The last meal you cooked for friends?
Just wondering how many Serious Eaters enjoy entertaining, and what you like to cook when you do? What's the last meal you made for guests?
We had 2 friends over for dinner last week, and we made steak in a Korean barbeque-style marinade, with a cellophane noodle and veggie salad tossed with a chili-lime dressing, and spicy stir-fried veggies. Dessert was chocolate-Nutella mousse.
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21 Comments:
Last weekend I made a picnic lunch to take to my brother who is living in and remodelling an old house. No power or plumbing yet but we had a great lunch on the deck.
I took a salad which was basically tabouli with shredded chicken thigh meat and cherry tomatoes added. We munched on plain romaine lettuce heart leaves with the salad. We drank Arnie Palmers (half lemonade and half iced tea). Dessert was big naval oranges, raisins and Chinese almond cookies.
I made sure there were plenty of leftovers to leave in his cooler for another meal.
Blue Iris at 6:11PM on 06/23/08
Two weeks ago, I cooked dinner for friends for the first time since our son was born in March. What an accomplishment! ;)
Our friends are vegetarians (but lacto-friendly) and so we had:
Oka and Tipsy Jill (Monterey Jack style marbled with Blackberry Wine from Little Qualicum Cheeseworks - yum) with Pecan Crisps
Sour Chickpeas from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking
Basmati
Garlic Naan
Little Greens Salad with Vinaigrette
Homemade Coconut Cream Pie
It was fun and delicious!
francie at 6:24PM on 06/23/08
Last week I made gravy with turkey meatballs and chunks of pork. I used a mixture of whole wheat farfalle and penne rigate for the macaroni. BF wanted a "comfort" dish and we thought we might be eating alone but since that never happens, I made enough for a crowd. I think there must have been 12 people here that night...LOL.
chiff0nade at 6:31PM on 06/23/08
I'm teaching one of my friends how to cook, so she comes over every week and we make a meal together. Last week it was apricot-glazed roasted chicken, a side of steamed broccoli, and Blumenthal's roasted potatoes. Per her request, we made brownies for dessert, so I used an old Alice Medrich recipe. Yum!
hmlicata at 6:56PM on 06/23/08
Last weekend I made baked rigatoni with meatballs. Veal parm too.
We grilled some steaks the next day. I made some grilled new potatoes with shallots and a string bean salad. Sunday morning I made the old fav scrambled with amish apple and pork sausage (simply the best for breakfast) and homemade biscuits and hashed browns made of those nice new potatoes.
For sweets I made these from Nicole over at Baking Bites http://bakingbites.com/2008/06/strawberry-pecan-shortbread-crumble-bars/
in blackberry and raspberry. I added lemon zest, and vanilla powder. I also did a simple drizzle glaze.
JerzeeTomato at 7:11PM on 06/23/08
Last weekend I had a little dinner party:
Sangria, Panko and parmesan crusted portobello slices with spicy mayonnaise dip, and mixed olives to start.
Nigella Lawson's involtini from Feast for the main, with roasted asparagus, and a chopped salad of romaine and fennel in a lemon vinaigrette and artisan baguette.
For dessert strawberry-rhubarb shortcakes.
Dark chocolate truffles with coffee.
The whole meal was great - mostly because of the fantastic company!
PeanutButter at 7:58PM on 06/23/08
I had a friend over for beer, vegetable kabobs, bean salad, quinoa and melon. He refused to eat most of the kabobs (he told me he liked italian, but had never before seen zucchini?) and the bean salad, then complained that I hadn't gone out to buy chicken specifically for him, since I don't eat chicken (I told him he was free to purchase and prepare his own chicken).
It was the start to a wonderful, wonderful night, in which he compared me to the KKK and Nazis, made me foot the bill for everything, then told me I was going to die alone.
I no longer speak to him. I guess you learn a lot about a person when you cook for them!
KarynMC at 7:59PM on 06/23/08
It was the start to a wonderful, wonderful night, in which he compared me to the KKK and Nazis, made me foot the bill for everything, then told me I was going to die alone.
--------------------------------
I think I might have dated his sister in 2006.
FastFoodCritic at 8:23PM on 06/23/08
geez, karynmc, i hope you get some better friends!
i had a friend over on sunday. we had sour cherry soup with popovers, frittata with garlic scapes, dill, and asparagus, sugar snap peas with mint and shallots, a green salad with goat cheese, and an apricot tart with whipped creme fraiche. i used the rest of the fresh mint to make some wonderful mint tea. then we had framboise eau de vie in which we floated fresh raspberries.
i had a great time seeing my old friend but i wish he had followed up with a phone call or email to thank me for lunch the next day.
cybercita at 8:29PM on 06/23/08
Saturday evening, I made mussels in a tomato broth with penne and tons of fresh herbs from the garden. This was for my dad and stepmom, as a belated father's day meal.
Sunday, BF and I brought the fixins for chicken souvlaki to my friend's house. She just had a baby three weeks ago, and she and her husband were happy to have a meal cooked for them. I marinated my chicken in olive oil, lemon juice and oregano (plus S+P) for 24 hours, and made the tzatziki in advance so the flavors had time to meld. BF cooked the chicken on the grill with a stern warning about the evils of overcooked chicken. It came out perfect!
Kerosena at 8:53PM on 06/23/08
I roasted two containers of grape tomatoes with a crumble topping in the oven, and I paired it with fettuccine in a pesto sauce. For dessert, I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Easy and delicious!
poke87 at 10:09PM on 06/23/08
i love cooking for friends, and i'm decent at throwing a dinner party. however, i work too much, and my apartment is tiny. we also only own 3 chairs. i think the last time i cooked for anyone other than my immediate family was Passover, and i did all the cooking at the host's home.
redhead at 10:13PM on 06/23/08
Last Friday I had plans to cook for a guy that I was dating but he cancelled at the last minute and so one of my good friends came over instead and we feasted on turkey-falafal balls (recipe from the New York Times), lemony-pistachio hummus, pita bread, tabbouleh, and a peach crumble for dessert. I haven't heard from the guy since but my friend and I had a good time :)
Jj6407 at 10:49PM on 06/23/08
We had several friends over for dinner last week. We had:
a salad of mixed greens with smoked almonds, strawberries and ginger-sesame dressing
quinoa & asparagus salad with orange segments, walnuts and a simple vinaigrette of lemon juice and olive oil
shrimp cocktail (I unpacked a box with margarita glasses, which are perfect vessels for shrimp cocktail, so I just had to use them. Even though we moved into this house on the New Year's eve, we still have plenty of unpacked boxes - sigh)
grilled steaks with chimichurri sauce (which reminds me - I need to make another batch of the sauce!)
for dessert, we had a lemon curd/strawberry tart
It was really lovely, both the dinner and the company. There is nothing I enjoy more than cooking for people I love!
brooke29 at 10:50PM on 06/23/08
Just me and a close friend, weeknight last week.
Pot roast w/onions, mashed potatoes, zucchini sauteed w/mushrooms & garlic, mixed greens salad with strawberries, orange segments and toasted almonds, balsamic & olive oil dressing. Wine to drink. No dessert. Nothing fancy, but the compliments were nice.
Ditto brooke29 - I truly enjoy cooking for people I love. I live alone, so company of friends and family is always a treat.
PerkyMac at 12:45AM on 06/24/08
Sadly, I think our last dinner guests were my parents. I made a salad, cheese fondue, and we went out for ice cream afterwards. I found these really beautiful mixed-colored fingerling potatoes for the fondue and fresh garlic and herb bread, and grape tomatoes.
embolini9 at 9:32AM on 06/24/08
Impromptu Sunday dinner with another couple was lentil salad, grilled mild Italian sausages and grilled zucchini with cantaloupe for dessert. I like cooking for people, and only have one other friend who likes to, so everyone is always unreasonably impressed that I can give them dinner without any notice. Kind of nice, really!
LauraII at 12:40PM on 06/24/08
now thinking about it... it's been a while since I last had people over. I guess it's time to send an email soon... but my last get-together was a french-inspired meal with croque monsieurs and a veggie version of a nicoise salad... we finished the night with roasted pears with blue cheese... très chic.
Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking
MadelynRodriguez at 1:20PM on 06/24/08
I cook for friends often, we usually have company nearly every week-end. This past week-end I was busy painting & gardening, so when friends came over we just ordered pizza & wings....but the week-end previous I did a birthday dinner for a friend. We had Chipotle Blackberry pulled pork - the recipe from here:
http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/2008/06/chipolte-blackberry-pulled-pork.html
I also did green beans w/onions and bacon, and oven roasted garlic potatoes.
For dessert we had homemade white cake w/strawberries from our garden and fresh whipped cream.
It turned out to be a lovely evening.
Next week we host a chicken bbq for 100+ people....so I'm conserving my cooking energy for that! lol
mepolo at 2:03PM on 06/24/08
Had a small dinner party last weekend before we encountered 112 degree temps. Started with Shrimp cocktail with a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. Dinner consisted of barbequed lamb chops marinated in olive oil, mustard, balsamic vinegar and basil. Served it with Israeli couscous with greens and mint and balsamic vinegar dressing, roasted sweet potatoes and a nice red Malbec. For dessert we had homemade lemon bars and brownies.
Catharine56 at 9:23PM on 06/24/08
We had a family dinner that included smoked ribs and chicken using this recipe including the rub and the sauce: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_23067,00.html , English pea salad, marinated cukes and onions and deviled eggs. Dessert was the one year "wedding Cake" from son and daughter in law.
ocarol at 11:15AM on 06/25/08