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.

DP. I am unfamiliar with oven risotto. Details please

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.

+1. This is a 5 minute weeknight meal not something you serve when you invite people over.

Anonymous wrote: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).

+1
Our parents’ group includes Jewish, Hindu and Muslim families so I don’t serve either beef or pork.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Happy back to school! I'd love to host some of the kids' friends' parents over for dinners.
In my ideal world is that I have that "go to" dinner party meal for 8-ish people, including 4 kids. Easy, delicious, kids will (well, not one of mine; she eats only fruit and popcorn, sigh) eat it.

Do you have one of these? What's your menu?

(yes, this may have been asked before, but people change their menus )

We always have meals like that catered. No one really wants to eat food that is not professionally and sanitarily prepared. I know I sure would not at your house.

Are people really this uptight? They won’t eat home cooked meals at the homes of friends?

DP. I'm not worried about the germs. I just don't want to pretend the food is good if it's not. I hate that.

Or just put out some heavy apps.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Happy back to school! I'd love to host some of the kids' friends' parents over for dinners.
In my ideal world is that I have that "go to" dinner party meal for 8-ish people, including 4 kids. Easy, delicious, kids will (well, not one of mine; she eats only fruit and popcorn, sigh) eat it.

Do you have one of these? What's your menu?

(yes, this may have been asked before, but people change their menus )

We always have meals like that catered. No one really wants to eat food that is not professionally and sanitarily prepared. I know I sure would not at your house.

Are people really this uptight? They won’t eat home cooked meals at the homes of friends?

Anonymous wrote:Happy back to school! I'd love to host some of the kids' friends' parents over for dinners.
In my ideal world is that I have that "go to" dinner party meal for 8-ish people, including 4 kids. Easy, delicious, kids will (well, not one of mine; she eats only fruit and popcorn, sigh) eat it.

Do you have one of these? What's your menu?

(yes, this may have been asked before, but people change their menus )

We always have meals like that catered. No one really wants to eat food that is not professionally and sanitarily prepared. I know I sure would not at your house.

Appetizers
- Grilled kebabs, fried fish and tandoori chicken.
- Samosas

Entrees -
Butter chicken
cauliflower and potatoes sabji
Cucumber Raita
Green myngbean daal with spinach

Carbs -
Peas, carrots and raisin rice pilaf
Garlic naan

Desserts -
Mango icecream

My easy dinner party meal is pork tenderloin. I buy around a half pound per adult, which would probably be around 2-3 pieces. Season with lemon juice and olive oil, mustard, or whatever rub you like (I usually do Greek-ish - garlic, oregano, olive oil, lemon) and throw it in the oven. You can marinate ahead of time if you remember, but if you forget that’s okay too. It also cooks fast because it’s long and thin.

This goes well with basically any carb - I’ve done cous cous, roasted or mashed potatoes, risotto, rice pilaf, orzo, quinoa salad, etc. Plus a big tray of roasted veggies or a green salad, or both, depending on your preference. I am not a baker/dessert person, so I either buy a dessert, serve fruit and ice cream, or make Ghirardelli brownies from the box.

I do the NYT chicken shawarma. It’s so good and easy. I’ll pair with a big pot of rice, a nice salad with lemon vinaigrette, and depending on my time, I may make homemade hummos. I always make homemade dessert. One-bowl brownies if short of time, a pie or fruit crumble/ is nice too

[quote=Anonymous][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



[/quote]

DP (not OP) - I love all of these ideas! Also agree with the sentiment - OP good for you for taking the initiative to schedule a fun dinner! As a guest I would never begrudge a meal that wasn’t necessarily my favorite - some of you guys have impossible standards!

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.