How about a rack of lamb? It's special, festive, easy to cook and the perfect size for just a few people.

A quarter boneless ham. All you have to do is throw it in the oven. If you wanted to, you could coat it with brown sugar before baking.

I would do three cuts of filet mignon. We did that last year when we had only 5 people for Christmas dinner. It was my first and last time eating filet mignon, and I enjoyed it immensely (I'm vegetarian now).

A tri-tip roast would be wonderful, if you have access to it. Otherwise I second the comment about filet.

a small roast pork tenderloin will give you enough for 3-5 people and then you won't have animal leftovers at your house if you're not inclined.

Eye of the round. Make slits and insert garlic cloves, rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast to about rare. Any meat
eater will love it. Not texpensive. Leftovers make the best roast beef sandwiches, salads, etc.

Easy.

If you do your roast as a braise--like a pot roast--you don't need to worry AT ALL about it being "dry and inedible." See if you can get a small-ish brisket and braise it in red wine (plus onions, garlic, herbs, etc.). Absolutely foolproof.

Spoon roast - Carnivores tend to love it

Boneless turkey breast? We made one at thanksgiving for three people; it was teensy, super easy, and super tasty.

Rack of lamb will be the perfect size

Serious Eats posted a recipe for Honey-Thyme Roasted Pork Loin. I made it last week and it was amazing. Everyone kept saying "this is so good" over and over between bites. It was super easy (I used dried thyme which made it even easier) and would be perfect for a small group.

I second rack of lamb. I've been recently introduced to the joys of lamb and HOLY SMOKES it is fantastic.

I posted a Beef Wellington recipe on my blog that's pretty hard to mess up. Anything wrapped in puff pastry always looks festive to me :)
If its too much food, you can just halve the recipe and buy a smaller beef tenderloin, or if you're into leftovers like me, I posted at the end what you can do with it the next day

Even a small rib roast can be nicely done with this method I wrote about on my blog. Here's the link...http://apoundofyeast.blogspot.com/2011/05/worlds-easiest-oven-roast-beef.html

That particular effort was for a 2-rib rib eye roast, but I've used it for sirloins, tenderloins and even eye of round, which is notoriously a chewy, tough cut best suited for braising, like in Swiss steak.

A butcher may kvetch about cutting you a 2 or 3-rib rib roast, but they will do it for you. They can always sell the rest of the ribs as bone-in steaks ! There's just something so much better about meat cooked on the bone, and this method really works.

I like to do a beef tenderloin roast. Figure 1/2 pound per person and go to a good butcher shop if possible to get it. Ask them to trim all the fat and the membrane which can be tough. The day of the dinner, heat oven to 425 degrees F. Rub Italian dressing over the roast. Take a slice or two of bacon and cook in water a few minutes to get out some of the fat. Place the bacon over the top of the roast. Now put that baby into a roasting pan uncovered and roast it for 25 minutes. Take it out and cut into slices, nice and thick. I'm going to serve mine with roasted rosemary red baby potatoes and simple fresh green beans, French bread on the side. Serve a salad if you think it is necessary, but make it a simple salad. The meat is the star of this dinner. There won't be much talking at the table as you eat because it's that good.....

I think a lot of people make festivey pork tenderloins. Those are usually a pound or two and you can send them home. They cook in about 45 minutes too. I also like the suggestions of nice small cuts of steak.

I think that they're right--a pork tenderloin. As a long time vegetarian who cooks meat for others sometimes, tenderloin is by far the easiest to cook. And usually, the thin ones (perfect for 3) cook in 20-30 minutes--easy peasy and no cooking meat all day long, or basting, or dealing with the meat more than you have to.

I often use the Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic-Cranberry Sauce from Epicurious, and it's always a winner: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pork-Tenderloin-with-Balsamic-Cranberry-Sauce-100314

You could also consider cornish game hens, since they're single serving.

I'm the original poster - I ended up making pork tenderloin with a coffee/chile rub, and this apple cider reduction sauce http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pork-Tenderloin-with-Cider-Jus-and-Rutabaga-Puree-230641

It was easy and fast. All the meat eaters loved it. Thanks for the great recommendations!