Nice buffet-style spread - x7 people

[Aridane]

My lovely brother and his family are coming over for a week from down under.

For the first evening, so it's more relaxing for everyone (including me!), I am going to do a help yourself style buffet that we can pick at over the course of the evening.

I was thinking of:
a delicious super garlicky butterbean, tomato & red onion salad;
Greek salad;
nice crusty baguettes;
cold meats;
smoke salmon;
cheese board.

Plus drinks.

Plus some form of dessert – maybe a pavlova and also fruit.

Is this enough? Would you suggest anything else?

There will be x7 of us.

[Stumpedasatree]

A potato or couscous salad perhaps? Otherwise looks lovely.

[Talcott2007]

Potato dish or pasta salad would be my only suggestion - some people definitely me would want a few more carbs!

An easy winner in our house when we do a buffet is to get some little new potato and roast them in the oven with oil, salt, fresh rosemary sprigs and dried chilli flakes.

[Aridane]

Thanks - that's a good idea. I'll look at some form of potato salad as well.

[MustardScreams]

Ooh yes to mini roast new potatoes with something delicious to dip them into.

Instead of the Greek salad I’d do something like roast fennel, radicchio, and orange with a caper dressing as you have similar flavours in the butterbean salad.

[Aridane]

Had thought of the similarity between the two salads (onion, tomato...)!

[Aridane]

I really like the idea of the roasted mini potatoes with salt, olive oil and rosemary. Quite different!

[JorisBonson]

My favourite buffet dish at the moment is a bowl full of halves cherry tomatoes, blitz garlic, basil, oil and balsamic vinegar in a whizzer thing and pour on too with loads of salt 🤤

[Nottobesoldseparately]

I would add pate. And olives.

Take away the butterbean salad (only because I know no one who likes them)
Add normal salad and have warm cheese and onion quiche to go with the spuds.

[Aridane]

Oh no - the butterbean salad is my speciality / signature dish and everyone loves it. Well, they could be lying but they eat loads of it.

The butterbeans are speciality ones from Brindisa and are giant ones that are firm and have a nutty flavour. None of the soggy mess in glutinous brine with the 'skins' peeling off - ug

[Aridane]

Ah yes, pate - I hadn't thought of that because I don't like it but my family do!

[Aridane]

Ah yes - and why didn't I think of quiche? There is a promotion on the Higgidy ones on Ocado at the moment.

[Nottobesoldseparately]

Oh, I love a good speciality dish and if it gets eaten it must be good 😊
(Mine is cheesecake)

I'd get a couple of pates. Smooth, fish and mushroom!

[Luscinia]

I'd love the butterbean salad recipe, OP, if you have time to post it.

[BillieEilish]

I love your menu but would definitely add either a veggie frittata/tortilla de patatas or nice quiche, all cut into small slices.

[AdaColeman]

I agree that it needs something a bit more substantial such as a bacon quiche or perhaps some chicken drumsticks and sticky sausages.

[Aridane]

Recipe for butter bean salad.

Basically it's just quality butter beans in a ferociously garlicky vinaigrette with flavoursome sliced tomatoes and thinly sliced red onion. And ideally to marinade the butter beans in the vinaigrette several hours in advance / the previous day.

So use a whole jar of Brindisa butter beans ocado.com/products/brindisa-navarrico-large-butter-beans-judi-n-81337011.

Make a decent quantity of vinaigrette - ratio 2/3rds extra virgin olive oil to 1/3rd white wine vinegar. Season generously .with salt and freshly ground black pepper, some whole grain mustard and 6+ fat crushed garlic cloves. I am lazy so just use these ones
ocado.com/products/cooks-ingredients-peeled-garlic-cloves-50090011

Put butter beans in a large shallow bowel and very generously drench them in the garlicky vinaigrette.

Add a thinly sliced red onion to the butter beans as well as sliced tomatoes. (I just cut in half a punnet of flavoursome cherry tomatoes).

Gently stir, serve and enjoy with crusty bread. And it tastes even better the next day, if there is any left.

Be prepared for garlicky breath for a couple of days.

[Aridane]

So with the addition of the potatoes, quiche and pate, I should be golden!

[CakeNinja]

Sounds delicious.
I’d want something chocolatey for pudding but pavlova is very good and I would graciously eat it

[Aridane]

Thank you, @CakeNinja

[Aridane]

Thank you all for my mumsnet approved me u!

[acabria]

Food sounds lovely. Straying from your question but if they're arriving at yours straight from Oz think about when their stomachs will be telling them its bfast/lunch/dinner and having some food available around then. So have some easy snacks/drinks available around 2am that they can get without waking you as they'll be awake for much of the UK night for the first few days.

[Whowouldfardelsbear]

Monster Munch, Skips and Cheesy Wotsits. Assuming your brother is a Brit living in Aus he will have been missing those.

[Aridane]

Good idea - snacks on tap on arrival. As you say all these things, I think oh, of course, why didn't I think of that!

[Insomniacscientist]

Pavlova features pretty much at every gathering in oz. I’d recommend something else to be honest.

[Aridane]

Ah, yes - you're right!