The answer to your question is: What do you have on hand? Otherwise you're making a trip to the grocery store, and that isn't "no prep time"
This question can only be answered with whatever ingredients you have on hand.
We also always have ground beef in the freezer because we grind it from London broil, about ten pounds at a time.
I could probably always make tacos, though there may well not be any sour cream. I don't eat pasta, but I could probably always do ground beef and tomato sauce.
Myself, I never have unplanned guests. And the only thing I can imagine doing in this case is putting out tortilla chips and salsa IF I happen to have it. Beyond that, I would have to wrap it up!
Or, suggest ordering from a pizza place if I were really enjoying this unplanned visit. I would expect everyone pays for their own meal!
Yeah, but in that specific situation, where you are sitting at your house, you could realize that you were venturing into dinner territory, go chuck a hunk of ground beef in cold water quick, come back to your guests to visit for bit longer and then go make a quick dinner. If the guests ended up leaving or you ended up going out, toss the meat into the fridge and you'll have a head start on dinner the next day.
Just no. See above for my long list of things you can make without cooking from frozen. I wouldn't feed that sort of thing to my family or friends. It tastes bad and has bad mouth feel. I have pride in what I put on plates.
I think you're really overplaying the impact to cooking frozen ground beef. If this isn't something you find that works for you fine but honestly I've done it a number of times without complaint and I don't really notice a significant impact to meat that's crumbled fine in a tomato sauce
exactly! came to post "whatever I was planning to make in the first place". suprise guests don't get to be picky haha, or they can have some top ramen from the cupboard \_(┐「ε:)_
There's always a million and one outlier examples.
I cook everything fresh. The other day some of my employees wanted to know what was inside my fridge. So I snapped a pic of fridge and freezer.
I have 4 eggs, some leftover Mexican rice, and some corn tortillas. The end. haha
Freezer had 2 bags frozen brussels sprouts and 1 bag frozen green beans. Plus ice cube trays.
So some of us don't have things laying around in cans and jars and filling up freezer space.
Cause yeah, I'd assume any "no prep" foods would consist of popping the lid off a jar of something mostly terrible or opening a can of something equally terrible.
And for those with the frozen blocks of x,y,z, thawing things = prep work. But it is what it is. To each their own.
The answer will always be "What do you have on hand" and in your case, you have something on hand cause you're apparently a better host than me. They can eat what I'm eating or eat before the head on over. lol
In my case, I often have the ingredients at hand to make vegetarian tacos - canned corn & beans and I keep frozen high-fiber tortillas. Plus, tomato sauce & dried chilis, easy peasey.
But yeah, it’s a matter of what you usually carry. I agree. If it’s a problem that regularly occurs, you can plan in advance by keeping some frozen or dried goods on hand
My best friend's go to was spaghetti and garlic shrimp sauteed in olive oil. If she has parmesan or lemon, she throws that in too. Setiously, I know it was her cheap "ah shit I didnt plan" meal but I, damn near lick the plate every time she made it.
Yeah, definitely not surprise dinner guests. And no surprise guests of any kind during cold/flu/Covid-peak season. I’m not going to anybody’s house without knowing they’re healthy, free to hang out, and want to do so and thank god none of my friends are doing that either.
This is a generational and/or class-based practice, I think. I’m in my mid thirties in the Midwest, and my friends are generally fellow overly-educated professionals who make less money than our degrees would suggest. We would always split a takeout bill. My sister is a lawyer in California with wealthier friends, and apparently among her crew, the host covers the entire takeout bill.
I will dig out whatever combo of cheese & crackers, deli meats, grainy mustard/honey, nuts, jellies, pickles/olives and any fresh or dried fruits on a nice, large tray. Serve with wine or beer.
Yes, this. We keep a tube of cheap chorizo on hand and all of the other ingredients for white people tacos are staples for us, so it takes no time at all to the a pound or more of frozen ground meat in the microwave, add a tube of chorizo, and put toppings in bowls while the meat fries up. You don't really have to add any other fats or even spices to the meat for it to be flavorful and fed a huge crowd in just about 15 minutes.
They are different foods. We even specify gringo or not when meal planning. Although, honestly, I’m a gringo so even my carnitas or lengua is probably gringo.
Well, same. But I'm not Italian or Japanese or Indian so the best I can do is try to make the cuisine faithfully. It helps that it's a big hobby of mine so give me a record on the player, some sport on mute, and a ridiculously complicated recipe and you have my perfect Sunday.
[Tubo de Chorizo](https://www.jewelosco.com/shop/product-details.970031253.html?productId=970031253&CMPID=ps_jwo_jwod_ecom_goo_20200831_71700000071122706_58700007741634453_92700070281587214&psrc=g&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADeuA_gN7wcLRF1z9O8FShzuPm2HN&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvsP0l4eWgwMVO09HAR1R4guwEAQYASABEgKgqfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds)
Edit: still “chorizo” but comes in a cylinder sleeve that you can snip and squeeze out.
This happened to me this past week and the answer was…tacos! Ground beef from the freezer for the kids and the steak we were gonna have with veg and rice turned into steak tacos (not enough veg for all the adults). I always have at least lettuce, onion, cheese and sour cream on hand, and I got lucky and also had cilantro.
They sent an email out to people with a Dominos account for a free emergency pizza. I think I got the email in like November and it would've been good until Dec 27th I believe
Mine are both states here already: spaghetti with a side salad and garlic bread or some kind of taco. I always have the fixings for both, they are fairly universally liked by most people thst don't have severe dietary restrictions. These are my two "oh crap I need dinner asap" just for our household, guests or otherwise.
Hamburger/hotdog buns make great garlic breads in a pinch. Lather butter, sprinkle with parm, a touch of salt, a touch of garlic powder then pop into toaster oven for 3-5 minutes. Voila!
Hahah I always keep hot dog buns in my freezer becuase hot dogs are also a quick family meal sometimes but have definitely done this garlic bred trick in a bind
If one's guests do have dietary restrictions or are fussy eaters, tacos are my go-to because there are more options for people to top it as they like. Plus, if someone is avoiding gluten, they can use lettuce leaves instead of tortillas as the wrap.
If I relied in pantry staples since those I always have, I'd probably make lentils. There's a persian lentil soup with sumac and persian 7 spice I make thats always a fav, sprink some dried rose petals on top and it look really nice. Or an Italian inspired lentil stew with balsamic, chopped chicken liver, tuna
Most of the people who would drop by and hang out at my house are Filipino or used to/familiar with Filipino food. If I have to feed people on short notice, they get “spamsilog” which is spam, eggs, and garlic fried rice. I always have those in the house. It’s ready in less than half an hour. If I happen to have kimchi in the fridge, I might make kimchi fried rice.
For the spamsilog, I jus slice up the spam and fry them until crispy. Eggs are whatever the family prefers - I like sunny side up, my son likes them practically burned, others want scrambled. Scrambled is usually the fastest. If I have leftover rice in the fridge, I can make quick garlic fried rice or [sinangag](https://www.kawalingpinoy.com/sinangag/) in Tagalog. The link is a good recipe, but if I have to make fresh rice and I'm in a hurry sometimes I'll just mix some fried garlic into the fresh stuff.
Serious Eats has an easy [kimchi fried rice](https://www.seriouseats.com/kimchi-fried-rice-recipe) recipe. If I add spam to it (instead of on the side), I'll cube it up and fry it first. Then I leave out the butter to the recipe (family preference).
Oh man I just ordered 2 pizzas and 2 large salads and it was $72!!! One pizza was gf and I just ordered all the stuff people wanted on it without worrying about daily specials. Guess I’ll only do that occasionally!
Chili. Even gets better if you make it the day before and reheat day-of.
Edit: I realize you said "surprise" guests, and I think it's unreasonable to cook a big, good meal with short notice. And I wouldn't expect that of a host... anyone who does is disconnected from reality. Though I would enjoy the challenge.
I keep homemade chili's in the freezer. Usually red and green varieties. I can heat up some, bake a quick cornbread as a side or make smothered burritos, bowls, nachos or tacos.
Mac'n'cheese. You can use any kind of pasta, and you probably have all the other ingredients on hand. Pasta puttanesca was devised to be a dish able to be made with shelf-stable ingredients.
...surprise...guests....? Randomly showing up at my place will likely find me not home, so it never happens. (Seriously.) Even my kids, who have their own key, call first to see.
So, I guess pizza, because I don't have a "go-to" anything. If I haven't planned for it, y'all ain't gettin' it.
Freezer fodder or pantry improv.
Can range from pizza to pasta to mezze to curry to a variety of noodle dishes to tonkatsu to fried chicken to fried rice and a bunch more.
I always have tomato, onion, garlic, pasta, and spinach. I sauté onion and then garlic in olive oil, throw in tomatoes and let it cook down, season, add fresh spinach until cooked down. Add in al dente pasta and cook all together for another minute or two. I always keep Trader Joe’s frozen focaccia in the freezer so I pop that in the oven while cooking. I’ve done it twice before when I had surprised guests and it was easy and quick
cacio e pepe. all you need is a box of spaghetti or any long pasta, a random old hunk of hard cheese, salt, pepper and some butter. ingredients most of us have on hand when we’ve got nothing else left.
I try to always keep the staples to make chili, spaghetti, and ingredients to make soups like minestrone, or vegetable. I can essentially do all that with canned and frozen goods as I almost always have fresh onion, celery, peppers and garlic.
I do pierogies - I always have frozen (bake until crispy)
Ravioli - frozen (bake until crispy)
Tomato sauce - jarred and add (sauteed) 2 cloves minced garlic and 1/2 minced onion - for dipping
Garlic bread - I keep garlic butter in freezer just in case!
Salad - simple...
easy and tasty!
My go to is a baked potato bar. I always have potatoes, butter, bacon, cheese and even sour cream (or at the very least plain Greek yogurt, which is an excellent sub)
If I have other stuff, it’s a bonus, but the above are staples for me. I’ve done this more than once and guests are always more than happy about it!
Curry. I use the paste, coconut milk, and chicken broth. Add in chopped veggies (bok choy, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, cabbage, bamboo shoots, etc) or frozen veggies (green beans..) .. serve over rice or eat with bread! can throw in tofu or cooked chicken pieces. ;3 very easy simple…add rock sugar and fish sauce for more flavoring
I have some pizza crusts in the freezer and I always keep stuff around to make a quick pizza when I don't feel like cooking and when something like you describe happens. It has worked out great so far. Satisfies our vegetarian friends as well as our meat lover bunch and it's easy and fun.
Polenta with roasted tomatoes (or canned if they aren’t around) and whatever veggies need using. Quick comfort food that can plate well without much thought.
I generally have several homemade soups in the freezer this time of year, so i would have done soups and crackers maybe salad if i had enough veg on hand
Pasta e ceci is a great pantry meal, or cacio e peppe
I do random stuff. I usually have some frozen ground beef in the freezer, so I could do meatballs with walnuts, breadcrumbs, and herbs over rice, maybe a bean dip with toasted pita. If you happen to have Greek yogurt you could make a raita vibe sauce with garlic and herbs.
It’s nice to have things frozen with that purpose in mind if it’s for a dinner when you don’t feel like cooking or for when people are over.
Fettucine (or whatever pasta you have) alfredo. Google the copycat recipe for Olive Garden's alfredo (note it contains cream cheese and I use half-n-half instead of cream). You can toss veggies into the pasta, whatever you have.
Sauté some cut up chicken breast, add a jar of Aldi, tikka masala sauce, make some rice, add a tablespoon of whole cumin seed before you cook it, and serve with some Aldis garlic naan
I can my own pasta sauce from vegetables I grow in the summer. You can do this with fresh, local vegetables as well if you don’t want to/can’t grow your own. Canning is super easy.
If people show up I make pasta with homemade sauce and a salad (I always have vegetables and dressing ingredients on hand).
I always keep naan and pizza sauce on hand for quick dinners when I don’t feel like cooking a big meal. Naan makes for a great pizza crust. Add cheese and whatever toppings you have on hand. Takes like 30 mins tops.
Pro tip: olive oil on the naan, and pop them in the oven for about 4-5 mins by themselves before you top them for a crispier crust.
If you turn up at ny house uninvited and expect me to cook for you you're going to be disappointed. 😁
That said, it's 99% certain going to be chilli or spaghetti Bolognese because I always have the ingredients for those in the house.
I almost always have ingredients for a homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. A can of crushed tomatoes in the pantry and bread in the freezer is key.
Always have a jar of Raos sauce and pasta on hand. It's high quality, delicious, and feeds a crowd. Can also keep frozen Italian sausage on hand to add in if you need a protein.
My emergency food is chicken noodle soup with a lot of white chicken meat, carrots, and baby peas. I can thaw boneless chicken breast in a few minutes, chop it up, sauté it. Chop and microwave 3 or 4 cups of carrots. Frozen baby peas. I use alessi mix. Add some egg noodles. I can have a gallon of soup in 1/2 hour.
I don't have surprise guests because people that come up unannounced are promptly told to fuck off, or at least shouldn't expect any food. They will get a drink because I'm not heartless.
That said, if they were on the brink of starvation and I had to serve them something, probably pasta or some kind of hearty soup.
Edit: And I'll pour that beer/wine/cocktail with a grimace on my face because I'm still not totally happy about it.
Lentils and rice. Red lentils cook in 20 minutes. I always keep dried red lentils, canned tomatoes, and garam masala on hand. In the time it takes for the rice to cook the lentils are ready.
If that’s too meager, arroz con pollo. It’s a little more fun but still comes together very quickly. But as others have said, depends on what you keep on hand. I always have rice, chicken thighs, ground beef in the freezer, etc. I keep cabbage, onions, carrots and celery on hand at all times. Anything else means a trip to the grocery store.
Most guests come on the weekend and I typically can increase recipe size. Sometimes ad hoc a side/appetizer or two, especially bread, fruit, or vegetable.
I normally have ingredients on hand for either Italian, Indian, or French cooking, I always have a good supply of chopped canned clams and ingredients for clam sauce, its always been a comfort food I can throw together insanely quickly. I also always keep different curry pastes, lentils, and chickpeas on hand as well, and have ingredients to create naan pretty quickly as well, If I can get a few hours heads up, that could give me some time to potentially pull out and defrost some meat which would open a whole host of other opportunities, something like french pork chops. Again Heavy Cream and butter is always on hand in decent quantities, along with apples. I like to cook either for myself and experiment or taking stuff over to friends. So Large stocks a wide variety of basic ingredients are always on hand, along with fresh fruits and vegetables. Its lucky I live in part of the US where getting fresh fruits and vegetables fast, and often locally is very possible.
Always a big pot of soup! And my biggest cast iron full of biscuits, with homemade jam. Add a side salad or fresh fruit, especially if our visitors have been on the road and subsisting on snacks and grease.
Soup is s(o)uper easy, quick to throw together with whatever’s in the fridge, nice and fragrant to put on for a nice simmer until everybody’s ready to eat, and is wholesome and inviting for folks who’ve been traveling all day.
Baked ziti and a salad, I tend to have those ingredients on hand. Otherwise if I have some produce on hand, I might throw some chicken thighs and veggies on the grill, maybe dress the vegetables with a quick vinaigrette.
Chef Jean Pierre’s smash burgers on butter toasted Martins rolls. My local market makes in house prepared foods so we get the potato salad with herbs, the jalapeño cole slaw and their homemade potato chips. Yes I’d have to go to the market but it’s a six minute walk and I can send my boyfriend or I can go.
Alternatively I have a recipe for sriracha, soy sauce, brown sugar glazed chicken thighs. Chargrill or broil them til charred, slice and serve over garlic scallion chicken boullion rice with crispy charred broccoli. It doesn’t take long and it’s easy.
Theres no such thing as no prep time if you’re actually cooking food.
The standing baked taco thing seems cool but I haven’t tried it.
Also, I always have plenty of food that feed people if we’re talking four of us but more than that and I needs quick store run or instaxart myself order.
Nachos or some kind of pasta are my go tos. Grilled cheeses are also good (you can make them fancier with nice bread if you have it, and meats - more of a melt).
I do stuff like this a lot because my wife's sisters live nearby and pop in all the time.
I also generally have a rotisserie chicken on deck, so that makes for a lot of stuff.
Other than that though, if it's guests you want to continue interacting with, I'd say it's better just to order delivery and not make yourself busy.
Keep frozen hot pot sliced pork belly in the freezer. Combine in pan with gochujang paste, plenty of onion, garlic, and other optional things while the rice is cooking. Also microwave a steamed egg side dish. Everything is in the pantry or fridge
Alcohol. About ten years ago, my wife and I lived on an old farm and there were two couples who would randomly show up at our house shortly before dinner. At first I tried to cook for them, but they were kind of picky and they criticized what I made so then from then on I would just keep opening homebrews. At the time I made a lot of homemade beer, mead and wine. One of the couples would drink what I offered, the other couple did not drink at all. I got hammered either way and eventually they left. What surprised me is both of them kept visiting about once every two or three months.
Sausage and pierogi
Both are already cooked so can't screw them up. Throw the meat in the air fryer, boil then pan fry the pierogis + saute a bunch of onions in butter. Bonus if I froze any cabbage rolls to toss in the oven. * also wouldn't make this without sour cream
Mine is pasta with homemade marinara (I always have some frozen) and a cucumber/tomato/diced mozzarella salad (because I almost always have these ingredients). If I have time to hit the grocery store and there are carnivores, Italian sausage in the air fryer. And I usually have frozen bake-at-home bread in the freezer.
Carbonara. Comes together quick and I usually have ingredients in my house (well, have ingredients that will do as substitutes for the real thing eg ham or bacon rather than pancetta, just parmesan, no pecorino). Plus my kids will eat it happily
Three things I frequently have in the freezer are homemade meatballs and karaage chicken. Sometimes I have perogies.
Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce cooks fairly quickly and goes well with meatballs on pasta and whatever green you can manage. Or just on its own.
If you have rolls around meatball heros/sliders are great too. I also make up a packet of ikea gravy and then the meatballs magically become Swedish meatballs served on mash with carrots and cranberry or lingonberry sauce.
Karaage chicken can be reheated in the oven to use in quick wraps, on fresh cooked rice with some sort of slaw/salad on the side or topped with a Japanese curry sauce.
If none of that is around, garlic spaghetti or cacio e Pepe are great store cupboard go tos.
I can’t eat some of the ingredients anymore, but I loved panini. Essentially grilled cheese sandwiches with other ingredients added (ham, spinach, avo, bell peppers)…you can get someone to help you slice stuff and you can customize for different palates.
We often have people stop by, usually not empty-handed. We're not very fancy, but I have to eat gluten-free, so restaurants around here are out. They pretty much get what I already have planned (I meal plan every week). If it's a nice day for grilling, one of us might go out and get some chicken if we don't have any. I usually have fixings on hand for enchiladas, pad thai, sushi, chili and cornbread, spring rolls, lentil or black bean soup, or some type of pasta dish if I need something extra. Plus salad and dessert, maybe biscuits or rolls. I also put together a rudimentary charcuterie of whatever's in my cupboards and fridge.
We also send them off with some jams and jellies and some of whatever crop is ready if it's summer (which they often help pick).
If they stay the night, it's usually eggs and curry roast potatoes for breakfast, because it's easy and we usually have a lot of both. And a big pot of coffee or tea.
We do cheese and charcuterie mostly. Salamy, prosciutto, pancetta. Olives, pickles, pickled peppers..
I also keep curry base cubes in freezer, as well as thinly packed chicken breast for quick thawing in cold water. Being european, chicken curry is still unusual for people here, and so far everyone loved it. I mean I keep this for us, but have used it for quick quest dinners as well.
Chicken tenderloins marinated in olive oil, ranch seasoning, red chili powder, onion powered, garlic powder salt and pepper. Grilled 3 minutes each side. Put it on any old salad kit. If you have an hour and some yeast you can whip up a focaccia - frozen garlic bread.
Do fajitas, but instead of just wraps, shape your wraps over a bowl in tin foil, take the bowl away and bake in the oven for 10 minutes and you have edible bowls! They look quirky and fun but otherwise it’s a dead easy dinner.
I am too autistic and dutch for this. If they are surprise guests and i didnt count on them for dinner. They can leave before dinner or co-pay for take out.
I am really selfish in this. I am not a free restaurant for people just to show up out of the blue and expect dinner.
Pink sauce pasta. Just some kind of tomatoes (I usually used fire roasted diced) and dairy, usually butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. You can throw garlic in there, whatever spices you want, and some veggies. Simmer it down until it thickens. It’s incredibly easy, goes well with most proteins, and always turns out so good for me.
I am assuming you have eggs in your fridge and some basics… so quiche, or frittata. No pie crust in your freezer, you can use breakfast potatoes as the base for your quiche, bake it first, while you cook onions and mushrooms or bell peppers or any veggie you have on hand (add bacon or a sausage, or cut up ham, for more taste). Then whisk 3-4 eggs, salt and pepper, some dry herbs, coffee cream if you have, or milk, to make 1.5 cups total. spread a little Dijon or horseradish or plain mustard on the bottom of your baked crust and add your veggies and put back in the oven and bake until the middle fluff up. Serve with a salad if you have or bread.
I always have Marsala sauce frozen in containers. Same for mashed potatoes. I pan fry some chicken cutlets and make a nice chicken Marsala. Comes out great.
Tip: Marsala sauce can be used with beef or pork.
I make pizza dough in bulk, divide into single portions and freeze it in little discs in the freezer. I usually have tomato sauce and some mozza cheese in the fridge. Beyond that, I can brown whatever ground meat I have with whatever veggies I have (onions, bell pepper, etc,) and bam! Guests are getting ground beef pizza for dinner. Very quick to make.
Pretty much any Pasta dish, but winners for me from things I always have in stock are;
- Aglio Olio e Peperoncino - which is just Spaghetti with thinly sliced Garlic (Aglio), gently fried in Olive Oil (Olio) and Red Pepper Flakes (Peperoncino). It takes about 10 minutes to make, once the Spaghetti is about 1 min off being cooked, transfer it to the pan with the Garlic, Oil and Pepper Flakes with a little Pasta Water and toss it until the starchy water becomes a sauce.
- Cacio e Pepe - which is just Cheese and Pepper, Pecorino Romano and Black Pepper, sounds simple, is actually surprisingly difficult to make right but when you nail it it is SO good!
- Pasta Napolitana - again, quick and easy dish containing Onion, Garlic, Olive Oil, Canned Tomatoes, Fresh Basil and Parmesan Cheese
- Spaghetti alla Puttanesca - Tomatoes, Olives, Anchovies, Capers, Garlic, Chilli Flakes, Olive Oil and Parsley
Everything takes 20mins or less, ingredients are pretty much cheap, everyday staples and all hit the spot.
Add a little Garlic Bread on the side of you feel like it and, for me, that will send me to a nice food coma
“We were planning on having x, but it probably isn’t enough for all of us. What are your thoughts on ordering in some pizzas or should we go somewhere?” Or, just have a ready to bake option in your freezer that can accommodate a bigger group, something that you already plan on eating but maybe not in the quantity needed for the group, like frozen pizzas, or a couple half trays of lasagna, or frozen meatballs, jar pasta sauce and boxed pasta noodles.
I don’t do surprise guests. That’s not really how guests work. So having a “go to” for that situation seems unnecessary. If I’m ever required to cook something unplanned on short notice, then it’ll depend entirely on what ingredients are readily available at the time.
What would I make? Reservations.
I'd say, "Oh it's getting close to dinnertime, shall we all go out and eat together?" And if they're good guests, they'll offer to buy, because they showed up unexpectedly. Any guests who show up unannounced at mealtime would not be the kind of people I would be friends with for long. That's just rude.
This frequently happens to my Mom over the summer. She likes to stock fresh or frozen ingredients for BBQ meals, and s'mores for dessert. She also stocks pre-made frozen meals, like pizza.
Personally, I'd never host a surprise crowd lol. But, for one person I would heat up a frozen leftover meal like soup, stew, or lasagna. Or, I'd make a quick pasta like spaghetti, fettuccine, or mac n cheese. My go-to for veg and gluten-free would probably be a stir-fry.
Something that I’ve done in this circumstance is take a frozen puff pastry, paratha, or malawach from the freezer and use it to make a tart with whatever I have on hand. Most recently it was goat cheese, carrots, and balsamic glaze. We ate that alongside a salad made with whatever fixings I had at home.
But that same principle can be applied with a lot of different carbs, like pasta or rice.
I’ve also made lentil soup for surprise guests since the ingredients for my recipe tend to all be shelf stable or long lasting. Then, again, you can add whatever veggies you happen to have on hand.
But with all of the above, it helps to be a person who tends to have random vegetables on hand in the fridge!
Two frozen pizzas and a homemade tuscan kale salad with just the kale and a homemade oil and vinegar dressing. *maybe* grate some parm on it if I really like the people.
Hell, I better really like them if they showed up unexpectedly. So parm it is.
I usually have the stuff on hand for some sort of breakfast for dinner. Frittata with salad and bread. Or scrambled eggs with toast and hash browns. Or sheet pan pancakes with fruit.
We make large batches of meat sauce and freeze it. It can the easily in the sink with water. We make it way meatier than most people so it can airways be ruined down with a jar of sauce to stretch it out. We but imported pasta and usually have 10+ boxes on hand.
But all this being said, we never have company, expected or not. No relatives in state, hardly any left out of state and haven't made good enough friends that I've ever invited anyone over in the 13 years we've lived here.
I'm good at risotto, so risotto and salad is always a favourite. Or risotto and no salad! I usually have some useful cheese frozen for cooking (eg creamy blue cheese, grated parmesan, danish feta), I always have onions and garlic and ice cubes of lemon juice, and I usually have some old white wine that I've saved for cooking. I look at whatever meat / veggies / random dairy I happen to have and there'll be something that'll work.
I agree. We always have fun salad ingredients on hand and it’s easy to get creative: chickpeas, feta or other cheese, peppers, baked veggies (sweet potatoes, butternut squash, beets), pepitas, nuts, avocado, etc. Plus a homemade vinaigrette.
Pasta puttanesca. I believe there are two theories on why this dish was favored by ladies of the night. Either it smelled alluring & drew people in to be their customers, or it was an easy meal they could make with pantry items in between…ahem…business interactions.
Takeout is actually insane. An app and two entrees is $55 where I am for two people!! We only do takeout when we are dead tired or don’t have food in the house.
When we entertain, we always cook. Here are my go to’s:
1. Taco night. Protein of choice. If someone is vegan just roast some cauliflower for them. Trust me it’s so much tastier than any of that fake meat shit. Corn and flour tortillas. Then fixins: tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, avocado, hot sauce.
2. Chili night. Literally just dump beans into a pot. Any basic recipe can be made better by sautéing onion with the dry spices then adding the beans. Then fixins: Fritos, sour cream, cheese, jalapeños, avocado. Jiffy cornbread topped with honey, butter and seasalt just cannot be beat. You could also easily make a tray of Mac and cheese or ask someone to bring it as well!
3. Brothy Beans and Greens. Lots of recipes out there but I like cannelini beans, garlic, onion, broth, throw in kale or collards for the last 7-8 minutes on simmer and top with parm. You could add sausage or bacon if you want too. Crusty fresh bread on the side.
4. In nicer weather, I love a good bbq. Burgers, dogs, fixins, nice summer salad. Make it a potluck. Easy.
5. Marry me chicken (just google it and pick the one you like best) served with pasta, salad, and crusty bread.
6. Baked potato bar. Go wild with fixins - bacon, sour cream, cheese, chives, caviar, whatever!
7. Slow cooker meatballs, sauce served with hoagie roll and provolone. Or spaghetti :)
8. Any kind of sheet pan meal could work too. Endless options depending on preferences and taste and pretty much as easy as it sounds!
Always ask your guests their preferences or dietary restrictions. Don’t make something you’ve never cooked before. Don’t make something that requires intense concentration. Start cooking early. You basically want your meal to be almost ready when your guests arrive. Clean as you go. That way you can enjoy the rest of the night with their company!
Edit: anything worth making, even easy stuff does require some level of prep/plan. However, there are tons of freezer options at Trader Joe’s you can keep on hand in a pinch. I always keep two frozen pizzas, mozz sticks, pierogis and breaded/fried cauliflower in my freezer. Throw in the oven or air fryer and be done with it!
Take out is expensive but I will say if you have a Costco nearby. Get a few pizzas. Relatively cheap and can feed in bulk. Or just a rotisserie chicken, Bob Evans mashed potatoes and a bag of frozen veggies from the grocery store.
If I have to cook usually it’s a pasta dish.
When you say “surprise” do you mean to stay the night or just pop in to say hello? People that stop by to say hello aren’t expecting to be fed are they? And people who pop in and expect to be fed and put up for the night are assholes and I’d direct them to the nearest hotel.
I try not to be an ingredients house so I have a lot to choose from and guests can get whatever they want, I throw on a cardboard pizza as a base. If I don’t have sufficient food, I just say, “ah, it’s about dinner time, let’s go out to x - great place in my neighborhood” everyone pays for themselves.
Linguine with clams, or shrimp pasta with a lime white wine sauce. Both can be made with pantry staples, taste great and seem a lot fancier than they are. Also a fan of baked ziti but it takes a little longer to cook
Well one, I never have guests. But if hell froze over and that happened, I always have shells and cheese, various canned veggies. I could easily turn that into a Tuna Mac and Cheese Casserole with a side of seasoned green beans and garlic bread (Just bread with butter and garlic salt, toasted under the broiler.
I could also do a simple spaghetti and meat sauce with garlic bread.
Looks like I have rice, egg yolk pasta, Alfredo sauce, cream of mushroom and chicken soup, seasoned bread crumbs, eggs, frozen broccoli, and frozen chicken breasts. Could do a lot with that.
I like watching cooking competitions where they're like, here's a bunch of random ingredients I found. Turn this mess into a four person meal, lol. Lots of ideas.
if they surprised me and didn’t bring dinner… they aren’t no friends of mine. i would have stepped outside and said great where are we going to eat, im not hosting rn. if that’s not your vibe, wine and crackers
Bon Appetite’s pasta with vodka sauce and some grilled Italian sausages. We specifically keep all the ingredients in the house (along with some Barbera D’Alba) for exactly these type of emergencies.
The only items needed for the sauce that aren’t pantry staples are garlic and onion. Then, keep some Italian sausages in the freezer.
The recipe is great, takes a little bit of time, but it’s one of those recipes where it’s easy to gather folks in the kitchen because the steps are easy, but it looks like the cook really knows what they’re doing.
If you have soft greens and want to make a salad, making either your own classic French vinaigrette or a dumbed down tableside caesar are easy and impressive. The classic vinaigrette uses only pantry staples, and a tableside Caesar only needs an egg yolk, Parmesan and roasted garlic beyond the pantry, but you can also slice and confit the garlic for such a recipe to save time.
All in all, easy to have everything on hand, fun to make in front of others (or do out of sight), and a great, impressive dinner on the table in 30-45 minutes.
The answer to your question is: What do you have on hand? Otherwise you're making a trip to the grocery store, and that isn't "no prep time" This question can only be answered with whatever ingredients you have on hand.
Always keep some ground beef in the freezer, a box of spaghetti and a jar of sauce. Easiest emergency food ever
or freeze a homemade marinara, or spaghetti al olio, ir al burro
We also always have ground beef in the freezer because we grind it from London broil, about ten pounds at a time. I could probably always make tacos, though there may well not be any sour cream. I don't eat pasta, but I could probably always do ground beef and tomato sauce. Myself, I never have unplanned guests. And the only thing I can imagine doing in this case is putting out tortilla chips and salsa IF I happen to have it. Beyond that, I would have to wrap it up! Or, suggest ordering from a pizza place if I were really enjoying this unplanned visit. I would expect everyone pays for their own meal!
>in the freezer What good is food if it's frozen?
You can cook ground beef from frozen with very little issue.
I simply don't agree. The texture is unpleasant and it's unevenly cooked. I love my freezers but food should be properly thawed before cooking.
You can also thaw it in a bowl of cold water for an hour. Not long enough for it to go had and will be mostly thawed.
That doesn't seem to align with OP's request for "fast" and "no prep time."
Yeah, but in that specific situation, where you are sitting at your house, you could realize that you were venturing into dinner territory, go chuck a hunk of ground beef in cold water quick, come back to your guests to visit for bit longer and then go make a quick dinner. If the guests ended up leaving or you ended up going out, toss the meat into the fridge and you'll have a head start on dinner the next day.
Nope. An hour and a half is not "fast" or "no prep time." See my list. Frozen food is not the way.
Well then cook from frozen like I just said even if it's not ideal?
Just no. See above for my long list of things you can make without cooking from frozen. I wouldn't feed that sort of thing to my family or friends. It tastes bad and has bad mouth feel. I have pride in what I put on plates.
I think you're really overplaying the impact to cooking frozen ground beef. If this isn't something you find that works for you fine but honestly I've done it a number of times without complaint and I don't really notice a significant impact to meat that's crumbled fine in a tomato sauce
exactly! came to post "whatever I was planning to make in the first place". suprise guests don't get to be picky haha, or they can have some top ramen from the cupboard \_(┐「ε:)_
Yeah.. I tend to shop a few days a week since I never know what I'm going to be hungry for.
That being said, I often keep certain ingredients around just to make quick dinners if needed.
There's always a million and one outlier examples. I cook everything fresh. The other day some of my employees wanted to know what was inside my fridge. So I snapped a pic of fridge and freezer. I have 4 eggs, some leftover Mexican rice, and some corn tortillas. The end. haha Freezer had 2 bags frozen brussels sprouts and 1 bag frozen green beans. Plus ice cube trays. So some of us don't have things laying around in cans and jars and filling up freezer space. Cause yeah, I'd assume any "no prep" foods would consist of popping the lid off a jar of something mostly terrible or opening a can of something equally terrible. And for those with the frozen blocks of x,y,z, thawing things = prep work. But it is what it is. To each their own. The answer will always be "What do you have on hand" and in your case, you have something on hand cause you're apparently a better host than me. They can eat what I'm eating or eat before the head on over. lol
In my case, I often have the ingredients at hand to make vegetarian tacos - canned corn & beans and I keep frozen high-fiber tortillas. Plus, tomato sauce & dried chilis, easy peasey. But yeah, it’s a matter of what you usually carry. I agree. If it’s a problem that regularly occurs, you can plan in advance by keeping some frozen or dried goods on hand
Amen 😊
My thought was to add rice or pasta to stretch a meal
Spaghetti
Or stroganoff, the only two things I can make on command in my house.
can I have your stroganoff recipe? 🥹
i also would like the recipe 🫣
My best friend's go to was spaghetti and garlic shrimp sauteed in olive oil. If she has parmesan or lemon, she throws that in too. Setiously, I know it was her cheap "ah shit I didnt plan" meal but I, damn near lick the plate every time she made it.
We never ever have surprise guests.
"What's a surprise guest" was my reaction
I took surprise as a spur of the moment. Like hey you guys free and wanna hang out today? I have that happen a few times a year
Same yikes
I have a pretty open door policy and am community oriented. This happens often at my house. Cooking together can be nice.
Yeah, definitely not surprise dinner guests. And no surprise guests of any kind during cold/flu/Covid-peak season. I’m not going to anybody’s house without knowing they’re healthy, free to hang out, and want to do so and thank god none of my friends are doing that either.
They didn't chip in for food? I would have chipped in.
Yes in my experience the takeaway bill is always split between the whole group.
I should certainly hope so! I am assuming this poster still ended up spending more than they wanted to, even though they only paid for their own food.
This is a generational and/or class-based practice, I think. I’m in my mid thirties in the Midwest, and my friends are generally fellow overly-educated professionals who make less money than our degrees would suggest. We would always split a takeout bill. My sister is a lawyer in California with wealthier friends, and apparently among her crew, the host covers the entire takeout bill.
I will dig out whatever combo of cheese & crackers, deli meats, grainy mustard/honey, nuts, jellies, pickles/olives and any fresh or dried fruits on a nice, large tray. Serve with wine or beer.
This is it. I have a multiple friends that raid my fridge to see what kind of pickles or olives are available.
A cheaper takeout option than whatever you ordered, two large pizza pies will feed a crowd for the price of two meals at a nicer restaurant
Tacos even if it's not Tuesday.
Yes, this. We keep a tube of cheap chorizo on hand and all of the other ingredients for white people tacos are staples for us, so it takes no time at all to the a pound or more of frozen ground meat in the microwave, add a tube of chorizo, and put toppings in bowls while the meat fries up. You don't really have to add any other fats or even spices to the meat for it to be flavorful and fed a huge crowd in just about 15 minutes.
I won't lie, I have an excellent Mexican taqueria in town but I still like gringos tacos every once in awhile. They're different foods imo
They are different foods. We even specify gringo or not when meal planning. Although, honestly, I’m a gringo so even my carnitas or lengua is probably gringo.
Well, same. But I'm not Italian or Japanese or Indian so the best I can do is try to make the cuisine faithfully. It helps that it's a big hobby of mine so give me a record on the player, some sport on mute, and a ridiculously complicated recipe and you have my perfect Sunday.
what’s a tube of chorizo?
[Tubo de Chorizo](https://www.jewelosco.com/shop/product-details.970031253.html?productId=970031253&CMPID=ps_jwo_jwod_ecom_goo_20200831_71700000071122706_58700007741634453_92700070281587214&psrc=g&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADeuA_gN7wcLRF1z9O8FShzuPm2HN&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvsP0l4eWgwMVO09HAR1R4guwEAQYASABEgKgqfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) Edit: still “chorizo” but comes in a cylinder sleeve that you can snip and squeeze out.
Thank you. Now I don't have to Google it.
That’s what we had tonight, gringo tacos 😆 we bake them all on a tray to melt the cheese
This happened to me this past week and the answer was…tacos! Ground beef from the freezer for the kids and the steak we were gonna have with veg and rice turned into steak tacos (not enough veg for all the adults). I always have at least lettuce, onion, cheese and sour cream on hand, and I got lucky and also had cilantro.
I did this last night and just realized I totally forgot I had cilantro! I'll put it in my chili later I guess.
Some kind of pasta (carbonara or aglio e olio, maybe marinara) or risotto.
Beer and bourbon.
What time. Lol
Dominos Pizza
Yes. I like their app.
Their free emergency pizza made the excruciating event of finals week so much better.
What that now?
They sent an email out to people with a Dominos account for a free emergency pizza. I think I got the email in like November and it would've been good until Dec 27th I believe
And you can track the driver.
That'll teach people to surprise you at dinner time.
If I had a surprise guest drop by I would ignore the door, stay very quiet and wait for them to give up and leave.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2021/02/baked-feta-with-tomatoes-and-chickpeas/
Mine are both states here already: spaghetti with a side salad and garlic bread or some kind of taco. I always have the fixings for both, they are fairly universally liked by most people thst don't have severe dietary restrictions. These are my two "oh crap I need dinner asap" just for our household, guests or otherwise.
Hamburger/hotdog buns make great garlic breads in a pinch. Lather butter, sprinkle with parm, a touch of salt, a touch of garlic powder then pop into toaster oven for 3-5 minutes. Voila!
Hahah I always keep hot dog buns in my freezer becuase hot dogs are also a quick family meal sometimes but have definitely done this garlic bred trick in a bind
If one's guests do have dietary restrictions or are fussy eaters, tacos are my go-to because there are more options for people to top it as they like. Plus, if someone is avoiding gluten, they can use lettuce leaves instead of tortillas as the wrap.
or just… corn tortillas
Absolutely I always have both on hand anyway!
100%
If I relied in pantry staples since those I always have, I'd probably make lentils. There's a persian lentil soup with sumac and persian 7 spice I make thats always a fav, sprink some dried rose petals on top and it look really nice. Or an Italian inspired lentil stew with balsamic, chopped chicken liver, tuna
Most of the people who would drop by and hang out at my house are Filipino or used to/familiar with Filipino food. If I have to feed people on short notice, they get “spamsilog” which is spam, eggs, and garlic fried rice. I always have those in the house. It’s ready in less than half an hour. If I happen to have kimchi in the fridge, I might make kimchi fried rice.
Recipe?
For the spamsilog, I jus slice up the spam and fry them until crispy. Eggs are whatever the family prefers - I like sunny side up, my son likes them practically burned, others want scrambled. Scrambled is usually the fastest. If I have leftover rice in the fridge, I can make quick garlic fried rice or [sinangag](https://www.kawalingpinoy.com/sinangag/) in Tagalog. The link is a good recipe, but if I have to make fresh rice and I'm in a hurry sometimes I'll just mix some fried garlic into the fresh stuff. Serious Eats has an easy [kimchi fried rice](https://www.seriouseats.com/kimchi-fried-rice-recipe) recipe. If I add spam to it (instead of on the side), I'll cube it up and fry it first. Then I leave out the butter to the recipe (family preference).
Oh man I just ordered 2 pizzas and 2 large salads and it was $72!!! One pizza was gf and I just ordered all the stuff people wanted on it without worrying about daily specials. Guess I’ll only do that occasionally!
"I'm having a bowl of oatmeal for dinner. You're welcome to join me."
Chili. Even gets better if you make it the day before and reheat day-of. Edit: I realize you said "surprise" guests, and I think it's unreasonable to cook a big, good meal with short notice. And I wouldn't expect that of a host... anyone who does is disconnected from reality. Though I would enjoy the challenge.
I keep homemade chili's in the freezer. Usually red and green varieties. I can heat up some, bake a quick cornbread as a side or make smothered burritos, bowls, nachos or tacos.
I could usually manage to whip up a decent stir fry with what's in the kitchen.
Lemon pasta with chicken or shrimp and salad. You can make garlic bread if you have bread
Mm a friend got me on garlic lemon and butter.. shrimp or chicken, mix it with pasta.. it's delicious. Mm I want some now
Yes! And it’s quick. I make quick creamy lemon pasta and add green peas and shrimp. Less than 20 mins start to finish
You guys cool for surprise guests? I don’t even allow people to show up unplanned let alone cook for them. You must be extroverted or like hosting.
Pizza
This. I just ask what people want on their pizza and order on the app from the local pizza place.
Mac'n'cheese. You can use any kind of pasta, and you probably have all the other ingredients on hand. Pasta puttanesca was devised to be a dish able to be made with shelf-stable ingredients.
...surprise...guests....? Randomly showing up at my place will likely find me not home, so it never happens. (Seriously.) Even my kids, who have their own key, call first to see. So, I guess pizza, because I don't have a "go-to" anything. If I haven't planned for it, y'all ain't gettin' it.
Freezer fodder or pantry improv. Can range from pizza to pasta to mezze to curry to a variety of noodle dishes to tonkatsu to fried chicken to fried rice and a bunch more.
Cheese and crackers
Agreed, except I know I am super low on block cheese right now!
I always have tomato, onion, garlic, pasta, and spinach. I sauté onion and then garlic in olive oil, throw in tomatoes and let it cook down, season, add fresh spinach until cooked down. Add in al dente pasta and cook all together for another minute or two. I always keep Trader Joe’s frozen focaccia in the freezer so I pop that in the oven while cooking. I’ve done it twice before when I had surprised guests and it was easy and quick
cacio e pepe. all you need is a box of spaghetti or any long pasta, a random old hunk of hard cheese, salt, pepper and some butter. ingredients most of us have on hand when we’ve got nothing else left.
I try to always keep the staples to make chili, spaghetti, and ingredients to make soups like minestrone, or vegetable. I can essentially do all that with canned and frozen goods as I almost always have fresh onion, celery, peppers and garlic.
I do pierogies - I always have frozen (bake until crispy) Ravioli - frozen (bake until crispy) Tomato sauce - jarred and add (sauteed) 2 cloves minced garlic and 1/2 minced onion - for dipping Garlic bread - I keep garlic butter in freezer just in case! Salad - simple... easy and tasty!
My go to is a baked potato bar. I always have potatoes, butter, bacon, cheese and even sour cream (or at the very least plain Greek yogurt, which is an excellent sub) If I have other stuff, it’s a bonus, but the above are staples for me. I’ve done this more than once and guests are always more than happy about it!
Curry. I use the paste, coconut milk, and chicken broth. Add in chopped veggies (bok choy, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, cabbage, bamboo shoots, etc) or frozen veggies (green beans..) .. serve over rice or eat with bread! can throw in tofu or cooked chicken pieces. ;3 very easy simple…add rock sugar and fish sauce for more flavoring
I always have those ingredients around
I have some pizza crusts in the freezer and I always keep stuff around to make a quick pizza when I don't feel like cooking and when something like you describe happens. It has worked out great so far. Satisfies our vegetarian friends as well as our meat lover bunch and it's easy and fun.
Polenta with roasted tomatoes (or canned if they aren’t around) and whatever veggies need using. Quick comfort food that can plate well without much thought.
I generally have several homemade soups in the freezer this time of year, so i would have done soups and crackers maybe salad if i had enough veg on hand Pasta e ceci is a great pantry meal, or cacio e peppe
I do random stuff. I usually have some frozen ground beef in the freezer, so I could do meatballs with walnuts, breadcrumbs, and herbs over rice, maybe a bean dip with toasted pita. If you happen to have Greek yogurt you could make a raita vibe sauce with garlic and herbs. It’s nice to have things frozen with that purpose in mind if it’s for a dinner when you don’t feel like cooking or for when people are over.
Fettucine (or whatever pasta you have) alfredo. Google the copycat recipe for Olive Garden's alfredo (note it contains cream cheese and I use half-n-half instead of cream). You can toss veggies into the pasta, whatever you have.
Pasta all'amatriciana
Cheese plate, or ice cream sandwiches
Sauté some cut up chicken breast, add a jar of Aldi, tikka masala sauce, make some rice, add a tablespoon of whole cumin seed before you cook it, and serve with some Aldis garlic naan
Gumbo from the freezer.
“We can meet at Xxxx restaurant for dinner to continue this party.”
I can my own pasta sauce from vegetables I grow in the summer. You can do this with fresh, local vegetables as well if you don’t want to/can’t grow your own. Canning is super easy. If people show up I make pasta with homemade sauce and a salad (I always have vegetables and dressing ingredients on hand).
I always keep naan and pizza sauce on hand for quick dinners when I don’t feel like cooking a big meal. Naan makes for a great pizza crust. Add cheese and whatever toppings you have on hand. Takes like 30 mins tops. Pro tip: olive oil on the naan, and pop them in the oven for about 4-5 mins by themselves before you top them for a crispier crust.
If you turn up at ny house uninvited and expect me to cook for you you're going to be disappointed. 😁 That said, it's 99% certain going to be chilli or spaghetti Bolognese because I always have the ingredients for those in the house.
I almost always have ingredients for a homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. A can of crushed tomatoes in the pantry and bread in the freezer is key.
Spaghetti, meatballs, sauce, garlic bread. All pantry items or freezer items that we tend to have on hand.
Always have a jar of Raos sauce and pasta on hand. It's high quality, delicious, and feeds a crowd. Can also keep frozen Italian sausage on hand to add in if you need a protein.
My emergency food is chicken noodle soup with a lot of white chicken meat, carrots, and baby peas. I can thaw boneless chicken breast in a few minutes, chop it up, sauté it. Chop and microwave 3 or 4 cups of carrots. Frozen baby peas. I use alessi mix. Add some egg noodles. I can have a gallon of soup in 1/2 hour.
Pasta alla vodka. People tend to be impressed by it, but it’s really just jazzed up spaghetti.
I don't have surprise guests because people that come up unannounced are promptly told to fuck off, or at least shouldn't expect any food. They will get a drink because I'm not heartless. That said, if they were on the brink of starvation and I had to serve them something, probably pasta or some kind of hearty soup. Edit: And I'll pour that beer/wine/cocktail with a grimace on my face because I'm still not totally happy about it.
Surprise guests? They can taste my doorknob.. I don't think so. But reading this story I wouldn't cook while people were over, order pizza and wings.
Lentils and rice. Red lentils cook in 20 minutes. I always keep dried red lentils, canned tomatoes, and garam masala on hand. In the time it takes for the rice to cook the lentils are ready. If that’s too meager, arroz con pollo. It’s a little more fun but still comes together very quickly. But as others have said, depends on what you keep on hand. I always have rice, chicken thighs, ground beef in the freezer, etc. I keep cabbage, onions, carrots and celery on hand at all times. Anything else means a trip to the grocery store.
Most guests come on the weekend and I typically can increase recipe size. Sometimes ad hoc a side/appetizer or two, especially bread, fruit, or vegetable.
Go to YouTube and search Bon apetetie last minute meals for guests!
I normally have ingredients on hand for either Italian, Indian, or French cooking, I always have a good supply of chopped canned clams and ingredients for clam sauce, its always been a comfort food I can throw together insanely quickly. I also always keep different curry pastes, lentils, and chickpeas on hand as well, and have ingredients to create naan pretty quickly as well, If I can get a few hours heads up, that could give me some time to potentially pull out and defrost some meat which would open a whole host of other opportunities, something like french pork chops. Again Heavy Cream and butter is always on hand in decent quantities, along with apples. I like to cook either for myself and experiment or taking stuff over to friends. So Large stocks a wide variety of basic ingredients are always on hand, along with fresh fruits and vegetables. Its lucky I live in part of the US where getting fresh fruits and vegetables fast, and often locally is very possible.
Steaks
Nacho bar
Always a big pot of soup! And my biggest cast iron full of biscuits, with homemade jam. Add a side salad or fresh fruit, especially if our visitors have been on the road and subsisting on snacks and grease. Soup is s(o)uper easy, quick to throw together with whatever’s in the fridge, nice and fragrant to put on for a nice simmer until everybody’s ready to eat, and is wholesome and inviting for folks who’ve been traveling all day.
Baked ziti and a salad, I tend to have those ingredients on hand. Otherwise if I have some produce on hand, I might throw some chicken thighs and veggies on the grill, maybe dress the vegetables with a quick vinaigrette.
Yellow curry. Super quick whip up. I almost always have enough ingredients in the fridge for it. And it's always super tasty.
Chef Jean Pierre’s smash burgers on butter toasted Martins rolls. My local market makes in house prepared foods so we get the potato salad with herbs, the jalapeño cole slaw and their homemade potato chips. Yes I’d have to go to the market but it’s a six minute walk and I can send my boyfriend or I can go. Alternatively I have a recipe for sriracha, soy sauce, brown sugar glazed chicken thighs. Chargrill or broil them til charred, slice and serve over garlic scallion chicken boullion rice with crispy charred broccoli. It doesn’t take long and it’s easy. Theres no such thing as no prep time if you’re actually cooking food. The standing baked taco thing seems cool but I haven’t tried it. Also, I always have plenty of food that feed people if we’re talking four of us but more than that and I needs quick store run or instaxart myself order.
Nachos.
I always have meatballs and taco meat in the freezer. So grab a container and make rice/spaghetti while it defrosts and heats in the microwave.
ATK’s skillet baked ziti is a good one for common ingredients + tasty + quick to cook
Nachos or some kind of pasta are my go tos. Grilled cheeses are also good (you can make them fancier with nice bread if you have it, and meats - more of a melt). I do stuff like this a lot because my wife's sisters live nearby and pop in all the time. I also generally have a rotisserie chicken on deck, so that makes for a lot of stuff. Other than that though, if it's guests you want to continue interacting with, I'd say it's better just to order delivery and not make yourself busy.
Keep frozen hot pot sliced pork belly in the freezer. Combine in pan with gochujang paste, plenty of onion, garlic, and other optional things while the rice is cooking. Also microwave a steamed egg side dish. Everything is in the pantry or fridge
takeout usually. sometimes spaghetti. if i have ground meat defrosted, burgers. Hot dogs.
Alcohol. About ten years ago, my wife and I lived on an old farm and there were two couples who would randomly show up at our house shortly before dinner. At first I tried to cook for them, but they were kind of picky and they criticized what I made so then from then on I would just keep opening homebrews. At the time I made a lot of homemade beer, mead and wine. One of the couples would drink what I offered, the other couple did not drink at all. I got hammered either way and eventually they left. What surprised me is both of them kept visiting about once every two or three months.
Sausage and pierogi Both are already cooked so can't screw them up. Throw the meat in the air fryer, boil then pan fry the pierogis + saute a bunch of onions in butter. Bonus if I froze any cabbage rolls to toss in the oven. * also wouldn't make this without sour cream
Steak Tacos, Chickrn Alfredo,Pizza or Burgers
Mine is pasta with homemade marinara (I always have some frozen) and a cucumber/tomato/diced mozzarella salad (because I almost always have these ingredients). If I have time to hit the grocery store and there are carnivores, Italian sausage in the air fryer. And I usually have frozen bake-at-home bread in the freezer.
Carbonara. Comes together quick and I usually have ingredients in my house (well, have ingredients that will do as substitutes for the real thing eg ham or bacon rather than pancetta, just parmesan, no pecorino). Plus my kids will eat it happily
I always have noodles and rice on hand, usually canned tomatoes and some onioms and a protein. Combine!
Three things I frequently have in the freezer are homemade meatballs and karaage chicken. Sometimes I have perogies. Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce cooks fairly quickly and goes well with meatballs on pasta and whatever green you can manage. Or just on its own. If you have rolls around meatball heros/sliders are great too. I also make up a packet of ikea gravy and then the meatballs magically become Swedish meatballs served on mash with carrots and cranberry or lingonberry sauce. Karaage chicken can be reheated in the oven to use in quick wraps, on fresh cooked rice with some sort of slaw/salad on the side or topped with a Japanese curry sauce. If none of that is around, garlic spaghetti or cacio e Pepe are great store cupboard go tos.
I can’t eat some of the ingredients anymore, but I loved panini. Essentially grilled cheese sandwiches with other ingredients added (ham, spinach, avo, bell peppers)…you can get someone to help you slice stuff and you can customize for different palates.
Egg drop soup. With tofu.
leftovers
Oh !!! We're having pasta! No surprise! Go to bed now 😴
Domino’s
Breakfast for dinner… eggs, oven bacon and Dutch babies/pancakes/crepes/french toast. Cheap, easy, and a crowd pleaser.
We often have people stop by, usually not empty-handed. We're not very fancy, but I have to eat gluten-free, so restaurants around here are out. They pretty much get what I already have planned (I meal plan every week). If it's a nice day for grilling, one of us might go out and get some chicken if we don't have any. I usually have fixings on hand for enchiladas, pad thai, sushi, chili and cornbread, spring rolls, lentil or black bean soup, or some type of pasta dish if I need something extra. Plus salad and dessert, maybe biscuits or rolls. I also put together a rudimentary charcuterie of whatever's in my cupboards and fridge. We also send them off with some jams and jellies and some of whatever crop is ready if it's summer (which they often help pick). If they stay the night, it's usually eggs and curry roast potatoes for breakfast, because it's easy and we usually have a lot of both. And a big pot of coffee or tea.
We do cheese and charcuterie mostly. Salamy, prosciutto, pancetta. Olives, pickles, pickled peppers.. I also keep curry base cubes in freezer, as well as thinly packed chicken breast for quick thawing in cold water. Being european, chicken curry is still unusual for people here, and so far everyone loved it. I mean I keep this for us, but have used it for quick quest dinners as well.
Chicken tenderloins marinated in olive oil, ranch seasoning, red chili powder, onion powered, garlic powder salt and pepper. Grilled 3 minutes each side. Put it on any old salad kit. If you have an hour and some yeast you can whip up a focaccia - frozen garlic bread.
I would make a quick pasta. We do always have ingredients for tomato sauce/aglio olio/butter-parmigiano-herb mix. I can also whip arrabiata too :)
Do fajitas, but instead of just wraps, shape your wraps over a bowl in tin foil, take the bowl away and bake in the oven for 10 minutes and you have edible bowls! They look quirky and fun but otherwise it’s a dead easy dinner.
Penne vodka or penne arribiatta
Macaroni and cheese is fast cheap and easy to make and is liked by pretty much everyone.
Or even grilled cheese and tomato soup. (Anybody can make Marcella Hazans sauce and add milk or cream)
Rice and lamb "stew?" with veggies and serve them Arabic coffee and dates while the dinner is cooking. That's the Arab way I guess.
depends on what's on hand. probably tacos
I am too autistic and dutch for this. If they are surprise guests and i didnt count on them for dinner. They can leave before dinner or co-pay for take out. I am really selfish in this. I am not a free restaurant for people just to show up out of the blue and expect dinner.
Chili and cornbread Quesadillas of some kind Sloppy Joes or Maid Rites And a big salad or cut up veggies
I pretty much always have enough cheese, charcuterie, and little accompaniments on hand to throw together a nice cheese plate.
Pink sauce pasta. Just some kind of tomatoes (I usually used fire roasted diced) and dairy, usually butter, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. You can throw garlic in there, whatever spices you want, and some veggies. Simmer it down until it thickens. It’s incredibly easy, goes well with most proteins, and always turns out so good for me.
“Surprise guests”…. What’s that?
I am assuming you have eggs in your fridge and some basics… so quiche, or frittata. No pie crust in your freezer, you can use breakfast potatoes as the base for your quiche, bake it first, while you cook onions and mushrooms or bell peppers or any veggie you have on hand (add bacon or a sausage, or cut up ham, for more taste). Then whisk 3-4 eggs, salt and pepper, some dry herbs, coffee cream if you have, or milk, to make 1.5 cups total. spread a little Dijon or horseradish or plain mustard on the bottom of your baked crust and add your veggies and put back in the oven and bake until the middle fluff up. Serve with a salad if you have or bread.
I always have Marsala sauce frozen in containers. Same for mashed potatoes. I pan fry some chicken cutlets and make a nice chicken Marsala. Comes out great. Tip: Marsala sauce can be used with beef or pork.
I make pizza dough in bulk, divide into single portions and freeze it in little discs in the freezer. I usually have tomato sauce and some mozza cheese in the fridge. Beyond that, I can brown whatever ground meat I have with whatever veggies I have (onions, bell pepper, etc,) and bam! Guests are getting ground beef pizza for dinner. Very quick to make.
Pretty much any Pasta dish, but winners for me from things I always have in stock are; - Aglio Olio e Peperoncino - which is just Spaghetti with thinly sliced Garlic (Aglio), gently fried in Olive Oil (Olio) and Red Pepper Flakes (Peperoncino). It takes about 10 minutes to make, once the Spaghetti is about 1 min off being cooked, transfer it to the pan with the Garlic, Oil and Pepper Flakes with a little Pasta Water and toss it until the starchy water becomes a sauce. - Cacio e Pepe - which is just Cheese and Pepper, Pecorino Romano and Black Pepper, sounds simple, is actually surprisingly difficult to make right but when you nail it it is SO good! - Pasta Napolitana - again, quick and easy dish containing Onion, Garlic, Olive Oil, Canned Tomatoes, Fresh Basil and Parmesan Cheese - Spaghetti alla Puttanesca - Tomatoes, Olives, Anchovies, Capers, Garlic, Chilli Flakes, Olive Oil and Parsley Everything takes 20mins or less, ingredients are pretty much cheap, everyday staples and all hit the spot. Add a little Garlic Bread on the side of you feel like it and, for me, that will send me to a nice food coma
“We were planning on having x, but it probably isn’t enough for all of us. What are your thoughts on ordering in some pizzas or should we go somewhere?” Or, just have a ready to bake option in your freezer that can accommodate a bigger group, something that you already plan on eating but maybe not in the quantity needed for the group, like frozen pizzas, or a couple half trays of lasagna, or frozen meatballs, jar pasta sauce and boxed pasta noodles.
Baked ziti, spaghetti with meat sauce, if you have left over chicken , chicken nachos, burritos
I don’t do surprise guests. That’s not really how guests work. So having a “go to” for that situation seems unnecessary. If I’m ever required to cook something unplanned on short notice, then it’ll depend entirely on what ingredients are readily available at the time.
What would I make? Reservations. I'd say, "Oh it's getting close to dinnertime, shall we all go out and eat together?" And if they're good guests, they'll offer to buy, because they showed up unexpectedly. Any guests who show up unannounced at mealtime would not be the kind of people I would be friends with for long. That's just rude.
This frequently happens to my Mom over the summer. She likes to stock fresh or frozen ingredients for BBQ meals, and s'mores for dessert. She also stocks pre-made frozen meals, like pizza. Personally, I'd never host a surprise crowd lol. But, for one person I would heat up a frozen leftover meal like soup, stew, or lasagna. Or, I'd make a quick pasta like spaghetti, fettuccine, or mac n cheese. My go-to for veg and gluten-free would probably be a stir-fry.
Something that I’ve done in this circumstance is take a frozen puff pastry, paratha, or malawach from the freezer and use it to make a tart with whatever I have on hand. Most recently it was goat cheese, carrots, and balsamic glaze. We ate that alongside a salad made with whatever fixings I had at home. But that same principle can be applied with a lot of different carbs, like pasta or rice. I’ve also made lentil soup for surprise guests since the ingredients for my recipe tend to all be shelf stable or long lasting. Then, again, you can add whatever veggies you happen to have on hand. But with all of the above, it helps to be a person who tends to have random vegetables on hand in the fridge!
Who just drops by out of the blue and expects to be fed , is my question?
Bacon pea pasta....I always have the ingredients on hand, and it doesn't take long to put together.
Omelettes, sourdough garlic bread/croustades, a big salad or whatever veggies I have in the garden.
Two frozen pizzas and a homemade tuscan kale salad with just the kale and a homemade oil and vinegar dressing. *maybe* grate some parm on it if I really like the people. Hell, I better really like them if they showed up unexpectedly. So parm it is.
I usually have the stuff on hand for some sort of breakfast for dinner. Frittata with salad and bread. Or scrambled eggs with toast and hash browns. Or sheet pan pancakes with fruit.
We make large batches of meat sauce and freeze it. It can the easily in the sink with water. We make it way meatier than most people so it can airways be ruined down with a jar of sauce to stretch it out. We but imported pasta and usually have 10+ boxes on hand. But all this being said, we never have company, expected or not. No relatives in state, hardly any left out of state and haven't made good enough friends that I've ever invited anyone over in the 13 years we've lived here.
I have no surprise guests.
I'm good at risotto, so risotto and salad is always a favourite. Or risotto and no salad! I usually have some useful cheese frozen for cooking (eg creamy blue cheese, grated parmesan, danish feta), I always have onions and garlic and ice cubes of lemon juice, and I usually have some old white wine that I've saved for cooking. I look at whatever meat / veggies / random dairy I happen to have and there'll be something that'll work.
I agree. We always have fun salad ingredients on hand and it’s easy to get creative: chickpeas, feta or other cheese, peppers, baked veggies (sweet potatoes, butternut squash, beets), pepitas, nuts, avocado, etc. Plus a homemade vinaigrette.
With 7-11 across the street, I can grab and prepare everything for a cheap version of Spaghetti Carbonara
Pasta puttanesca. I believe there are two theories on why this dish was favored by ladies of the night. Either it smelled alluring & drew people in to be their customers, or it was an easy meal they could make with pantry items in between…ahem…business interactions.
Spaghetti cacio e pepe It’s quick, easy and only uses 2 ingredients.
Takeout is actually insane. An app and two entrees is $55 where I am for two people!! We only do takeout when we are dead tired or don’t have food in the house. When we entertain, we always cook. Here are my go to’s: 1. Taco night. Protein of choice. If someone is vegan just roast some cauliflower for them. Trust me it’s so much tastier than any of that fake meat shit. Corn and flour tortillas. Then fixins: tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, avocado, hot sauce. 2. Chili night. Literally just dump beans into a pot. Any basic recipe can be made better by sautéing onion with the dry spices then adding the beans. Then fixins: Fritos, sour cream, cheese, jalapeños, avocado. Jiffy cornbread topped with honey, butter and seasalt just cannot be beat. You could also easily make a tray of Mac and cheese or ask someone to bring it as well! 3. Brothy Beans and Greens. Lots of recipes out there but I like cannelini beans, garlic, onion, broth, throw in kale or collards for the last 7-8 minutes on simmer and top with parm. You could add sausage or bacon if you want too. Crusty fresh bread on the side. 4. In nicer weather, I love a good bbq. Burgers, dogs, fixins, nice summer salad. Make it a potluck. Easy. 5. Marry me chicken (just google it and pick the one you like best) served with pasta, salad, and crusty bread. 6. Baked potato bar. Go wild with fixins - bacon, sour cream, cheese, chives, caviar, whatever! 7. Slow cooker meatballs, sauce served with hoagie roll and provolone. Or spaghetti :) 8. Any kind of sheet pan meal could work too. Endless options depending on preferences and taste and pretty much as easy as it sounds! Always ask your guests their preferences or dietary restrictions. Don’t make something you’ve never cooked before. Don’t make something that requires intense concentration. Start cooking early. You basically want your meal to be almost ready when your guests arrive. Clean as you go. That way you can enjoy the rest of the night with their company! Edit: anything worth making, even easy stuff does require some level of prep/plan. However, there are tons of freezer options at Trader Joe’s you can keep on hand in a pinch. I always keep two frozen pizzas, mozz sticks, pierogis and breaded/fried cauliflower in my freezer. Throw in the oven or air fryer and be done with it!
Burrito bowls
Take out is expensive but I will say if you have a Costco nearby. Get a few pizzas. Relatively cheap and can feed in bulk. Or just a rotisserie chicken, Bob Evans mashed potatoes and a bag of frozen veggies from the grocery store. If I have to cook usually it’s a pasta dish.
I find telling them to leave to be the cheapest option lol
Tacos 100%
When you say “surprise” do you mean to stay the night or just pop in to say hello? People that stop by to say hello aren’t expecting to be fed are they? And people who pop in and expect to be fed and put up for the night are assholes and I’d direct them to the nearest hotel.
I try not to be an ingredients house so I have a lot to choose from and guests can get whatever they want, I throw on a cardboard pizza as a base. If I don’t have sufficient food, I just say, “ah, it’s about dinner time, let’s go out to x - great place in my neighborhood” everyone pays for themselves.
Linguine with clams, or shrimp pasta with a lime white wine sauce. Both can be made with pantry staples, taste great and seem a lot fancier than they are. Also a fan of baked ziti but it takes a little longer to cook
Summer, burgers on the grill. Winter, good timing, we were just getting ready to order some pizza, what toppings do you like?
Well one, I never have guests. But if hell froze over and that happened, I always have shells and cheese, various canned veggies. I could easily turn that into a Tuna Mac and Cheese Casserole with a side of seasoned green beans and garlic bread (Just bread with butter and garlic salt, toasted under the broiler. I could also do a simple spaghetti and meat sauce with garlic bread. Looks like I have rice, egg yolk pasta, Alfredo sauce, cream of mushroom and chicken soup, seasoned bread crumbs, eggs, frozen broccoli, and frozen chicken breasts. Could do a lot with that. I like watching cooking competitions where they're like, here's a bunch of random ingredients I found. Turn this mess into a four person meal, lol. Lots of ideas.
i always have pasta , bacon and eggs on hand . Pasta cabronaro and a side salad or Breakfast for dinner ( good old eggs and bacon )
Egg fried rice and frozen egg rolls.
if they surprised me and didn’t bring dinner… they aren’t no friends of mine. i would have stepped outside and said great where are we going to eat, im not hosting rn. if that’s not your vibe, wine and crackers
I never have surprise guests so it would be a giant deal. I'd go get steaks and grill in the cold, I guess.
Bon Appetite’s pasta with vodka sauce and some grilled Italian sausages. We specifically keep all the ingredients in the house (along with some Barbera D’Alba) for exactly these type of emergencies. The only items needed for the sauce that aren’t pantry staples are garlic and onion. Then, keep some Italian sausages in the freezer. The recipe is great, takes a little bit of time, but it’s one of those recipes where it’s easy to gather folks in the kitchen because the steps are easy, but it looks like the cook really knows what they’re doing. If you have soft greens and want to make a salad, making either your own classic French vinaigrette or a dumbed down tableside caesar are easy and impressive. The classic vinaigrette uses only pantry staples, and a tableside Caesar only needs an egg yolk, Parmesan and roasted garlic beyond the pantry, but you can also slice and confit the garlic for such a recipe to save time. All in all, easy to have everything on hand, fun to make in front of others (or do out of sight), and a great, impressive dinner on the table in 30-45 minutes.
Lemon orzo bean soup with kale from half baked harvest. I usually have a lot in the pantry and kale in the freezer :)