I love having people over for dinner, and there’s nothing better than cooking up a storm: a fancy starter, carefully considered main course with sides and all the trimmings, and a proper dessert that isn’t a slab of Lindt (with one block missing). But as internet sensation Sweet Brown famously said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

These are busy times, and week-day dinners need to be whipped up in one hour max, but that doesn’t mean you have to forgo all your entertaining. Try these five variations on the ‘tjop en dop’ theme for the lazy or time-strapped dinner host.

Mexican

Yes, yes. I know it’s not real Mexican food like you get at El Burro and San Julian, but no-one can argue with a tray of nachos. This is a great interactive (read: messy) dinner, where guests are guaranteed to fight over the most cheese-covered chips. Make spicy beans by frying together a chopped onion and a couple of crushed garlic cloves, half a teaspoon each of ground cumin and coriander, and a shake of cinnamon. Squeeze in some tomato paste and then turn in the tin of red kidney beans with the juice. Cook for a few minutes and mash it to the desired consistency. Serve with a salsa of anything fresh you have – I love roma tomatoes, red onions, carrots, corn, peppers, gherkins, pickled jalapenos and cucumbers – and mash up a few seasonal avos. Spread nacho chips on a tray (I’m obsessed with the blue Doritos, but there are one or two other good brands), cover with grated cheese and pop under the grill for a couple of minutes. Let the bickering begin! (And if you need more meat in your life, serve up spicy mince or chicken breast strips for stuffing inside soft corn tacos warmed in the oven.)

Fondue

Any food you spear with a fondue fork is basically a cheese delivery system, so I’m in. For this old-school classic, all the ‘cooking’ involves melting gruyere and emmenthal and adding a dash of booze. Set out some bowls of raw (cherry tomatoes, pepper slices, mushrooms) or blanched veggie crudités (snap peas, broccoli florets), pre-cooked potatoes, and pickled gherkins and onions. The rich, cheesy, fondue goodness will need a partner in earthy breads, so cut slices of toasted pitas, crusty French loaves or hearty dark rye loaves for dipping. (And if you drop your bread chunk into the fondue, you have to kiss someone at the table.) This cheese fondue with fresh berries is a nice take on dessert if you’re bored of cheese boards.

Make your own pizza

Ditch the tomato sauce altogether with a puff pastry base and plain pizza dough base, or even quicker: buy them ready-made. Invite your guests to grab handfuls of fresh rocket and basil leaves, avo slices, chorizo coins or salami slices, Parma ham, chilli slices, crushed garlic, sliced baby tomatoes, pitted olives and spoons of pesto, and arrange them onto the bases. Top each tailor-made pizza with torn mozzarella for stretch, cheddar for nutty flavour, gorgonzola for punch and slivers of sharp parmesan before popping into the oven. (Yes, I know that’s four types of cheese. That’s how I roll.)

Pancake party

Pancakes can be made ahead of time, frozen between wax sheets and defrosted on the day, but for a more entertaining breakfast-for-dinner party (with champagne and orange juice, natch) pancakes are easy to cook and really fun to flip. Cover them in a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar, spread them with Nutella, or make savoury crêpe fillings like roasted veggies; spinach and ricotta; salmon and cream cheese; or creamy mushrooms with crumbled feta. Try this classic recipe that makes 12 pancakes – but obviously you’ll need to adjust it to yield enough for other guests too. Go all out for dessert and whip up an orange-infused chocolate mousse for layering between the pancakes.

Stir-fries

This idea works wonderfully if you have some time to prep earlier (even the day before), and you have access to multiple frying pans or gas braais. Make a huge pot of noodles or rice for guests to fry up with fresh veggies and sauces that you can make ahead of time (like this Pad Thai sauce or honey-ginger dressing). Some stir-fry staples, like sprouts, mange tout, baby tomatoes, snap peas and baby corn, can be tossed into the skottel without any chopping admin. Enlist a friend to help slice peppers, marrows, onions, carrots and mushrooms, and set out bowls of fresh coriander leaves, grated ginger and garlic, crushed peanuts, spring onion slices and chopped chilli.

By Linda Scarborough

Soups and build-your-own burger parties are also crowd-pleasers if you have a little more time. Read our 12 winter soup recipes and our 15 ideas for gourmet burgers.