Dinner Tonight: Weeknight recipes that are also good for guests

Chicken and rice gets an easy glow-up in this stunning recipe.

Quick enough for a weeknight but good enough for company

Jack Bishop Author, editor, and avid home cook

In my 20s, I thought entertaining meant a full day in the kitchen. Multiple dishes. Complicated recipes. Fussy garnishes and sauces. I’ll never forget the time I made wild mushroom lasagna, with homemade noodles, for 30 people. Besides being ridiculously hard, where do you spread out so many sheets of fresh pasta when you live in a small apartment? If you guessed the bed, you’re correct.

I learned a lot from these labor-intensive cooking projects and mostly had fun. But once we had kids, Lauren and I quickly realized that having friends over was about the time spent together. Yes, the food needs to be good, but we are not running a restaurant.

The key is to pick something that feels special and looks pretty (we do eat with our eyes) but is actually easy to prepare. This week I’m featuring five weeknight recipes—all ready in less than an hour—that feel fancy enough for company or a night when you want to treat your family to something a bit more polished.

I’ve fallen in love with Lemon-Turmeric Chicken and Rice with Pickled Red Onion. An appealing mix of ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric seasons boneless thighs, but the accompaniments are the stars of this skillet supper. In just 10 minutes, you can pickle the onion, stir together this lemony yogurt sauce, and slice the jalapeño and scallion green garnishes. Definitely serve this dish right from the pan. Add something like lemony spinach salad with pistachios to complete the picture.

Featured Recipe

Lemon-Turmeric Chicken and Rice with Pickled Red Onion →

There’s no shame in smart shortcuts, like buying cooked polenta, which you can slice into rounds and cook off in just minutes. The crispy polenta might be my favorite element in this elegant prosciutto-wrapped cod dinner. Or maybe it’s the tangle of sautéed peppers with capers and sherry vinegar. And making the fish is so simple. The prosciutto adds texture and flavor, but it also prevents the delicate cod from falling apart during the cooking process. And did I mention this is a one-pan meal?

Who needs an expensive steakhouse when you can prepare Steak Tips with Pumpkin Risotto at home? And don’t worry: This risotto doesn’t require the usual constant stirring for half an hour. Instead, parcook the rice in the microwave while searing the beef. While the meat rests, prepare the risotto in the empty skillet. It will be ready in just 10 minutes. And the cheffy fried sage leaf garnish takes all of 30 seconds. Talk about a good return on your investment.

I love the bold flavors in Red Curry Shrimp with Coconut Rice and Cucumber Relish. Store-bought red curry paste eliminates so much ingredient prep. The pretty cucumber relish with peanuts and cilantro is dressed with plain old white vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper flakes. How easy. Get creative with the plating, using a small bowl to shape individual portions of the coconut-perfumed rice. Finish off this meal with store-bought lemon sorbet garnished with chopped crystallized ginger and a drizzle of honey. Fancy and effortless.

Triple Mushroom Pasta is perfect when entertaining vegetarians or omnivores (and way easier than homemade wild mushroom lasagna). A unique cooking method helps the pasta soak up so much mushroom flavor. And the crispy maitake mushroom garnish (use oyster or creminis if you prefer) adds another layer of mushroom flavor as well as textural contrast. Follow the pasta with this radicchio, pear, and blue cheese salad and call this the salad, fruit, and cheese course.

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