Community » Easy, Elegant Entertaining

Having friends over for dinner? Check out some of these recipes and tips for an easy, elegant evening.

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Hi everyone, I just joined this group! I have been cooking since I was 4...yes, 4! I love to entertain and over the last 6 months have been entertaining and cooking at my friend's new house which has a gourmet kitchen, which is something to aspire to!!! Another friend and I, a chef/caterer, have been talking about becoming personal chefs in my area. I have been creating recipes and reading books and surfing the net for recipes and chaging them to make them appropriate for my use. Let's me say, I have created some delicious things, from Lava Cakes, Lemon Tarts, marinara sauce, crimini ragout, artichoke and olive flatbreads...and that was just yesterday...I even created a healthy banana nut muffin with whole wheat flour and nuts. I am excited for this venture, it is financing my return to Nursing School...it has even led to growing a garden, organically (tho' not Certified) and we are growing anything from leeks to Swiss chard, spaghetting squash and probably 10 types of greens, beets, carrots and peppers. There are even numerous types of tomatoes and multiple varieties of onions. Looking forward to seeing what this group has to offer and love this website!

Floribean dishes

Our food bank is hosting a Jimmy Buffet style party. We had one in 2005 featuring mostly finger foods. One of the most successful dishes was mini cheeseburgers in paradise. We expect around 400 people and this time we want to make the food more of a meal. We know that we will have regualr grilled cheeseburgers but we would love some suggestions for - a chicken dish- a rice dish- a jazzy salad- and a couple of side dishes. We will have lots of margaritas, beer, wine,pop, and iced tea. For dessert we plan several chocolate fountains, key lime bars, and something else, any ideas/ thanks for your help

"What can I bring?"

We entertain fairly often; I really enjoy having company over for brunch or dinner.

Invariably, guests will ask "What can I bring?" My wife says I need a better answer to this question. My typical answer is "nothing, just yourselves!" While possibly polite, this skips an opportunity to make it easier on the host, and perhaps more importantly, it robs the guests a chance to participate in an evening that's meant to be a shared, fun, usually very casual experience.

Often, the best thing to bring to a dinner party is either the dessert, some bread, a side salad, or wine. Tell them the general cuisine, main ingredient or theme if there is one (e.g., Italian, Seafood, etc.) and let them build around that. Suggesting a plate of appetizers is also a great idea, but I usually lean toward another dish, just in case they need to arrive late for some reason.

I really prefer one of two kinds of dishes either those that have a very significant make-ahead component (e.g., room-temperature salads, long-roasting main dishes etc.), or those that require only a quick-fire at the very last minute (e.g., scallops, seared tuna, grilled salmon, etc.)

What are your tips for easy entertaining?

[edited July-6-2008]

Recipes in this Group

Andrew's Gorgonzola Sauce1	Braised Chicken Legs with Lemo...3	Grilled Lemon Lime Chicken ove...16	Chicken Satay3
Filet Mignon Medallions (Beef ...6	Smoked Salmon and Lemon-Cream ...5	Dark Balsamic, Soy and Honey G...32	Shrimp, Mango and Peanut Rice ...2
Bacon Scallops11