Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a dinner party with 4-6 guests, I make roasted salmon with dill, lemon orzo, steamed asparagus, a seasonal salad and bread and butter.

This sounds delicious.

NP. I hate dill.

I LOVE dill, but cooked salmon is the only seafood I won't eat. I like it raw or smoked, but roasted and cooked through I find vile. I would eat the rest of this dinner though and am a "choke it down til you vomit" go along type so I'd swallow the salmon too with a smile, but yah. Cooked salmon is the worst the fish world has to offer.

NP. You are blowing my mind right now. Salmon is my favorite! I’m surprised you like it raw or smoked but not cooked 🤔

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the time, if I am only cooking for a few people and it is very casual -

Italian -
- Homemade Focaccia and olive tapenade
- Tomato Mozzarella Basil salad
- Corkscrew pasta with sautéed veggies and home made Alfredo sauce/marinara
- Chicken in lemon and rosemary.

Depending on who is coming, I can add bacon to the pasta, or include a grilled eggplant instead of chicken etc. I also switch out the pasta to a chickpea pasta if someone eats gluten free food.


Indian -
- Spinach chaat or Paneer tikka or Chicken kebab
- Mixed vegetable rice pilaf
- Moong daal
- Fried okra, onion and tomato sabji
- Chicken curry or fish curry
- Garlic naan

I can make a cauliflower, potato and peas curry in place of chicken curry if a vegetarian is coming to dinner.

Thai -
- Fish cakes
- Mixed mushroom salad
- Panang curry with veggies and chicken or just veggies
- Pumpkin and cashews in red curry
- Rice

I can switch out the fish cakes with chives dumpling if a vegetarian guest comes

Mexican
- Fajita bar or mexican bowl
with - sautéed onions, squash, peppers, corn, chicken, fish, coriander lemon rice, salsa, chopped cilantro, lemons, mango salsa, sour cream, homemade taco gravy, guac.

Please explain how any of that is casual and why a dinner with "just a few guests" needs to have multiple separate entrees (e.g., 2 curries in the Thai menu, 3 in the Indian, and arguably 2 entrees in the Italian as well)?

This sounds nice, but this is an unreasonable level at which to set the bar for "unobjectionable."

No, this is not really unreasonable level of casual entertaining for us or our circles. If we have unexpected guests come over, we add another entree and an appetizer or two to our usual daily meal for them. Not only it helps to stretch the meal but it is more hospitable. Normally our meals with guests will start with drinks and appetizers. While people are chitchatting and hanging out we can easily add an entree, salad, sides. There is always a gap between drinks/appetizers and entrees and that is ample time to make something more. Also, we are a culture that puts a lot of emphasis on food and hospitality. So, even when casual friends are visiting us to spend time with us, we will glam up the food and become creative.

Finally, I think that in my culture, we are socialized to entertain, food prep, cook daily etc, especially if kids or other family members are living with us. Most of us can cook from scratch and daily cooking is a way of life.

If we invite people to our home in a planned manner for any meal, we will have several appetizers and several entrees. Invited friends do not get crap food in the name of "casual". No one wants to eat that kind of dry toast meal and most people are eating quite well in their own homes, so I would be embarrassed to offer them anything less than that and vice versa.

You’re SO much better than everyone else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the time, if I am only cooking for a few people and it is very casual -

Italian -
- Homemade Focaccia and olive tapenade
- Tomato Mozzarella Basil salad
- Corkscrew pasta with sautéed veggies and home made Alfredo sauce/marinara
- Chicken in lemon and rosemary.

Depending on who is coming, I can add bacon to the pasta, or include a grilled eggplant instead of chicken etc. I also switch out the pasta to a chickpea pasta if someone eats gluten free food.


Indian -
- Spinach chaat or Paneer tikka or Chicken kebab
- Mixed vegetable rice pilaf
- Moong daal
- Fried okra, onion and tomato sabji
- Chicken curry or fish curry
- Garlic naan

I can make a cauliflower, potato and peas curry in place of chicken curry if a vegetarian is coming to dinner.

Thai -
- Fish cakes
- Mixed mushroom salad
- Panang curry with veggies and chicken or just veggies
- Pumpkin and cashews in red curry
- Rice

I can switch out the fish cakes with chives dumpling if a vegetarian guest comes

Mexican
- Fajita bar or mexican bowl
with - sautéed onions, squash, peppers, corn, chicken, fish, coriander lemon rice, salsa, chopped cilantro, lemons, mango salsa, sour cream, homemade taco gravy, guac.

Please explain how any of that is casual and why a dinner with "just a few guests" needs to have multiple separate entrees (e.g., 2 curries in the Thai menu, 3 in the Indian, and arguably 2 entrees in the Italian as well)?

This sounds nice, but this is an unreasonable level at which to set the bar for "unobjectionable."

No, this is not really unreasonable level of casual entertaining for us or our circles. If we have unexpected guests come over, we add another entree and an appetizer or two to our usual daily meal for them. Not only it helps to stretch the meal but it is more hospitable. Normally our meals with guests will start with drinks and appetizers. While people are chitchatting and hanging out we can easily add an entree, salad, sides. There is always a gap between drinks/appetizers and entrees and that is ample time to make something more. Also, we are a culture that puts a lot of emphasis on food and hospitality. So, even when casual friends are visiting us to spend time with us, we will glam up the food and become creative.

Finally, I think that in my culture, we are socialized to entertain, food prep, cook daily etc, especially if kids or other family members are living with us. Most of us can cook from scratch and daily cooking is a way of life.

If we invite people to our home in a planned manner for any meal, we will have several appetizers and several entrees. Invited friends do not get crap food in the name of "casual". No one wants to eat that kind of dry toast meal and most people are eating quite well in their own homes, so I would be embarrassed to offer them anything less than that and vice versa.

Anonymous wrote:When it’s my turn to cook for everyone at our multigenerational beach week, I’ve learned to do everything “deconstructed.” So chicken gyros turn into a platter of grilled chicken, bowls of individual chopped veggies (one bowl of tomatoes, one bowl of cucumbers, etc), a bowl of tzatziki sauce, a bowl of feta, a platter of pita bread, and a bottle of ketchup. If we had vegetarians, I’d add a bowl of white beans. Everyone seems to be able to create a plate of appetizing food from that spread.

Anonymous wrote:When it’s my turn to cook for everyone at our multigenerational beach week, I’ve learned to do everything “deconstructed.” So chicken gyros turn into a platter of grilled chicken, bowls of individual chopped veggies (one bowl of tomatoes, one bowl of cucumbers, etc), a bowl of tzatziki sauce, a bowl of feta, a platter of pita bread, and a bottle of ketchup. If we had vegetarians, I’d add a bowl of white beans. Everyone seems to be able to create a plate of appetizing food from that spread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the time, if I am only cooking for a few people and it is very casual -

Italian -
- Homemade Focaccia and olive tapenade
- Tomato Mozzarella Basil salad
- Corkscrew pasta with sautéed veggies and home made Alfredo sauce/marinara
- Chicken in lemon and rosemary.

Depending on who is coming, I can add bacon to the pasta, or include a grilled eggplant instead of chicken etc. I also switch out the pasta to a chickpea pasta if someone eats gluten free food.


Indian -
- Spinach chaat or Paneer tikka or Chicken kebab
- Mixed vegetable rice pilaf
- Moong daal
- Fried okra, onion and tomato sabji
- Chicken curry or fish curry
- Garlic naan

I can make a cauliflower, potato and peas curry in place of chicken curry if a vegetarian is coming to dinner.

Thai -
- Fish cakes
- Mixed mushroom salad
- Panang curry with veggies and chicken or just veggies
- Pumpkin and cashews in red curry
- Rice

I can switch out the fish cakes with chives dumpling if a vegetarian guest comes

Mexican
- Fajita bar or mexican bowl
with - sautéed onions, squash, peppers, corn, chicken, fish, coriander lemon rice, salsa, chopped cilantro, lemons, mango salsa, sour cream, homemade taco gravy, guac.

Please explain how any of that is casual and why a dinner with "just a few guests" needs to have multiple separate entrees (e.g., 2 curries in the Thai menu, 3 in the Indian, and arguably 2 entrees in the Italian as well)?

This sounds nice, but this is an unreasonable level at which to set the bar for "unobjectionable."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a dinner party with 4-6 guests, I make roasted salmon with dill, lemon orzo, steamed asparagus, a seasonal salad and bread and butter.

Fish is never safe. No way.

Why are people weirded out about fish?

I don’t know if people are weirded out about it or just don’t like it. Salmon is a much stronger flavor than something like Cod.

I eat fish so it’s fine with me. But many people truly don’t like the taste of any fish.

I guess. I also like anchovies on pizza or salad. Growing up, we ate fresh, locally caught trout. And, still, I'm not too fond of fishing to this day. I like eating it, though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Air and a WASPy gin and tonic.

Are you people really hungry again? But you just ate! I wasn’t planning to serve anything again until we have a little grilled fish and a green bean at 7.

lol this is my mom. And by "just ate" she means we had a "big brunch" of three bites of scrambled eggs and one sausage link like 5+ hours ago.

Ohhh, don't tell me, does any of this sound familiar?

"Well, you know *I* still fit in my wedding dress!"
"I just *have* to shop in the little girls' section, you know with this vanity sizing and all these ... Midwestern people .. in the stores, it's just disgusting."
"I don't know how these people all can just *stuff* their faces, it would make me so nauseous. I swear I have to set a timer to remember to eat most days."

And she smokes.
And she never met a mirror she didn't make love to with her eyes. She's her own biggest fan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Air and a WASPy gin and tonic.

Are you people really hungry again? But you just ate! I wasn’t planning to serve anything again until we have a little grilled fish and a green bean at 7.

lol this is my mom. And by "just ate" she means we had a "big brunch" of three bites of scrambled eggs and one sausage link like 5+ hours ago.

Anonymous wrote:Misdelivered ham
Boiled potatoes
3 spears of asparagus

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a dinner party with 4-6 guests, I make roasted salmon with dill, lemon orzo, steamed asparagus, a seasonal salad and bread and butter.

Fish is never safe. No way.