First houseguests in over a decade, and I'm beginning to panic [moved from Not About Food]

[Barbara76137]

I haven't had anyone stay at my home in over a decade, and that "home" was a house on 2.5 acres. Now I'm in a 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment and a friend of mine and his girlfriend will be staying with me from Wednesday thru Sunday. I really want their stay to be comfortable. I can sleep on the couch, no problem, I fall asleep there most evenings as I'm watching tv.

I just don't want to go overboard with food but I want to also have the essentials on hand. I figure breakfast will be the biggest thing, so this is what I have:

Coffee, gotta have fresh ground, fresh brewed coffee!!
an assortment of teas
milk, sugar, artificial sweetener
Honey Bunches of Oats cereal
Oatmeal
honey
brown sugar
eggs
chicken chorizo
pancake mix and pure maple syrup

I have a lot of other staples but I'm sure we are looking for fast, early breakfast (like 5AM) and we will eat great later in the day.

Have I missed anything?

I normally survive on an entire pot of black coffee every morning.

[Barbara76137]

Thought I'd report back after the weekend. They are coming back again next weekend, so I guess everything went well :)

We went through TWO pots of coffee every morning, artificial sweetener, milk, orange juice, but really nothing else. I ate a muffin or took one with me on the way out the door. We were up every morning at 5AM and out the door by 6. We ate dinner out every night and then had a beer or two when we finally got back home around 9 or 10PM. Didn't even open a bottle of wine.

The horse sale on Saturday went well, although prices are really down from previous years. One sold for $7,000 and the other for $22,000, and they should have been at least double or triple that. In contrast, I had to run another horse through the sale for another friend of mine and that horse sold for only $2,200. He is paying me with a sushi dinner before he leaves town, and I think that dinner will cost him more than the commission he made on the sale of the horse!!

All in all, we had a wonderful time! Gotta thank all of you for making me feel confident. I really appreciate it. Saturday night we sat up late and talked about me getting out and competing/showing again (cutting horses) in 2011. My friend is an up & coming cutting trainer and his girlfriend runs a polo ranch. We all LOVE good food and good horses. We are also pretty "international". He's from El Salvador, she's from England, and I'm from suburban Chicago LOLOL.

[smtucker]

What a lovely encounter! Thank you for the update.

[mcf]

I always ask if there's something in particular house guests like to have for breakfast, including whether they prefer half and half, cream or milk for coffee, etc. One strategy if having a number of guests at once, or those on a different schedule, is to have quiche or an egg bake (ham, cheese, onions, etc.) in the fridge, ready to be warmed up one piece at a time whenever someone wakes up.

[viperlush]

Along with the other suggestions I would add granola bars and possibly individual juices. Things that you can grab on your way out the door and slip in your pocket.

[mamachef]

Barbara, you're going to be fine. you sound like such a good friend. don't panic. your friends have come to see YOU.

[Barbara76137]

Mamachef, they are coming here because there is a big horse show and sale here. My friend has two horses in Saturday's sale and the preview is on Friday. We need Thursday to work the horses in the preview and sale area. His girlfriend is a horseperson but different discipline so I'm not sure how involved she be with prepping the sale horses.

We all get along great and will have fun, but it is not as though they are just visiting for the sake of visiting.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I would just email them to see what they usually have to eat. For me it runs from nothing to bacon/eggs, fruit, cereal, pumpkin pie, or cold pizza. It mostly depends on if I get up in time to actually eat, or just fly out the door to work. Some mornings I am snacking in the car during my commute. I know others that are light eaters in the morning.

[oana]

Hi there,

What you have is absolutely lovely.

If you want to add anything, a staple for me has always been a simple piece of crusty bread, drizzled with olive oil, topped with feta and put under the broiler for a few minutes. You can add some Greek oregano on top ans some kalamata olives on the side. Tomatoes as well when they are in season. Simple, impressive and most importantly :) super tasty.

Enjoy your meals and your guests and may this be the first many more to come (if you like that stuff that is :) lol :))
Happy eating, Oana

[small h]

Ask, as others have said. My last house guest has two cans of caffeine-free Diet Coke for breakfast, the end. I'm very glad I didn't run out and buy a bunch of things. 'Cause then I would have all that, plus caffeine-free Diet Coke (which I definitely do not keep on hand).

[Linda VH]

I always ask what people eat for breakfast because otherwise you're just wasting food. Last houseguest wanted eggbeaters, canadian bacon and bread with butter. That was it!

[beevod]

You forgot cold pizza (one never knows)

[Barbara76137]

Thanks for the suggestions. Don't know how I could forget uice and some fresh fruit, but that's why I'm asking for suggestions. Also some muffins & yogurt and a loaf of good bread. They are from about 3 1/2 hours south of here and are here for a horse show & sale. We'll be out the door early every morning to feed their horses and then work them.

[queencru]

If you're going for easy and fast, I'd say some bread/pastries and fruit salad are probably the way to go. There is little prep/cleanup time and it's not too heavy for that early in the morning. Not everyone drinks coffee first thing when they wake up (coffee kills my stomach if haven't eaten first).

You probably want a decent array of drink choices and a few snack items for the rest of the day as well. Some people may not be able to make it from 5am to lunchtime without anything, so I'd imagine small, healthful snacks like cereal or granola bars might be appreciated.

[smtucker]

Oh.... I would have a few things on hand for the first day and then find out what they actually like to eat and buy accordingly. If your guests are like me, they will want to accompany you to the markets to see what food is available in your area.

[mselectra]

Couldn't you ask what they tend to eat for breakfast? I've had hosts check with me before I arrived, just in a casual way. You could email that you're going shopping and wondering if they have a favorite cereal or anything else they like that you could pick up. Doesn't seem like you should be panicking at all (but I sure do know the feeling) and that this is a really generous amount of choices for them. But it does seem like if, for example, they don't use artificial sweetener and neither do you, why should you have to buy any.

I do agree, though, about adding fruit and juice to the list. I think if it were me I'd make sure to have bread, cereal, fruit, eggs, and juice and coffee, maybe yogurt.

Enjoy their visit!

[zamorski]

I like your approach to problem-solving, mselectra!

[Barbara76137]

'But it does seem like if, for example, they don't use artificial sweetener and neither do you, why should you have to buy any'.

Exactly! I can't afford to buy a bunch of foods I'll never eat and will just go to waste.

[shallots]

Are they from your time zone or from the other side of the country?
Sometimes I've found that California guests arrrive, drop to sleep and then get up and forage in the middle of their night (My early morning).
Also a no caffeine alternative might match a diet preference or two.

Expect them and their food preferences to have changed. It happens.

[gaffk]

I think this is a very generous spread for breakfast. Relax & enjoy.

[masha]

Bagels, English muffins, bread for toast, muffins, or pastries -- i.e., for those who just want a continental style "bite" to go with their coffee, rather than a hot breakfast or cereal.
Also, orange juice.

[paprkutr]

Maybe, if they are not big eaters, some fresh fruit and muffins, bagels and/or toast.

[tzurriz]

I think you being a very generous hostess, and have nothing to worry about. The only thing I can think of to add to your list would be some juice and some fruit, maybe bananas?