What's your favorite thing to have on hand in the freezer or pantry for an impromptu evening...

A

andreaindc

Well-known member
get-together? Our neighbors in our new town seem to entertain with casual spur-of-the-moment invites for drinks after dinner (kids invited). Beer and wine for adults, lemonade & juice for kids. I'm used to more formal entertaining and would love to have stuff on-hand so I can decide on a whim to invite folks over.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 
frozen puff pastry - i make either cinnamon straws or mustard straws>>

for both, i cut the rolled out pastry into long, thin strips, after either coating with a cinnamon suagar mixture, or spreading with a coating of grainy mustard. Before baking, I then roll them up into spirals, brush with butter for the cinnamon straws, or an eggwash/salt/black sesame seends for the mustard straws. they're really elegant in a tall vase-type container.

 
Here are some things I do ahead for impromptu visits

We have a great Chinese restaurant in town and I always order a large container of chicken fingers and another of wings, then freeze them. If someone stops by, they reheat beautifully on a pre-heated pizza stone. I always have sauces on hand.

Also, shumai and gyoza dumplings freeze well & you just pop them into boiling water & serve with a simple dipping sauce.

I've reheated BBQ ribs after freezing them. Just slop on some xtra bbq sauce after heating. A pizza stone is great to have for all kinds of reheating.

Another thing I do ahead are chicken tacos. Just saute shredded chicken in taco sauce (I add peppers & onions or whatever), let cool, then roll in soft taco shells, wrap individually and freeze. You can warm them in the oven or put a bunch in a casserole dish, throw some salsa & cheese over them and heat. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, black olives, etc.

I could go on and on. Fried ravioli are easy; pierogi, aloo gobi pastries.

 
Also those little individually frozen little filo cups are good. My cousin had a party recently

and filled them with chopped olives and cheese and baked them and people went nuts over them. Also, keep salted nuts in your pantry and canned black beans and frozen or canned corn for a quick corn/black bean dip or relish.

 
I keep a jar of Stonewall Kitchens Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam

handy. I love it on cream cheese with Triscuts. Sometimes I make it fancier by whipping the cream cheese and putting half in a small (4-6 inch) springform. Layer on the jam, and then another layer of cream cheese. Add a dollop of jam on top and wha-la! Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam Torte.

 
Quiches freeze well, and don't take too long to defrost. I like to have lasagna on hand, but it

takes all day to defrost and may not fall into the "impromptu" category. Tomato sauce for pasta freezes well, with or without meat. All of these require only a salad and bread to make a meal.

I'm the only one I know who keeps duck confit on hand but really, once it's made, it's fast food. It keeps for weeks and weeks in the refrigerator and all you do is pan-fry it, and fry some potatoes in some of its fat in another pan, adding garlic and parsley at the end. Toss a salad and voila!

 
A nice baguette (only in freezer for a couple of days) toasted with

Costco bruschetta, or goat cheese keeps pretty well. Now that I think about it more, I always have special crackers in a real pinch that dh is not allowed to open. So easy, but tortillas and shredded cheddar for quesedillas- and carmelized onions, whatever veges I have left over...
My things are not as "fancy", but I do keep them!
Have fun and relax!
My big issue is people coming by when my house is cluttered or needs to be dusted.

 
Roasted red peppers, bruschetta spread, brownie mix to fancy up.

smoked almonds, smoked oysters, cream cheese, nice crackers, soft tortillas for quesadillas or wraps or roll-ups.

 
No, I just serve a leg-thigh portion, with potatoes on the side and a green salad. But you're not

too far off--I have a Julia Child recipe for salad with sauteed duck. I've made it with the breast meat.

 
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