In summer, I think ribs and corn is always a winner.

When I was starting out I always did baked ziti and garlic bread. Now I go out of my way to plan elaborate menus for guests, but starting simple is great.

Start with what you do know how to cook and build on that. If you know how to make pasta think about new pasta dishes. Learn skills that can be translated to most meals, like roasting veggies.

Biryani

Anonymous wrote:Another fan of soup here. I've found minestrone to be a great meal for guests. It's easy to make vegan if needed, and unless you have a guest with an allium allergy just about anyone can eat and enjoy it. In addition to the obvious bread/roll side, it goes well with a good antipasto platter so people who want meat or cheese can have some of that. And it's also easy to eat in company, which I like. I would make such a mess of a Cornish hen trying to cut around all those bones I could never show my face again.

Plus it's so healthy one can serve a luscious dessert if desired (I usually desire. Fancy chocolates, cookies, and truffles are a favorite. Or cupcakes. Or layer cake. Or ice cream. I like them all.)

Minestrone? This as an entrée is not nearly enough food to count as dinner. It's fat free and like 150 calories a serving, it's diet food or an appetizer. A lot of people don't consider soup a meal, but even for those who do, minestrone would be at the bottom of the list for a soup that is hearty enough to be a standalone meal. I'm not even a huge eater, but I would be demolishing that antipasto platter or planning to have a second meal at home. Desserts do nothing for me so that wouldn't enter into my healthy/unhealthy meal calculation at all, I don't eat them.

For an easy dessert, set out brownies, vanilla ice cream (the individual cups), fudge and toppings for a huge hit with the kids.

Another fan of soup here. I've found minestrone to be a great meal for guests. It's easy to make vegan if needed, and unless you have a guest with an allium allergy just about anyone can eat and enjoy it. In addition to the obvious bread/roll side, it goes well with a good antipasto platter so people who want meat or cheese can have some of that. And it's also easy to eat in company, which I like. I would make such a mess of a Cornish hen trying to cut around all those bones I could never show my face again.

Plus it's so healthy one can serve a luscious dessert if desired (I usually desire. Fancy chocolates, cookies, and truffles are a favorite. Or cupcakes. Or layer cake. Or ice cream. I like them all.)

I always make a pan of ziti when preparing food for a larger group. It's super easy, and I can prep in advance, then I only have to bake it before serving. With it I serve a salad and garlic bread (usually freshly made, but I do get frozen ones sometimes). It's a nice comfort food that works well.

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the many mentions of pasta (I have kids, so kid friendly). We do grilling also but my husband handles the grilling part so guests aren’t abandoned. I also think practicing a roast chicken would be good for you. Good for guests as most special duets these days as well as children can eat chicken. It’s also just great for your repertoire. You can play around with what sides you like with it and timing them just right as you practice. Also the roast chicken from your practicing can be great to make into other meals so you don’t get too sick of it as you practice. Good luck and have fun OP!

I'm with you. We love to entertain and entertain frequently. IMO grilling is not for the first-timers because it adds a level of complexity to the timing and balancing with the non-grilled items. I would stick with things like a roast chicken, lasagna, chicken cacciatore, spaghetti and meatballs, beef stroganoff, prime rib and things like that for people just beginning to experiment with cooking for guests.

Anonymous wrote:I second baked ziti or even just pasta with home made marinara, sausage and/or meatballs. Add a nice fresh antipasto board (fresh buffalo mozzarella, olives, cheeses, crackers, salami, etc) to start. Add a nice crusty bread and salad, buy a dessert and some italian cookies, serve coffee and tea.

+1 One of the easiest meals to make is to mix some cooked short pasta (not long pasta like spaghetti) with a jarred sauce, add some cheese (such as parmesan and/or mozzarella) and bake to heat it up. Undercook the pasta (so it is still hard in the middle). If you want to get fancy, chop in some chopped tomatoes or red peppers, or make your own sauce by frying equal portions of onions, carrots, and celery, within some minced garlic and a healthy portion of olive oil until soft and then simmer with a can of crushed tomatoes, and add some chopped parsley before serving. Serve with bread and a bagged salad. Antipasto board is too nice for my friends.

Anonymous wrote:Warm weather: https://hostthetoast.com/antipasto-tortellini-pasta-salad/

Cold weather: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nancy-fuller/hearty-butternut-squash-soup-2269714

Both always with crusty bread.

A lot of people don't like squash.

https://www.cookingclassy.com/slow-cooker-chili/

chili from the slow cooker. this really is the best recipe -- i've made it many times now.

I agree with the many mentions of pasta (I have kids, so kid friendly). We do grilling also but my husband handles the grilling part so guests aren’t abandoned. I also think practicing a roast chicken would be good for you. Good for guests as most special duets these days as well as children can eat chicken. It’s also just great for your repertoire. You can play around with what sides you like with it and timing them just right as you practice. Also the roast chicken from your practicing can be great to make into other meals so you don’t get too sick of it as you practice. Good luck and have fun OP!

Lasagna. Prepare ahead of time, stick in oven when ready, and done.

You guys must be much better than I am with grilling, because I find that to be very hands on and not good for entertaining.

Anonymous wrote:Soup plus bread, cheese and salad. You only really have to make the soup. People can eat as much or as little as they want. Can be healthy or not healthy - up to the eater.

This does not sound like an actual dinner to me. Not enough food, unless by soup you mean something very hearty like chili or stew.

Invite people over for brunch instead. Make a veggie frittata or quiche, a salad with fruit, bake muffins or buy croissants or bagels and some fresh OJ. Everything can be done ahead, and if you want to add more, you could do fried potatoes and/or a breakfast meat like sausage or bacon (either as a side or incorporated into a second quiche/frittata). It can be a little trickier with vegans in the mix (don’t put cheese in the salad, go with the bagels, consider a fruit crisp, or make vegan muffins, and do make potatoes or some other veggie dish as an alternative to an egg-based main), but still a workable format.

For dinners, I’d do Mexican. Enchiladas, rice and beans, and a braise or two (carnitas, barbacoa, tinga) can all be made in advance. You just need as strategy for keeping tortillas warm. The Frontera sauces are really good/easy for the braises and enchiladas verde. Fresh salsa, lime wedges, chopped onions, grated cheese, sour cream as accompaniment.

Basically modularity/choose your own adventure plus treating vegetarianism as a center of gravity and meat as optional is the key to cooking for guests — and knowing/asking whether any of the people you’ve invited are vegans or gluten-free.