Aibu to ask for ideas for 5 emergency guests for the Christmas Eve dinner

[SympatheticSwan]

....starting in 6 hours.
Originaly was expecting to host only one good friend and we planned a very low key event. Due to a genuine emergency another family asked whether they can come over (3 adults + 2 teens). Please throw at me any ideas what I can cook in the next couple of hours to put on the table - I have plenty of basic things like frozen mince, vegetables, cupboard staples etc. but nothing too fancy. The planned main dish is a roasted duck with apples and braised red cabbage, but there's no way it could stretch into five extra portions.

Duck as a starter then good sausages (local butcher?) and home made potato wedges (use duck fat and parboil first). Always goes down a storm here!

If you feel like braving the supermarket, buffet. mozzarella sticks, garlic bread, sausage rolls, mini pizza etc.
Or order pizza.

I can’t imagine any sort of emergency that would involve me inviting myself and my whole family round to someone else’s house for a meal on Christmas Eve!

^This - surely they would have had some food in for Christmas before he emergency? Who would expect ANYONE to have enough food in to feed 5 adults if they weren't expecting them? (OK, I have enough food to feed the 5000, but I would still question 5 adults turning up empty handed!)

Use the duck as a starter - make a crispy duck salad.

That way there will be enough to feed everyone.

Then make a lasagne or spaghetti bolognaise with the mince for the main course.

paella! Loads of rice with seasoning, celery, onions, garlic etc cook and shred duck and add, plus any other bits - peas, can tomato etc. Simmer and you're done. Otherwise meatballs and spaghetti with the mince.

If you haven't braised the red cabbage yet, make it into a slaw to have with the main course.

"Italian buffet" - go to supermarket and buy a selection of parma ham, salami, cheeses, olives, artichoke hearts, pot of pasta with pesto and/or tomato sauce etc with ciabatta/focaccia and crisps. If you want add some pizza slices

I can’t imagine any sort of emergency that would involve me inviting myself and my whole family round to someone else’s house for a meal on Christmas Eve!

Maybe they have been made homeless, their house has burned down (along with their food), their home is flooded, etc. There are many reasons why someone can find themselves in an emergency situation on Christmas Eve

Anyway for the food I’d probably go for a chilli with rice or baked potatoes. Or if you can’t be arsed then a takeaway 😊

Get an extra joint, something like a gammon that you can cook today and do the duck tomorrow so you have both. An extra bag of potatoes. Extra pudding and tub of ice cream.

Thanks to Brexit, I could probably literally feed 500...

My staple to feed a crowd is veggie paella (could use quinoa instead of rice, if short on time), with a simple salad on the side.

Buy a couple of packs of nice sausages, then cook them alongside the duck, and increase the quantities of vegetables. Sausages go very well with apples and red cabbage.

Absolutely agree with the sausages going well with red cabbage and mash.
I'd serve the duck as a starter in wraps with hoisin sauce, cucumber and spring onion.
Good luck OP.

Order a takeaway