Friends visiting and I need food ideas!

[JimLaheysWhiskeyBottle]

I have 3 fabulous friends coming to visit me at the weekend. They are travelling from different places and are staying at mine for a packed 24 hours.

I've not seen them for over a year due to a serious illness but, now we are celebrating together this weekend and I couldn't be happier to see them.

It's been nearly 2 years since I've actually had anyone over to "entertain" and I'm stuck though on what to do for dinner Saturday evening. There's a couple of roadblocks that I'm struggling to navigate so thought I would ask for your collective wisdom!

My road blocks are:

I'm not in the UK, so no Marks' etc and we don't have fast food AT ALL in my little mountain town

Can't buy ready made packaged food either

Friends arrive mid day Saturday and we are due to snowboard for a few hours until about 4pm

No kids will be with us

2 don't eat meat, but do eat fish.

1 has very very recently restarted dairy

I won't be home in the day so can't stand at the stove all day

We'll have been out in the snow, so something cosy

Ideally like something I can put on the table we can enjoy together

They are only with me for the evening and we all go our separate ways at mid day the next day, so I want to spend as much time "present " with them as possible

Nothing super fancy, we will be in jogging bottoms, wool socks and drinking Mojito in a can

Usually I would do something like a fondue with fresh breads etc, put together local reindeer meat platter (our region here is famous for that), but I'm not sure this works for this.

I am baking a dulce de leche cheesecake for dessert and my previously no dairy friend has asked for this, so that's ok.

I feel like this should be easy, but I'm stuck!! Any help and I'll love you forever!

Fish pie with vegetables. U could prepare this before hand and throw in oven on ur return. Hearty home made soup with crusty bread. Vegetable bolognaise? Pasta andd pesto with flaked salmon? Have a look at Taming twins website- some slow cooker recipes there. Snowboarding- can't even roller skate🙄

Love the idea of soup and bread. Maybe with some reindeer meat and/or salmon and salad on the side?

You had me at Reindeer Meat Platter & Mojito in a can. Everything else is just icing.

Wish I were there!

You will be warmed by the soup and then be able to tuck into the meat, salmon and salad. The more you can prep before hand the better. Never had reindeer meat. I'm in uk. A few alcoholic drinks might help keep you warm. Have fun

Big pot of veg chilli rice. Or veg stew crusty bread rolls 😋 warm hearty, can be made day before and just heated. Cheese on chilli for new dairy lover .

Another vote for veg chilli and rice or jacket potatoes.

How about a slow-cooked lentil Dahl with flatbread, with side dishes like sag aloo etc? You could cook these a day or two before then reheat. Also cook some spicy rice and fry that when you get in, I use this recipe https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spicy-indian-rice

I hope you have a lovely time, it sounds great!

A hearty soup, minestrone or mixed bean or perhaps French onion soup topped with cheese croutons, followed by frittata and potato wedges.

I think the fish pie recommendation is an excellent one.

Another option might be Nigel Slater's smoked haddock dauphinoise potatoes. Both I think could just be made ahead and shoved in the oven.

I have seen a few variations on Tartiflette that avoided meat as well.

(Yes these are all basically potatoes and cheese; is there anything cosier than that?)

Stuffed baked potatoes might upgrade a standard baked potato somewhat and could then mainly be done ahead of time (bake, remove innards and stuff then refrigerate til you get home and bake 20 mins).

Something like macaroni cheese is hot, tasty and comforting. It generally works better made at the time, but you could make the cheese sauce ahead of time, then just cook the macaroni, add the sauce and brown off in the oven.

Veggie lasagne could be made ahead and refrigerated - potentially even left in the oven with an automatic on and off timer set.

French onion soup above is definitely a yummy, warming option & with plenty of cheese and bread etc with a dulce de leche cheesecake for pudding I think it would be satisfying enough.

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful ideas!!!

I'm back in from dropping the kids and have stopped in at the local shop to see what they have in this week.

Just to be really awkward 😅 🙃 I live in a wooden house (inside and outside), halfway up a mountain, so unfortunately my insurance doesn't let me use a slow cooker/ oven timer etc if I'm out of the house.

Supplies at the local shop are "limited ". That veg Dahl looked amazing but I can't get hold of the ingredients. Ditto for lentils and potatoes that are appropriate for jacketing.

My dulce de leche is canned that I bought in summer from over the border. 😆

I think another food run over the border is due before the weekend. It won't add much more flavour, but I should be able to find potatoes fit for a jacket!

Is there anywhere to eat out? I think I'd probably do that.

Tell us what you CAN buy locally then OP- that might help with suggestions!

Entree: A vegetable soup/stew with crusty bread

Main: -Salmon, tuna or another fish- fishcakes on a salad bed or served with hot veg
-Veggie lasagne
-Fish pie
-Baked whole salmon/fish in foil with veg