Buffet help please!

[Makemineacosmo]

Hi all, I'm hoping to pick your brains. Having some friends round next weekend and I want to make an easy (for me) buffet table. I'll have salad, charcuterie board, cheese board, olives, dips etc, but I need some more ideas please. Two guests are coeliac so I want to make as much gluten free as possible to minimise the chance of cross contamination. (Any baguettes etc will be on a separate table). I don't want a lot for the oven ands needs to be fork food really. My kitchen is tiny too!

Buy Gf madiera cake and use it to make mini trifles
Anything with meringue - cream/fruit combo
Fruit jellies - maybe made with prosecco

Oh - mini cheesecakes made with GF digestive biscuits for the base

You're all making this coeliac happy. I'd love an invitation to your parties! And I would feel safe.

I don't normally find gf pasta bad. I've made pasta salad with the Barilla brand before, and that was good. The texture isn't the same, but it's not unacceptable.

Big yes to tortilla/frittata/crustless quiche. If putting ham in anything, check that any breadcrumbs are rice not wheat. Another big yes to your salads and general tapas plates.

For puds, meringue based things are great. Or brownies, small gf cakes, even the pleasure of a gf cornetto from your freezer if it warms up a bit. Tesco do 2 different flavours which are also daiey free.

My DD is gluten intolerant so we don't have the cross-contamination issues, but we often eat GF as a family as it's easier. I often make GF pasta salads - it's fine.

If you are doing dips you could serve pita chips. The Bfree or genius brand pitas are good. Just cut into strips spread on a baking tray and spray lightly with oil, then season well. Bake in the oven until crisp. This can be done in advance as they stay crisp in an air tight container for 24 hrs.

Sounds like a good get together - I like it when most food is safe or mine is similar to everyone else's, so much better than watching others feast while you nibble on a sad cracker and celery stick. Maybe you already know but just to add, you can get GF cous cous. Don't serve food on wooden boards. And be really careful of sauces/dressings. Lots of people don't realise we can't have regular soy sauce for instance. Gluten is in everything or so it feels. If you make sweet items check any chocolate carefully as many brands are not coeliac safe especially own brand big chocolate bars that you might melt down for something. Asda frozen mini doughnuts from the free from section are ace, well worth buying. I'd also say keep any packaging too so your guests can read it if need be. If I'm not certain about something I don't eat with no access to the packaging. The one time I let my guard down on this I was really ill after.

I think I'll keep any packaging to one side so that they can check themselves just in case. I know it sounds a bit over the top but I really don't want to make anyone ill!

@DrCoconut this will sound like a silly question but why no wooden boards? I put them through the dishwasher (shock, horror I know but they're always fine!). Is it in case they have anything still left on from previous uses?

@Makemineacosmo wood is notorious for retaining contaminants. Coeliacs are "trained" not to eat from wooden boards or plates. It becomes part of your make up. Like anyone might feel a bit weirded out by having their food served in a dog bowl. There's just something wrong and off putting about it.

And keeping the packaging is 100% not OTT. It's brilliant and allows us to not restrict ourselves unnecessarily.

Chorizo cooked in cider- all it needs is simmering down until the cider has thickened. Double check the chorizo is gluten free- the mini ones in Sainsburys are. You just throw them in a small hot pan with a drop of oil, toss for 30 seconds, cover with cider and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. The recipe says add bay leaves but I can't taste the difference. They hold their heat well in a serving dish but are also very forgiving with the cooking. I've pulled them early out of hunger and have forgotten them for an extra 10 minutes because I was talking.

Also yes to potato salad, I've never been disappointed to see potato salad on a menu, ever.

Ok this is really helpful because so many of my boards are wooden so I'll need to come up with alternatives.

You sound like a really thoughtful kind host OP and I'm sure your friends will appreciate it 🥰

Greek salad
Roast chicken
Roast veg couscous
Tomato mozzarella and pesto

Couscous is NOT gluten free.

Pesto pasta's an easy crowd pleaser.