna or a pasta with meat sauce dish, chilli, or a mac n cheese dish (homemade).

[Anonymous]

Suggest making something your family loves and just making extra for your company.

[Anonymous]

Spaghetti and meatballs

A whole chicken with mashed potatoes and favorite vegetable

[Anonymous]

Ina Garten's turkey meatloaf -- it feeds a large crowd -- plus homemade mac and cheese and usually broccoli. It's all kid-friendly and pretty easy.

[Anonymous]

I second the roast chicken with veggies recommendation - in fact, I did just that twice in the past week when we had friends over. It's super easy and delicious and allows you to hang out rather than cook. I serve it with a salad or green beans. I also like things like chili or pasta dishes so that I don't have to babysit the food while our friends are over - and lots of time these dishes get better with time so you could prep them on a Sunday eve for a weeknight dinner.

[Anonymous]

To be honest, sometimes we just order a pizza. It is always a big hit.

Enjoy your friends!

[Anonymous]

I do chicken parmigiana with bread and a salad. Dip boneless chicken breasts in egg and then in italian breadcrumbs and then brown in oil. Then put in a baking dish with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and bake. I will do this the night before so all I have to do is throw it in the oven to reheat when people arrive. I also don't use jarred tomato sauce, I will use canned Italian tomatoes and add onion, garlic, spices, etc.

[Anonymous]

Sushi! Yum.

[Anonymous]

tacos--just have fillings out and everyone puts their own together

chicken pot pie

spaghetti, salad, and italian bread

homemade pizza

[Anonymous]

Depends on the company ... for a make-ahead meal you could make some quiches over the weekend and freeze and then pull out and serve with soup or salad. If there are kids, I'd go for a pasta or crockpot chili. Keep it simple - guests are more comfortable if you are relaxed and enjoying yourself as well.

[Anonymous]

Roast chicken or turkey
Pork tenderloin
Paella
Grilled steak
Chicken kebabs (e.g. chicken souvlaki)
Baked ziti

We had friends over last weekend and made pot roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, and homemade bread. The only thing that required last-minute prep was the mashed potatoes.

Ice cream w/hot fudge sauce for dessert.

[Anonymous]

Agree with all of the above.

One other thing we sometimes do is make something for the kids and get some takeout for the adults, something I wouldn't/don't know how to cook and don't usually get b/c my kids don't eat it (like sushi or Indian).

Last time I made pasta with butter and parmesan, steamed broccoli, and chicken tenders for the kids, and the adults ordered in.

Time before that, I just made a big baked ziti and pot of meatballs, a salad, and some roasted asparagus (for everyone, no takeout). My friend brought over homemade bread, and brownies for dessert.

Something like a tray of chicken parmagiana, ziti, or lasagna is great b/c you don't have to fuss with it once it's in the oven. Same w/ a pot of chili or stew. You can do all the work before company arrives and then relax while they're there.

We are having 2 families over next weekend and I'm just making a big pot of chili.

I finally realized that if I put too much pressure on myself about cooking the perfect meal to impress people, I wind up not wanting to have them over b/c it's too much work and stress. So I always make a point of saying "We'd love to have you guys over for a casual dinner. Nothing fancy, I'm just going to make [pasta, chili, whatever] but the kids can run around and play while we have a few glasses of wine."

[Anonymous]

I second the idea of telling folks to expect a casual dinner - that takes the stress off. We also usually just cook what we adults want, and let the kids eat whatever they are willing to eat, although there is usually crackers and grapes from a cheese platter, and we'll happily cut up apples or pull out yogurt or applesauce for the kids. Beyond that, they can eat what the adults eat or survive on fruit and crackers for the night.

[Anonymous]

You need some go-to dishes. You get them by trying out recipes on your family until you have them down.

Next you try them out on your best friends/relatives to learn whether they work when you have company over - which means you can't have three saute pans running while you are supposed to be sipping wine with your company. You will learn how to do that recipe from memory, and you will know what can be done beforehand. I certainly have friends who I can call up and say "hey, I'm trying out this goulash recipe, it worked once before, are you game?".

Then once you have it down, invite someone new over. Unless your entire family and your best friends have lied through their teeth, chances are your dinner party will be great.

One more tip - once you have a few dishes under your belt, try a new side dish along with a tried and true main course. Or, if you have some killer sides, go for a new main course or maybe a new twist on an old main course. Then you can experiment the night of the party, but it's less of a risk.

Most of all, have fun!