Single Guy’s Kitchen

There’s no better way to enjoy a meal than with a good group of friends. I like to cook so why not cook for my friends? If you don’t enjoy cooking as much as I do then just look at it as an excuse to get together with friends and have a good time. It’s not as simple as just inviting everyone over and throwing some food on the table though. Planning is the key to a successful supper with friends or dinner party if you will.

The first step is to set a date and determine the number of guests you will be hosting. It is also important to find out if anyone has a food allergy or other food related issues that would restrict the menu. Don’t be afraid to try something new but you don’t want to turn off any of your guests either.

Next you need to figure out what you’d like to fix. Like I said above, don’t be afraid to try a new dish but try to keep it within your cooking comfort zone too. If you’ve never made a quiche before now would not be the time to try it. My menu was simple:

Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Country-style Green Beans with Bacon

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Cornbread/Biscuits

These are all things I’ve made before but it was the little touches or additions that I think made the meal. I used fresh green beans instead of the usual canned like I make for myself. I added cayenne pepper to my sweet potatoes; something I’ve read about and wanted to try but never had. I also marinaded the tenderloin before cooking rather than just doing a spice rub alone.

Once you have a date and a menu, all that’s left is to prepare and serve the meal. This is a lot more work than it sounds though. There are a few things to think about ahead of time too. Do you have all the ingredients? Will you be using fresh ingredients? How long will it take to make the meal? Is there anything that can be done ahead of time?

I did not have all the ingredients and I wanted to use fresh items where I could so I did my shopping the day before. This way I was able to get quality fresh items and use them almost immediately but I wasn’t stressed about doing my shopping on the same day I had to cook. Timing is one of the more difficult aspects of planning a meal. Different dishes take different amounts of time to prepare but you want everything to be ready to eat at approximately the same time. I recommend sitting down and writing out a “schedule” of sorts. This is especially helpful if you have multiple items that need the oven or only have a limited amount of time. Lastly do as much as you can ahead of time. I baked my sweet potatoes ahead of time but I wish I had snapped and sorted my beans ahead of time too. That was much more time consuming that I thought it would be.

The benefit of all this work is a tasty meal, the good company, and of course the compliments. People especially loved the sweet potatoes. I had one guest state that she normally didn’t care for them but really enjoyed how I prepared these. Hearing things like that and seeing almost everything eaten made it all worth it for me.

We had wine with the meal too. I purchased a lower cost bottle of a Pinot Noir. I really know nothing about wine and was planning on getting a Pinot Noir since I had a little experience with it and knew it was a pretty neutral wine that shouldn’t offend anyone. A quick google search also confirmed Pinot Noir as a good choice for pairing with pork. I think the wine added a nice “adult” touch to the event even despite my lack of wine glasses. That’s right, we drank out of beer glasses.

All in all it was a total success in my eyes. Everyone had a good time and it made the mundane week a little less mundane. On a different note, I gained an appreciation for the amount of work my Mom goes through when she makes meals like this the family. She would do that at least 3-4 nights out of week too. It’s a lot of work but very satisfying too.

Remember no reason to stress if you plan things ahead and time and know what you are doing before you get in the kitchen.  Enjoy!