Hospitality in cooler weather

I know a lot of people who "entertain" in the summer. I'm just not one of them. You are fortunate if you get a peanut butter & jelly sandwich at my house once the high temperatures go over 75 regularly. Those temperatures are quickly becoming history in my part of the country.

There has been a change that has become apparent in my reading materials, corresponding equally with the drop in temperatures. Almost everything I have on my coffee table has to do with food and hospitality. I have been quickly scribbling recipes from library books and my own collection of cookbooks into my spiral bound notebook that I keep just for that purpose. I can envision what the completed recipe will look like on my dining table.

I have plenty of tried and true recipes but it's fun to try out new dishes once in awhile. I rarely will try anything new when I'm having people "over for dinner", though. There have been too many surprises when something looked good in the cookbook but didn't taste good on the table (or it took twice as long to cook as they said it would). So I do any experimenting with new dishes using an old husband and teenage son. They will let me know if something works or it doesn't.

I do my stock up shopping only once a month. I like to have things on hand in the pantry in case I need them. I always make sure I have plenty of flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar and other baking items in the pantry. I always purchase at least a couple graham cracker crumb pie shells (the kind that says it makes two extra pieces) and the ingredients for my Kentucky Derby Pie and my Key Lime Pie, my two "go to" recipes that are quick and easy. Both recipes are found on my recipe blog. I was able to make both quickly a couple of weeks ago when asked to bring dessert to a going away party. They received rave reviews.

I also make sure I have the ingredients for a variety of cookies, especially chocolate chips, coconut, extracts and I freeze extra unsalted butter. I keep a couple boxes of cake mixes and brownie mixes although I usually make them from scratch. It's just good to keep for recipes that call on them. A friend of my son often requests the whoopie pies I make from a chocolate cake mix (he doesn't know they start with a mix....shhhhh...). I'll dress up a brownie mix by making a homemade chocolate buttercream frosting to put on top. I would keep premade frozen cookies in the freezer but I've found I like frozen cookies. :)

Most of the time, my favorite dishes to serve when friends come over are soups, stews or casseroles that can be made early in the day and kept in the refrigerator before baking or reheating. If I'm feeling chipper and there is time, I will work on a more complicated recipe but I learned long ago not to make the entire meal complicated. If I make a main dish that requires a lot of time then the side dishes are simple (like steamed vegetables).

I have also learned to look at the time available and decide if I should purchase some items. Even though I often make bread at home, I will buy "good bread" at a bakery if baking it at home puts too much stress on me. There are just some things that aren't worth stressing out over that my friends won't even notice.

I have a nice collection of dishes now, collected over the years. I'm always on the lookout at Goodwill and thrift shops (that's how I found my Royal Albert that I enjoy so much, the complete set for less than the sugar bowl sells for alone). I'm still on the lookout for dishes similar to the set Martha Stewart uses on her Thanksgiving shows. They are so pretty and perfect for autumn. Looking for dishes (cheap) is just like collecting tea cups. Part of the joy is in the search.

I know just the people I want to ask over first, friends we have been promising to "get together with" all summer. First I need to go back to the cookbooks and find more ideas. I'd love to know if anyone else has their favorite "go to" recipes when having friends over to share dinner.