Cooking for guests...

It kind of depends. Most times I have a main course and a dessert. I really don't do starter course. Now if it is something where the guests will be there a long time, I will have appetizers set out for them to much on while the rest of the meal is being prepared.

It depends on the situation. I have done both. I like to make the courses if I have time, but lately, I have just been cooking the main dishses. Most of the people I cook for ar pretty inormal and don't expect all the coursess nd things like that.

When I cook for guests I serve a variety of foods but it's usually buffet style so everyone can serve themselves and pick what they like. I do things a little more formally for Thanksgiving but usually things are very casual around here...and normally include the grill.

When I cook for guests, I just make sure the proportion will be enough for everybody and make sure they like the type of food that I cook to fulfill everybody's tastes. I don't do three course meal if it is just regular dinner, if hubby wants me to do it for his guests, I would.:-)

I think the 3 course is nice but I've served a special recipe as the meal with nothing else. I don't think most people expect a big deal nowadays, but a salad is nearly always welcome.

I prefer to do a selection of dishes which everyone can dip into, it is much easier in the summer as the table can be filled with a variety of cold dishes and maybe just a couple of hot ones. That way the one doing the cooking can sit alongside the guests and not have to be constantly running in the kitchen to serve different courses. We had a good lunch like this yesterday with the table filled with fresh bread, olives, mixture of salads, roasted red peppers, beetroots, and then a hot bowl of roasted potatoes with roasted garlic. Very informal and eaten outside under the grape vine.

I am very informal. I just cook one big meal & be done w/it. I always have dessert. Seems like when u fix something for an appetizer they eat fill up on that & then ur big meal is down the drain.

I don't worry about it. I fix whatever I want to fix. I guess it really depends on the situation. If it is supposed to be formal or fancy or whatever then I would make sure it is all it needs to be. But, that isn't really me. LOL

I have guests for diner at least twice a week but they are all very close friends of mine.
I always have appetizers before diner because I know they love the things I make. . Then I usually have a very nice main dish with a salad that won´t want to be the primadonna (something like lettuce with celery and avocado slices and a simple dressing of olive oil, vinegar and salt)
As for desert, it depends on my mood. Sometimes I don´t have dessert, most of the times I just bring a bowl of fresh fruit. There´s always very good red wine (chilean, of course) and real coffee.
Many times the guests forget the salad, many times they will skip the dessert. The main dish has to be a WOW!!! dish.
Take care

I guess we kind of have three courses when we have guests. The "appetizer" course is usually just snacks like a veggie tray or chips and salsa. Then we have the meal and usually some kind of dessert.