PP here that does Friday group dinners-

I forgot a big one, lemon feta chicken! We usually serve with rice, side veggie and bread. The kids love it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been wildly overthinking this. I was thinking some sort of lovely salad, a pretend fancy main dish (risotto? paella?) and then something for a dessert.

Folks are cool with this level of casual? Honestly, this is incredibly useful. I had been using dinner parties as experiments for fancy cooking, and it takes all day, and then I don't do them very often. I am dumb.

You could do an oven risotto and then grill some chicken (or whatever you and your guests prefer) and either grill some veggies or make a salad. But yes, I think most people are totally fine with casual.

Wegman's sells (in the rice section) pouches of Risotto (can't remember brand) but one kind is Porcini mushroom and it is so so good. I serve it at dinner parties. It's no nonsense stovetop prep.

kebabs (chicken/steak/or shimp with veggies), rice possibly, simple salad, brownies. Marinate the night before. It's a great divide and conquer meal (I always love handing the grill stuff to my husband so I can deal with the rest).

We have dinner with our neighbors every Friday night- 6 adults and 5 kids between the ages of 1 and 6. These are our go to meals:

- pulled chicken or pork on Hawaiian buns, broccoli, sweet potato fries
- chicken tacos
- make your own burrito or quesadilla
- homemade burgers, fries, rotating veggie
- breakfast for dinner
- tikka masala, broccoli, rice, naan
- grilled steak, veggies and potatoes
- homemade pizza - sometimes we order takeout but usually not

We also always have a salad, and then fruit and homemade bread in case one of the kids doesn’t want the meal.

Anonymous wrote:I have been wildly overthinking this. I was thinking some sort of lovely salad, a pretend fancy main dish (risotto? paella?) and then something for a dessert.

Folks are cool with this level of casual? Honestly, this is incredibly useful. I had been using dinner parties as experiments for fancy cooking, and it takes all day, and then I don't do them very often. I am dumb.

You could do an oven risotto and then grill some chicken (or whatever you and your guests prefer) and either grill some veggies or make a salad. But yes, I think most people are totally fine with casual.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I knew it wouldn’t be long before the taco bar or baked potato bar person posted.

+1

I see that make-your-own-taco bar thing posted all the damn time, and I don't want to eat it at someone's house and I'm definitely not serving it.

Baked ziti poster wasn’t far behind.

NYT chicken shawarma with lots of the suggested fixings plus pita bread and/or couscous, a big Greek salad (dressing and maybe cheese on the side for kids), maybe some roasted vegetables like zucchini.

[quote=Anonymous][b]Are the kids very young? I can’t even imagine a night when we don’t have sports commitments. [/b]I would love grilled steak and asparagus or broccoli and maybe some roasted potatoes. I wouldn’t be thrilled with a taco bar or soup. [/quote]

This doesn't help OP at all. Not everyone has multiple kids in sports every night. And many families would love to be invited over for dinner with kids. There are so many posts on DCUM of people who wish to be invited to things. If you are asked you can politely say no but don't try and dissuade OP from hosting.

Here are some ideas:

Mediterranean:

Chicken Skewers served with roasted vegetables, a simple buttered orzo (like butter noodles), pita bread, hummus, and tomato and cucumber salad.

If they are young kids you can keep some grape tomatoes and sliced cucumbers on a separate plate.

Mexican

Fajitas with chicken, peppers and onions
Have some cheese quesadillas ready for any picky eaters
Mexican corn salad
Spanish rice

More Casual:

Cornbread
Chili with lots of toppings on the side
Spinach Salad
Mac and cheese

Taco Bar or DIY pizza

Keep in mind a lot of people aren't eating red meat these days, or have religious restrictions that make beef or pork a no go. Sticking to chicken is a safer bet, and having a vegetarian option is always a good idea (for non-vegetarians as well).

Anonymous wrote:I have been wildly overthinking this. I was thinking some sort of lovely salad, a pretend fancy main dish (risotto? paella?) and then something for a dessert.

Folks are cool with this level of casual? Honestly, this is incredibly useful. I had been using dinner parties as experiments for fancy cooking, and it takes all day, and then I don't do them very often. I am dumb.

People are cool with casual but I don't think any kind of "pasta and salad" are going to go over well these days. None of my friends eat pasta. I'm loving the brisket ideas. Simple combinations of meats and vegetables are what people want to eat. I have a challenge where I can't grill but I do have a nice wolf range, so I can prepare steak with sides. I have also been loving what you can do with vegetables in an air fryer so I'll be watching this thread with interest.

I love to bake but would just grab something from a bakery and put more attention on the mains and vegetables since people are more accepting of that.

As an alternative, I would spend all day baking and just buy pulled pork and chicken from the best BBQ place in town. Thoughts?

Roast chicken(s), mashed potatoes, some kind of green vegetable, salad. I don't bake so I'd pick up a cake or pie from a bakery for dessert.

Are the kids very young? I can’t even imagine a night when we don’t have sports commitments. I would love grilled steak and asparagus or broccoli and maybe some roasted potatoes. I wouldn’t be thrilled with a taco bar or soup.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I knew it wouldn’t be long before the taco bar or baked potato bar person posted.

NP. How weird that you have to point this out. You might want to look in the mirror and assess. I have never posted either of those, but they're great suggestions.

I notice you didn't bother to add some great, creative, never-been-posted-before option.

I didn't think it was weird. I think the constant taco-bar posts are weird. DP

Anonymous wrote:I knew it wouldn’t be long before the taco bar or baked potato bar person posted.

+1

I see that make-your-own-taco bar thing posted all the damn time, and I don't want to eat it at someone's house and I'm definitely not serving it.