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What about a version of chicken cordon bleu with swiss or feta and spinach?
Or linguini tossed with toasted garlic, olive oil and tuna? (Oh yeah, the fish thing.)
Or a decadent wild mushroom ragout with red wine and cream.

I know this isn't chicken, but Mario Batali's linguine alle noci (with walnut sauce) was recomended online on some foodie site last year. I made it for New Years eve, for friends and family and it was a huge hit. Absolutely delicious, and filling without being too heavy. Serving it with a nice green salad, with nice white wine, and then something cool and refreshing for dessert (last New Years I served peach gelato, with raspberry sauce, but I've also served it with coffee granita, with whipped cream) is how I have. If you'd like to check it out, just google for it. Wish I'd bookmarked it at the time. I copy and pasted the text and saved it to my hard drive.

@LoCo~Are you, perhaps, part Kitty?

If you are trying to impress them with your cooking with the potential of them giving you a nod as a personal chef, I'd stick to something...well, personal!

You mention some "very delicious pasta and chicken dishes" that you know. What's wrong with those? It might be easier to present dishes that you've done before, rather than try to do something new.

Present things that you know and love. Your confidence in them will go far in selling your skills.

at my house, we always make carbonara with chicken - always delish. serve with cheesy garlic bread and a fresh salad.

I would have to say if you are hoping to jumpstart a career as a personal chef, you would be better off using one of your favorite go-to recipes for them to try. The old adage of "never try a new dish with company" may serve you well in this capacity.

That being said, I almost always try one new dish when I have company. Perhaps pull one of your tried and trues for the entree and then use a new one for the appetizer, salad or dessert.

oopps pressed the button too quick or make chicken schitzel and or scallopini (sp), pound breasts very thin and dunk in egg bath and bread it with breadcrumbs, spices and parmesan then fry till light brown, serve with leon wedges, have pasta on the side along with some sort of veggies and/or salad and garlic bread.

I'm with LoCo I was going to suggest cornish game hens, they always look so impressive. I love AB recipe for cooking them pressed, I do mine on a grill and they are so darn good, I can only eat part of one but for 2 of us I always make at least 3 cause SO will devour 2 with no problems lol

Duck would be a good alternative, a little spiffier just by the novelty (duck isn't new, I know, but how often do most of us eat duck as opposed to chicken?). You could probably alter one of your chicken recipes so that you don't stray too far into the "new recipes on company" territory.

I believe if you are a personal chef you know what you make that is very good. When you are trying to impress never go outside your comfort zone. Do what you do best. This is not the time to experiment.
Call them and ask if they eat pork.
We know you can do this. Focus and go to your staple recipes.
Baked pastas and chicken parm are not wowsers they are comfort food.

The question of whether pork is technically red meat is actually irrelevant here.

What matters is that, in a practical sense, when someone says "I don't eat red meat" with no other qualifier they almost always mean that they eat seafood/fish and poultry (at least chicken and turkey) but not beef, pork, lamb or any other similar four legged animals (board, bison, goat)...they might also mean they don't eat duck or game birds but that's really variable.

If you don't want to follow up and ask for more specifics from them (although it might be a good idea...as a matter of course you should ask if there are allergies or significant dislikes, maybe asking that is how you found out about the red meat) I'd also suggest staying away from duck and game birds and staying with, as you note, chicken or avoiding meat entirely since fish/seafood is out for other reasons.

As a couple of people have mentioned so far in this thread: stick with something you're comfortable making and know you can turn out well. Trying out a brand new to you dish can be tricky especially if you're trying to host a dinner at the same time. Of course, if you're up for it, you've got time to try out a new recipe once or twice between now and next week so that doesn't need to be a real problem.

We recently did the Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken recipe/technique for the first time and it turned out incredibly well. Something like that can make a great presentation for a dinner party and you can easily scale it up by doing multiple chickens. The bread salad makes a great accompaniment and lets it all be a really well defined single course so that you can have a starter and dessert and not have to deal with extra side vegetables. The whole recipe is online here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4401342

Good luck!

Why not do a stuffed pasta dish? A butternut squash ravioli with sage sauce, for instance, or something along those lines? Homemade, especially stuffed, pasta seems to impress most people, and you could get most of the prep work done ahead of time. Serve with a refreshing wintery salad, maybe with fennel and citrus?

a nice salad of winter greens like escarole or spinach .... with pears or nice orange slices -- pistachios .... a bit of red onion .... a few crumbles of a nice cheese....

penne with chicken (boneless), fresh artichoke hearts and rosemary....

get creative but practice first.... (which i never do)

Your question really got me to thinking and the following dish was a favorite of my mother's for celebrations. It doesn't look like a long list of ingredients but it's really impressive.

Fettuccini with Chicken Cream Sauce

6 Tbsp. Butter, divided
1 lb. Cremini Mushrooms, sliced
1 lb. Chicken Breasts, sliced into strips (like small “fingers”)
Seasoned flour for dredging
1 Lg. Onion, sliced
¼ to 1/3 lb. Prosciutto, cut into shreds
1 cup Dry White Wine
1 28 Oz. Can Diced Tomatoes
1 half pint Heavy Cream
S&P
Spinach Fettuccini
Grated Reggiano

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in large sauté pan. Sauté mushrooms until they give up their liquid. Sprinkle with salt then cook until liquid is nearly evaporated. Move mushrooms to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out sauté pan.

Dredge chicken strips in seasoned flour, patting off excess. Melt remaining 4 Tbsp. butter in sauté pan. Brown chicken strips just enough to give them color and using tongs, move chicken to the same bowl with the mushrooms. Add onion to sauté pan and cook about 5 minutes, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan. Add prosciutto shreds and cook about 2-3 more minutes. Deglaze the pan with wine, mixing thoroughly and cook until almost all the liquid is gone. Lower the heat, add tomatoes and heavy cream and stir to combine.

Return par-cooked chicken and mushrooms to the sauté pan. With a rubber spatula, fold the sauce ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. (Prosciutto has lots of salt, you may only need pepper.) Simmer gently about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the pasta till al dente. Drain pasta and pour into a shallow pasta serving bowl. Spoon some of the sauce on the pasta and mix together to prevent sticking. Plate a serving of the pasta and spoon on some of the chicken sauce mixture. Top each portion with grated Reggiano.

Another simple, but delicious recipe is Chicken Francaise. There is an excellent version on Epicurious.com. Serve with your favorite sides.

Frankly, I'm with Jerzee - I probably wouldn't cook pasta and chicken if I wanted to impress (I know I never order pasta or chicken when dining out, probably for the same reason). They can be lovely and delicious, but for the most part, I associate pasta and chicken with comfort food rather than with elegant party food (although stuffed pasta can do the trick, depending on how you make it).

I'd probably serve a salad of mixed greens with whatever ingredients you have on hand - like fresh berries, nuts and cheese (for instance, strawberries, walnuts or pistachios and gorgonzola), or orange segments and nuts, or olives, etc. I like a balsamic vinegar/olive oil or a lemon juice/olive oil dressing with it. Shrimp cocktail is always nice. Then, instead of pasta, I'd make risotto - like, bay scallop & asparagus, or crab meat & red bell peppers, or even bite-sized marinated chicken pieces (or chicken sausage) with, say, sun-dried tomatoes and basil.

However, I agree with everybody above - you really should go for your "tried & true" recipes, something that you know is foolproof and is guaranteed to be a hit. Good luck!

epicurious .com has your answer

What about a chicken lasagna? You could put it together the day before then pop it in the oven before your guests arrive.

Roasted chicken (maybe cornish hens) with chanterelle risotto

Appetizer - goat cheese or Brie with fruit compote or onion marmalade and some sort of cracker bread

Salad - baby spinach with feta, figs, pine nuts, mustard or sherry vinaigrette

And here is the recipe from Epicurious/Gourmet. I made a few changes. You can also repeat the dredging process for a thicker crust. This method works equally well with chicken and fish. I prepare a little in advance, keeping the cooked chicken in a 200 degree oven, and pour on the sauce when serving.

Chicken Francaise
Gourmet | October 2003

Adapted from La Viola, Syosset, NY

Yield: Makes 4 servings

4 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves (2 pounds total)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 large eggs
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice plus 1 whole lemon, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound chicken with flat side of a meat pounder or with a rolling pin until 1/4 inch thick.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking.

While oil is heating, stir together flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a shallow bowl. Dredge 2 pieces of chicken, 1 piece at a time, in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Lightly beat eggs in another shallow bowl. When oil is hot, dip floured chicken into beaten eggs to coat, letting excess drip off, then fry, turning over once, until golden brown and just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Fry remaining chicken in same manner.

Pour off and discard oil, and heat butter over low heat until foam subsides. Add wine, broth, and lemon juice and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 6 minutes. Stir in parsley and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Swirl in a pat of butter. Spoon sauce over chicken and top with lemon slices.

Epicurious.com © CondéNet, Inc. All rights reserved.

I really haven't seen anything mentioned here that would impress anyone. (Sorry, I'm sure the flavors are good, but whenever a recipe calls for chicken breasts, I usually tap out.)

What about a whole roasted fowl? And some roasted root vegetables? Yes, its also basic and comfort food, but makes for a better start with new friends than a beige plate of noodles and some white sauce.

Hey, what about fish?

AND, since when do foodies "not eat red meat"?!

there was a great recipe for a lobster pasta dish in the new york times this week. tell your boyfriend to suck it up.

Chicken Marbella from the Silver Palate Cookbook...start with a salad --great suggestions from other posters--and risotto on the side. Cover and Bake by Cooks Illustrated has a baked risotto that is just right for parties. For dessert, maybe a Creme Brulee, cause all work is done early.

Just cook something you know you do well. If you know you do it well, it will be impressive.

I think that a spatchcocked small bird- dove, quail, or cornish hen, makes a beautiful individual serving, though it can be a bit challenging and messy to eat- keep it low key and with plenty of napkins. I like alton brown's recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/cornish-game-hen-spatchcock-hen-recipe/index.html or I'm also fond of the zuni roast chicken recipe http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4401342. If you're near SF or berkley I know for a fact that they get our large levain and it makes a beautiful bread salad. Alternatively, if you have good risotto skills, there's gorgeous mushrooms coming from oregon, akaska, and california, especially santa cruz- cepe or black trumpet risotto would be a beautiful accompanyment, and this way you can wow your guests with both technique and top notch ingredients. If these are new techniques, try them first though, and remember that risotto wants just a little liquid at a time. Good luck!