Favorite things to cook together

[Chufi]

Recently we've been inviting 'new' friends to dinner. Mostly it's the first or second time they come to our house and I make something not too complicated because the evenings are more about getting to know eachother than about dazzling and impressing our new friends. Today I was thinking that for these occasions, it might actually be fun to do things together in the kitchen.. to break the ice, to have some hands on action.

The only thing I could think of so far is gyoza or some sort of dumplings.. The stuffing and folding could be fun. I think ravioli or something would be too complicated, because I always make such a big mess when I make my own stuffed pasta...

Any other ideas?

[Special K]

Pizza! We make the dough ahead of time (but you could certainly do that together, too, if there's time) and put out a variety of toppings - there's almost no limit to what you can put on a pizza. Because I now have a convection oven (I will stop raving about it one of these days) I can do quite a few individual-sized pizzas at once. It's really quite a lot of fun!

[DeliciouslyLekker]

I'm from the 'cook-alone' camp. It annoys me when someone else is in the kitchen. I don't have time to entertain anyone and just want to concentrate on what I'm doing!

Gyoza and pizzas are good ideas. If not, it can really just be something like you preparing the meals and them plating it. Or them making a salad while you prepare something else.

[Doodad]

We have done such things before with friends or family. Items that are manually labor intensive and make no sense making a handful are the most fun. Tamales, egg rolls, wontons, stuffed things, enchiladas etc.

[Sugar Apple]

We've had sushi making parties that are really fun. I also find that people just like to be in the kitchen and help prep, chop, set the table, etc. I don't always want the help but it makes the guests happy to help.

[Darienne]

Chinese dishes. A few sous-chefs underfoot is always fun. We have done this a number of times.

[stuartlikesstrudel]

I agree with doodad - fiddly, labour intensive stuff is most fun in a group. And if you choose something that's not TOO difficult but something a bit unusual that they probably haven't made, it could be a great experience for them. I made dumplings recently with a friend who is just starting to cook, and he was really proud at how neat he could make them at the end... it was a cool time together and it improved his confidence as well.

With some other friends, I got them to shell a whole bunch of broad beans while I did some other things... yeah it's repetitive but I think they still liked doing it, and then when we were eating they noticed them more than they would have. And it meant I didn't have to do them all!

I agree with others that pizza is a great idea.

I think it's really important that you choose something that's can't go TOO wrong, or they may feel embarrassed if they can't get it right, so your observation about messing up filled pasta is good. Because mushy leaking pasta isn't great news

[Peter the eater]

Klary, it's traditional to pass the ice cream maker around the table after dinner. Everybody gets a shake or crank, very convivial.

[youngchef11]

Pizza! We make the dough ahead of time (but you could certainly do that together, too, if there's time) and put out a variety of toppings - there's almost no limit to what you can put on a pizza. Because I now have a convection oven (I will stop raving about it one of these days) I can do quite a few individual-sized pizzas at once. It's really quite a lot of fun!

What's amazing is grilled pizza. You streach the dough out then grill it for a few minutes on each side. Then you pull it off the grill, add all your desires topings (within limit, you can't le it get too heavy) and place it on the grill again for a few more minutes.

It's relitivly quick to do, and gives a great spin on an old favorite.

[Bella S.F.]

I really love to cook with other people. It is so communal and I often learn something new.

Pizza is definitely a great one to do with others. We also really like making pasta with friends.We have had people do everything from hand rolled and cut pasta, to stuffed pasta. We've had people come up with some interesting fillings for ravioli.

Years ago, when the movie Timpano (Did I spell that correctly?) was out, friends had a dinner party where you were each sent part of final recipe to make and bring to the party. Then the kitchen

loving folks put all of the parts together, while the rest of the people watched the movie. It was a lot of fun. I just realized that I never got to see the movie, but the ragu and the meatballs

were really great. I have made them separately quite a few times.

[Bella S.F.]

I just love the English language and the many ways that things can be interpreted. My first reaction to the name of this topic was,

meatloaf and mashed potatoes

pulled pork, BBQ sauce (a mustard and a chipoltle/tomato version, and cole slaw

pork ribs and baked beans

Those are things that I need to cook together.

[Jenni]

You could also make something that needs assembly at the table, for added convivial-ness. Some kind of meal involving wraps maybe? Chinese pancakes with fillings, tortillas and mexican accompaniments, make-your-own-dosa-at-the-table...

[PopsicleToze]

I usually let them make the salad. That way they don't get in my way as I finish the dishes and they can sit at the bar to make the salad while we chat as we go.

A bonus is I don't have to make the salad!

Rhonda

[Katie Meadow]

I must be in the minority. I don't want a little help from my friends in the kitchen, although I don't mind participating when I get invited out. The only exception I can think of is opening oysters; some of the people I know who like raw oysters as much as I do are pretty good with a knife, and I'm not the fastest shucker, so help is appreciated. Anyone who isn't careful to preserve all the juice is excommunicated at once. Also I have to watch to make sure no shuckers are slurping on the sly. My BIL was a very fast shucker, but I noticed that he was giving out samples to his kids, and by the time the oysters reached the table, four dozen oysters had become three dozen. I won't let my husband help because I'm too afraid he'll hurt himself. No more late nights in the ER. Been there, done that.

There are only two dishes that my husband and I really collaborate on. One is pizza--he does fantastic crust, I make the sauce and prep the veggies and toppings, we both build the pies, and he does the peel-to stone and back again work. The other is our once-a-year New Years Day party with traditional Coq au Vin. He seems to like the chicken prep/browning part of the operation, and that's my least favorite task on the planet and we both prep veggies. He is also my go-to guy for any mincing of parsley, etc. He's very slow but very fastidious and makes a beautiful cone-shaped pile (always too much) of evenly minced herbs.