“Normal” really depends on appetites and the rest of the menu. I can tell you 4.5 oz. of fish would be fine for me, even with some weight reduction after cooking. What else are you serving? Depending on whom I’ll be serving, portion sizes can vary quite a bit. For boneless meat/poultry/fish I’ve found about 1/3 lb. each for women is more than enough. Men, at least in our family, can easily polish off much more.

It's still considered one serving. I think restaurants have conditioned people to expect and eat larger portions than dietary guidelines recommend.

I think if you also have generous side dishes, it won't seem skimpy.

My guest will be an older woman. She is trim and very active. Her appetite isn’t that of a teen boy, but she doesn’t eat like a bird either.

I haven’t thought much about the side dishes yet. I think perhaps spinach and some sort of starch…maybe roasted fingerling potatoes. I am going to make a Ponchatrain sauce for the fish. I’ve never made Ponchatrain sauce before. Some recipes call for shrimp and some don’t. Perhaps I will make one with shrimp to ”beef up” the fish portion. And a small dessert too. Maybe start with a small green salad. Hmmm….this is beginning to sound sufficient.

My neighbor is not picky about food as long as someone else is cooking it. Under most circumstances, I would not try a new recipe on a guest, but she is happy to come and be a guinea pig.

I agree. Standard animal protein portion is 4 oz. That said, it's a number used for math. A lot of people, especially athletes and doers of heavy work, eat twice that for dinner. I think your shrimp-in plan sounds good, CYA. Or...you could ask her...

Consider the 'quarter pounder"...4 oz is good and plenty. Will you be havinv cocktails before dinner> And a little snackie with the drinks? Even if not, a small salad, 4 oz fish some roasted potatoes spinach, a roll or slice of crusty bread and a small dessert.....souonds like a gracious plenty!....even without beefing it up with shrimp!

Sounds delish, LoneJack!

Back to reality…. Dinner is going to start with Lemon Drop Martinis, then on to a small green salad, only as a nod to convention. I hate salad and I hate making salads. I’m going to change out the spinach to roasted asparagus that can roast along with the fingerling potatoes. Redfish with a Ponchatrain sauce containing shrimp. Dessert is going to be somthing lemony and easy. Maybe lemon curd swirled with Greek yogurt topped with a few raspberries. And a Walker’s shortbread cookie on the side.

Now that the menu is in place, I need to see if my friend is available!

Perfect…and plenty!

My friend is out of town this weekend, but I have my menu in place for when she returns! Thanks, all.

I think that 4 oz is a good amount for beef and chicken, but fish is somewhat less filling, and so I cook 5 oz to 1/3 pound of fish per person. If I buy 3/4 pound for the two of us, we will have a small amount leftover. I will eat leftover tuna or swordfish the next day, but Kevin generally will not.

For something like sole or flounder, I like to make a crab sauce.

“I think a 32 ounce Porterhouse is about right. 1/4 of it is bone after all.”

DH and our son would agree.

If you cover it with a lot of fresh hot chili peppers, it will look pretty and often go a bit further.

Or you could hide some talapia beneath it to bulk it up 🤣. Talapia — the tofu of fish.

32 ounces of Porterhouse? Jack, that's way too much for me, LOL, that's a lot of beef! I do usually stick with the "normal" portion of 4 ounces, sometimes I might splurge and go up to 6 ounces. (grin) I want to save room for all the side dishes too! I know I grow beef and even sell some, but I think we eat far too much meat and not nearly enough vegetables. Of course, I LIKE vegetables...

petalique, cover it with a lot of fresh hot chili peppers and the amount I'd eat would go way down! Like to nearly nothing, LOL, I'm such a wuss. I don't like tilapia at all, it's kind of....soft or mushy or something.

I think 4 ounces of fish is sufficient, but if you're feeling a little more "generous" the shrimp sauce is a good idea to make it seem more substantial.

I'm one of those people who do like the side dishes, and I don't think I've met a vegetable I don't like, with the exception of okra, so I'd be happy with 4 ounces of fish, especially if there was dessert. Lemon curd is one of my favorites and I love Walker shortbread, so that would make me happy.

I'm also not crazy about salad, although I will eat the leaves that are growing in my garden. I don't enjoy eating or making them, but Elery likes salad a lot, and so I keep growing leaves. Roasted asparagus and fingerling potatoes would make up for the gratuitous salad.

Annie

Talapia — the tofu of fish.

ROTFL! I don't eat fish, but I've heard a lot about tilapia on TV, and this sums it up!

We cook talapia the same way we cook blackened catfish - with Cajun seasoning and fried in butter.

A 32oz. Porterhouse is what my DH finds acceptable. His cardiac doctor disagrees.