desperatly need dinner ideas for friends coming over tonight..pls help im begging you

[vickyandsteve]

hi there
well we have people coming over for dinner and i have absolutly no idea what to make for them! this is the first time we have eaten with them so i really have no idea what foods they like and dont like
anyone got any ideas?
all the recipies that i normaly make for visitors involve milk and dairy products but cos im bf ds and he gets extremely bad wind and will scream for the entire day if i have the slightest little bit!
also looking for something fairly easy as ds has is cluster feeds of a night time and will feed up to 3times in 2hrs!
thanks in advance
vicki

[Kachow]

What about a good ole Aussie BBQ !!!!!!

U cant go wrong !

[SalTheGal]

How bout a yummy cut of steak, and some mushroom sauce, steamed vegies and baby potatoes....nice and simple but yummy too.

I do my mushie sauce by cutting mushies into large chunks, saute in butter, then just add some instant gravy and worcerstershire sauce (red wine too if you have some open). It is delicious and rich, simple yet effective.

Baby pototoes boiled with their skin on then tossed in chopped parsley and butter are yummy too.

Do you want to go the with starter and dessert too? I often think nibblies is enough for a starter- but otherwise a prawn cocktail (cocktail prawns from the deli, ready made cocktail sauce and lettuce shredded) is super easy.

For dessert I always jsut do something ready made such as apple pie, but add to it some good quailty cream or icecream to make it a bit more special.

Most of all though make it simple so that you can relax and not have to stress over something fancy!

[EandN]

I was going to say BBQ too.
Nice Salads, and some steak, or marinated chicked etc on the BBQ.
We always do BBQs when we have visitors.

[TeenyT]

Really easy entree and can be prepared ahead and popped in fridge. Have peeled cooked king prawns (about 3 per person) and fan out on a plate, interspersed with slices or Camembert, Avocado and Mango. Then just pop a small dollop of mayo mixed with basil pesto on the side. Done. Store in fridge till ready.

For dessert: another easy one. Buy some meringue nests from Coles. Fill with a dollop of good vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle with chooped berries (strawberries, raspberries or blueberries - it doesnt matter as they all look and taste nice!). Puree some extra red berries and drizzle over top. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Done. Sorry. I just realised you said no dairy. Try strawberry sorbet in place of ice cream???

For main. Just keep it nice and easy so you dont spend the whole time in the kitchen. How about a casserole, pasta or roast that can be served up onto individual plates to the table. Serve with a great big dish of roasted vegies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrot and squash. That way the guests can help themselves to what they like and you only have to serve one dish to the table after the plates. Another good dish is to stuff chicken breasts with jullienned carrots, zucchini and capsicum. Cook and serve with a sauce like reduced apricot nectar, slivered almonds and chicken stock. Or fish fillets wrapped in pancetta and lightly fried in a seasoned butter served on a bed of mashed potato with steamed greens on the side. Looks impressive and is easy to make. Depends on how much you like these people and whether you want to really impress or just feed them as to how much trouble you need to go to. Just dont make anyhting which requires lots of time in the kitchen whilst they are there. Then you miss out...

[JacksMumBec]

yep i'd go with a bbq too. with LOTS of bbq vegies and a couple of salads. all can be prep'd/cut up ahead of time so you can be hands free for most of the visit :)

[Charlotte & Georgia's Mummy]

I made these pork balls for dinner last night, and just had some left overs for lunch.........YUMMY!!!!!!!!

I don't use the sesame seeds anymore, they're more for looks really. And I also cook mine totally in the oven now too, for about 30 min, turning them to get even colour. I just cook however much rice i want as well, makes it go further.

Good luck!


Sesame Pork Balls with Fragrant Rice (serves 4)


6 green onions, roughly chopped
¼ cup flat leaf parsley leaves
3cm piece ginger, peeled, chopped
750gm pork mince
1 cup fresh multigrain breadcrumbs (equivalent to approx. 2 slices of bread)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
½ cup sweet chilli sauce
1/3 cup sesame seeds, toasted
canola oil for shallow frying
2 limes

Fragrant rice
1 cup long grain jasmine rice, rinsed and cooked
6 green onions


1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. Combine onion, parsley and ginger in a food processor, process until finely chopped. Transfer to large bowl.
3. Add mince, breadcrumbs, oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce. Mix to combine
4. Roll mixture into small balls. Place sesame seeds on plate, roll balls in sesame seeds to coat. Place on tray, cover and refrigerate.
5. Pour oil into large frying pan until 2cm deep. Heat over medium heat until hot.
6. Cook pork balls in small batches for 4min or until golden.
7. Transfer to wire rack over baking tray, bake on rack for 5 to 8 minutes or until cooked through.
8. Juice 1 lime, cut remaining lime into wedges. Combine lime juice with remaining sweet chilli sauce.
9. Mix cooked rice with green onion. Spoon into bowls, top with pork balls and drizzle with sweet chilli lime sauce.
10. Serve with lime wedges.


Forgot to say you can make the balls in advance and just keep in the fridge until your ready to cook!

[KatiesMum]

I had people over for dinner last night ....and DH is away so had to bath DD and put to bed as well as cooking etc.

Did lamb shanks in the slow cooker ....and served with gravy and mashed potato ...

Turned out absolutely beautifully ...and looked like a restuarant meal.

Shanks (bought pre-m,arinated ones), 1-2 cups boiling water and 2 beef stock cubes in the slow cooker ..... (I put them on at lunch time and cooked very slow) ...leave until ready to serve.

When I was ready to serve, took shanks out, added flour to the beef stock/juices to thicken and served with mashed potato.

YUM !!!!!

[poshBecks]

Here's our usual :p Please note this is with people we class as pretty much family (best friends)... if its someone we hardly know we go to a little more effort (we do love our friends dearly.. but dont need to impress them anymore lol)

We have lots of BBQ's, they are great for last minute guests... also Tacos or buritoes :thumbsup: And homemade pizzas are a winner too....

(My dh is the cook in our family & can I say his homemade pizzas are BETTER than fancy gourmet restaurant ones :chef:)

[Jenko]

Creamy sundried chicken pasta.

Pan fry diced chicken breast with onion and garlic. When browned add a jar of sundried tomato pesto (i know it's really pesto, its like a tapenade) add extra garlic if you like. Let cook and add cream. Oh whoops you said no dairy. Maybe you could add a jar of creamy pasta bake sauce (tastes good too) instead of the pesto.

Serve with a big green salad (can be made beforehand) and pop some garlic bread in the oven.

I would buy desert and have some dip or cheeses for before dinner.