Cooking for guests is too expensive!

[Zikoris]

When we have people over we typically spend less than $10 on supplies. Sometimes nothing since we keep good stocks of supplies on hand.

I make lots of different things, but typically roasted spiced vegetables or a salad with homemade dressing to start, some sort of good homemade dessert like chocolate croissants or a nice pie, and one of my favourite entrees for the main dish - really flaky pot pie, or maybe  deep dish pesto pizza. I'm thinking of putting together a burrito bar for the next one since I can make really good handmade tortillas.

We don't serve alcohol or meat, but people expect that given the fact that we're teetotaler vegans, so it doesn't come across as cheap.

[SpicyMcHaggus]

- A couple of big nicely mixed vodka based drinks prior to dinner makes any meal a 5 star dinner. 

I endorse this.

[Hunny156]

I'll admit that I limit hosting full-fledged meals because the Martha Stewart perfectionist in me comes out, and she's a b*tch to deal with.  However, when I have hosted meals, I've planned menus that provided a lot of bang for the buck, and as evidenced by the above posts, you can cook on the cheap and still make people happy.

Most of our entertaining these days are evening parties, where everyone contributes apps/desert & booze.  You'd be surprised what comes up when you google easy + cheap + appetizer + recipes.

As for the no-meat thing.  I'm whole foods plant based, in a sea of carnivores.  My favorite thing to do at these parties is provide some sort of meat & dairy free dish, and then let them in on the secret.  I'm not trying to change anyone's dietary preferences, but they now all look forward to what I'm bringing, b/c they know it will be good.  (and frugal)  :)

[Pooperman]

I do all the fancy cooking and fiancée does the baking usually. The fanciest thing we did was hen our parents met and had dinner at our apartment. Slow cooked beef, a salad, mashed butternut squash, vegetables. Parents brought wine. fiancee made flan I think. Anyways, all of that was in the range of $40 for 6 people. You gotta be serving gold coated lobsters or something to be spending over $50 for 4 people.

[Rural]

I generally don't decide ahead of time, but see what everyone likes/ feels like (we have the time because generally ours are more extended houseguests because of our location). I give a few options and cook from the pantry; the more ethnic choices are usually what everyone picks, so Thai or Indian vegan yummy cheapness is often the result. I wonder if our guests just want to see how that stuff is cooked at home?

[TheAnonOne]

I normally cook steak for people when they come over. Time, ease, and cleanup are my goals in entertaining. Cost is secondary.

You're not entertaining people weekly if your anything like us, so the cost is hardly anything to even notice.

[Bob W]

Gumbo was a favorite of guests.  Unusual enough in our hood to be a treat.  Relatively cheap, easy, fun.

[MgoSam]

Yeah, I like to make Thai food, though I don't entertain as much, people usually request this.

Last night I had dinner with a few good friends, we made juicy lucy's, for 4 people it required 2 pounds beef, salt pepper, pepperjack cheese. On the side we made pasta salad, grilled vegetables, grilled pineapples, and for desert we had watermelon. We also had a bottle of wine, total cost including the wine was maybe $30 and half of that was the wine.