Food for Guests

 

These are pics of a fabulous dinner at my brother and sister-in-law's home in Georgia. Heidi's an amazing cook and hostess. I've eaten many, many yummy things from her kitchens--several kitchens.

It's almost as if my nephew Tanner knew I'd be posting these pics on the internet. Hmm.

My good friend Sherri read my recent post about college student cooking, and she made a request for my list of top recipes to make for guests. 
Sherri, on occasion, has called me out on how involved some of my recipes get, so be sure to read through the whole recipe before going for it. You've been warned. 
What follows is a starter list of my favorite dishes to serve to my guests, and some of them have sides mentioned and linked. They are in no particular order, and like I said, some are pretty involved, but several are very easy. 
Have fun.


1. Tacos al Pastor-- This is a current favorite of mine. Think Mexican teriyaki on this one. It's pork marinated sweet garlicky marinade. Mmm.



2. Grilled Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin--Yeah, pork again. Pork tenderloin just seems like a good thing to serve guests. This is a slightly sweet, and very flavorful easy grilled meat. I think it goes great with Au Gratin Potatoes.



3. Beef Barbacoa--You'll see that a lot of my go-to recipes are for Mexican dishes. This is a tender, flavorful slow-cooked chuck roast smothered in spices. I like serving with Homemade Flour Tortillas and Mexican Rice. 



4. Burger Sliders--Mini burgers grilled and served on dinner rolls. So cute and tasty. 



5. Beef Brisket--This is a pricier piece of meat, but as you'll see in the linked blog post, it's a tasty meat that you can serve several different ways--the first time around or as leftovers. Brisket is just good. 



6. Deep Pan Pizza--For when you want to make homemade pizza for your friends.  This pizza is delicious and not very fussy.



7. Grilled Mexican Chicken--Can be served in chicken tacos,  burritos, quesadillas, or nachos. For guests, I'd probably make it tacos. 



8. Kalbi Korean Beef BBQ--A super tender and nicely sweet grilled beef. I like to serve it with Bacon Fried Rice.


 
9. Bacon Fried Rice--Okay, not really a main dish for guests, but so deliciously satisfying it deserves to be on the main dish list. I like eating the leftovers for breakfast.



10. Grilled (Teriyaki)Tri-Tip Chunks--Sweet and savory beefy goodness. And you can just use a bottled teriyaki sauce for this one. Easy peasy and also fabulous with that bacon fried rice.


 
11. Marinated Tri-Tip Chunks--Tri tip is just a great meat to grill. This recipe has various spices from your spice rack and grills up savory and perfect. So good.



12. Enchiladas Suisas--Not spicy at all. These are creamy, cheesy, chickeny comfort food. I like to use rotisserie chicken when I want to make it even easier than it already is. 



13. Carne Asada--I really need to get a better pic for this dish. I like to use my standard tri-tip for my carne asada, but this pic shows flank steak. This is a slightly spicy, very satisfying beef dish. The recipe has the spice mix I like to make, and you can make a lot of the spice mix to save for another day. 



14. The Best Meatloaf Ever--I'll tell you up front: this is an involved recipe, but it makes a meatloaf well worth serving to guests. Most delicious when served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes. 



15. Chile Colorado Burritos--Super easy and very tasty. For best results, use the stovetop or oven method over the crock pot. Just saying. This is beefy, salty, cheesy Mexican food goodness. It's the most viewed post on my blog.



16. Brined and Grilled Pork Chops--Juicy and flavorful, and really quite simple. These taste best when served with those Au Gratin Potatoes.

 

17. Chicken Egg Rolls--Great for a casual dinner with friends. They ARE a lot of work, but fun to make and eat. The leftovers are great too.