Help! Buffet for 30 on the cheap

[clippityclop]

Informal occasion on Saturday. Someone's sorted hot Cornish pasties. The rest has to be cold. Anyone got ideas for crowd pleasing green salad, pasta and rice salads with minimum faff and cost? Dips have been suggested, but not sure about making these myself...

[ILookedintheWater]

Coleslaw, potato salad are used frequently because they are generally liked and cheap to make.
Big bowl of green salad leaves, jug of dressing on the side.
lots of chunks of French bread, butter.
cheese, cut into portions: squares of cheddar, brie and one other.
pickled onions and chutney.
...with the pasties as well you are looking at a ploughmans buffet. If you have the budget, lay out some slices of decent ham as well.

If it's nice there doesn't need to be a massive choice, as long as veggies are catered for.

If you want to go further and have budget, quiches, cherry tomatoes, more cold meats. Avoid sandwiches as a faff to make compared to the other stuff and can't be done too long in advance.

[clippityclop]

Ploughman's buffet - genius! It's a charity social event and funds are tight. I was worried about rice salad and keeping it cold etc. so will do potato salad and a colourful green salad. Great idea about the bread and cheese too. There's going to be chocolate cake, but not sure about other sweet stuff?

[kateandme]

sautee down some peppers,tomatos,red onion,garlic,and chorizo(maybe not if you need to make sure its veggie.)add a dollop of pesto stir this through some stock cooked couscous with some toasted pine nuts and oil and nob of butter.
put the same base into a pasta bake.add some mozerla and tinned tomatos or dolmio jar sauce.top with grated cheese cook.wonderful cold to both of these hav them eveyr time we have big party now.
buying in some little pastry cases and filling with a vanilla flavoured cream with some frtui ontop.or instead of cream making up a custard then placing frtui on,could switch the fruit for some toffee,choco nibs maltersers.
make a big bowl of eton type mess.one with fruit.so crumble in your mirangue nests,vanilla cream with bit of icing sugar through it.and your fruit any variety.swirl with a bit more coulous from some heated parts of the fruit deivin.also do a choco toffe version so instead of fruit swirl through some bought toffe or caramel sauce.fudge pieces.choc buttons.maltesers.crumbled brownie.
both went down fantastic served alongside bowls.
lots of fairy cake
big sponge tray bake.
always serve butter and lovely French stick
coleswa
big salad with sprink onions cherry toms cucumber dressing in their own jars by the side.one ceasor one vingrette
we found serviing things in bowls rather than plates actually became much better practice.so much easier.and less mess.
deli meats.
big sheets of pastry lay with anything your heart disires.pesto chicken.roasted veg.eggs and bacon.tomato and cheese.ham and pinapple.cook like a pizza slice pimped up.

[clippityclop]

That's great, thank you very much indeed.

[Rents]

Mackerel Pate is a crowd pleaser and really cheap to make; -
smoked peppered mackerel fillets (Lidil/Aldi do reasonably priced ones)
Dollop of horseradish
Creme Fraich
Lemon
Sprinkle Paprika
Finally sliced shallots or white onions

Just plonk in a bowl (ratios depend on amount your making, add creme fraiche gradually till you get your desired consistency) and mix with two forks. Lovely with rough oatcakes and rocket

Roasted vegetables with beetroot and feta make a lovely warm salad and is really easy to pre-prepare and then just shove in the oven.

Some good old pesto pasta would be easy and cheap as well. Jazz it up with some toasted pine nuts sprinkled over the top before serving

[Rents]

Roasted vegetable salad is also lovey served cold, you can cook it at home before hand