If your we're having your girlfriends over for dinner...

[LadyCassandra]

...and you wanted to make something nice that didn't take you all afternoon, what would you cook?

I just invited 3 friends for dinner, as DH is away with DS1 for the weekend. I'm looking forward to spending the weekend with DS2 so don't want to be cooking all day but then we don't get together very often so want to do something nice.
One veggie who eats fish but otherwise simple!

I'd probably do a vegetable based soup served with croutons (mushroom or asparagus or courgette or tomato) a favourite of mine is to make two different colour ones and carefully serve one on each side of the plate, so one half may be pumpkin or carrot and the other potato & leek or similar.
Then as one of your friends is pescetarian I'd do a fish dish.

Or you could have a fish and seafood pie with vegetables on the side, carrots, broccoli or asparagus
Or fish cakes and a substancial salad

Sounds like you're in for a fantastic catch up with mates

Salmon and chilli sauce with lovely salad and bread and a cheesecake.

If you buy the cheesecake it will take about 30mins to put together -lazy arse me--

I think salmon is the way to go. Probably cooked in foil so I can quickly prepare and chuck in oven!
We're in Aus, so pretty hot here so potatoes and salad would work!
Thanks for your ideas! Any salmon recipes would be appreciated!

Salt baked fish. Doesn't have to be salmon, could be a trout each. I made this when my friends came over once, quick to put together, tasty and impressive!

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fish-recipes/whole-baked-salmon-in-salt/#a1O46IXftPVqwqfX.97

Oh, you're in Aus! in the middle of a heat wave then, so definitely no soup.

Salmon with a honey, soy glace: slice one large onion thinly in julienne strips and 2or 3 cloves of garlic. Cook in a little oil strring over medium heat. When they go limp lower heat, sprinkle salt and cover pan. Cook stirring occasionally for 15 or 20 minutes. Add grated ginger if liked, 1 tablespoon honey,1 tablespoon grainy mustard and soy sauce. Bring up heat, stir for a few minutes and set aside. Grill or fry salmon to taste and glaze with prepared mixture. Goes with salad or steamed vegetables.

Oven baked with a crust on a bed of potato: slice potatoes fairly thin and cook in a small amount of oil, after a couple of minutes add thinly sliced onion, season with salt and pepper. Don't let potatoes cook fully as they'll finish with the fish in oven. Drain from oil and arrange on bottom of baking dish.
Make the crust by crumbling crustless bread, add very finely chopped garlic and parsley. Can be done in a food processor. Add olive oil and lemon juice. Mix. Season salmon with salt and pepper and place on top of potatoes. Cover fish with crumb mixture. Up to this stage can be made ahead.
Cook in preheated oven until fish is just cooked and crust golden.
Goes good with asparagus or broccoli.
This is one of my favourite fish recipes with salmon or white fish

This I make with fillets of rainbow trout but also good with salmon fillet:

Fry sliced potato rounds in a small amount of oil, sprinkle with salt as it cooks. In a small pan with a little butter or oil cook sliced onions, when limp lower heat and cook for about 15 minutes, add a bit of sugar if you like to help caramelize the onions. Set aside cooked potatoes and caramelized onions.
Chop a very ripe tomato into very tiny pieces, add chopped basil and parsley, salt pepper, olive oil and a good vinegar. All this can be made ahead.
When ready to serve season fish, dust lightly with flour and fry fillets in a little oil.
Assemble on each plate a bed of potato, onion, place fish fillet/s on top and spoon vinaigrette over fish.
Goes with salad especially avocado and good also even if it goes cold.

I just realised there are two typos in my title!

Thanks for your suggestions, it's midnight here and everyone just went home
I made this www.cookingclassy.com/2015/06/salmon-and-summer-veggies-in-foil/ we had rhubarb and strawberry crumble (because I had loads of stewed rhubarb in the freezer, and mojitos and lots of wine!

Sounds lovely OP.