To think party food is tacky and tasteless?

[Fudgeycake]

Every Christmas the supermarkets really push all that sort of beige finger food (bung in the oven stuff) as if it's delicious and what everyone wants? M&S and Waitrose offerings this year look vile, eg. mini prawn toasts, feta popcorn, chicken doughnuts? Does anyone really love this food?

I think this type of food is really outdated, bit tacky, doesn't look very appealing and mostly pretty tasteless? Some of it is quite expensive too. I'd rather just do a cheese board and some nice breads, meats, chutneys, pickles etc. Aibu? What do you have for your Christmas buffet/party food?

You take that back right now! Findus Crispy Pancakes (cheese) where amazing

Our team Christmas meal this year included a very nice truffle/chicken/mushroom dish that tasted just like toast toppers!

I mostly agree OP.

Party food doesn't need to come from a supermarket - there are lots of options that are easy to make at home. I would be rather disappointed to find a buffet with just a cheeseboard and meats at Christmas. It suggests the host is rather lacking in imagination.

I love a good party food.

Whether something is tacky or naff or outdated are not things that I consider when chosing what to eat.

I love Asda Cheese and Jalapeño bites. Oozy cheesy goodness with added green chilies, all wrapped in crunchy breadcrumbs. I love this time of year when they come back into stock, have to stop my self having them every tea time!

I don’t love the beige ones but some of the canapé style party food is nice. Was devastated that M&S didn’t do their pulled ham rarebit mini crumpets this year 😭

Tastes just like Toast Toppers is high praise indeed!

A lot of it I personally not a fan of but love some of the classics - spring rolls, samosa, sausage rolls etc are great amongst other things in a buffet. They will be amongst the cheeses, bread etc at our annual Christmas Eve party and they always disappear!

We are veggie though & I think that in general veggie food, even if not incredible, is still pretty non offensive when not the best.

Quiche however can get in the fucking bin 🤢

But the OP literally says "M&S and Waitrose offerings this year look vile"

I've never forgotten watching a programme where a surgeon who does stomach stapling operations went on a rant about 'beige food' being the scourge of his patients. Every time I go to a party I think of him.

We love a party tea, have one most weeks once the Christmas stuff comes in the shops (October half-term onwards). Other months we have to have a savoury platter which is potato 4 ways (chips, Alphabets, roasts and crisps) and chicken nuggets. 😂

Tonight we had mini beef pasties, sausage rolls, cocktail sausages, chicken stays, onion bhaji, samosas, Yorkshire puddings, onion rings, mini cheese pies, pigs in blankets and mini pizzas. Plus prawn cocktail Wotsits, a bag of carrot sticks and a bag of iceberg lettuce.

Sometimes being a family of 6 really has its perks!

My pasta salad is basically Mozzarella, sundried tomatoes and pesto, maybe toasted pine nuts. Sometimes make own pesto. It goes down well and we make extras because it really nice blitzed in the microwave when eating leftovers.

Oh I quite like sliders and dh loves the pork belly bites, duck spring rolls are yum. I think it's more the kind of lazy tea we do instead of cooking between Christmas and New year.

Another easy buffet thing is to fry ready made meatballs then bake them in the oven in passata with a few herbs it's a doddle.

My pasta salad is basically Mozzarella, sundried tomatoes and pesto, maybe toasted pine nuts.

I just buy the M&S version!

We're having this on Christmas Day!
Some of it is decent quality
Plus a baked Camembert etc

I agree Op.

It all sounds fantastic and is always on a 3 for 2 deal or 3 for £6/8/10 deal.

Unfortunately the filo is always too hard, the fried stuff too greasy ( or weirdly very dry) and there is never enough of the cheesy, fish or meat filing to even guess what it might be.

Actually this might be a really good Christmas part game, Blind taste test - guess the name of the party food! I’m giving everyone over for Christmas tea 6 things and they have to guess what they are called. I work in a supermarket so this is appropriate.

Yeah some of it sounds alright, but 9 times out of 10 it's just rank. Just all tastes of oily beige pastry or breadcrumb. And I find it doesn't fill you up at all, just makes you feel a bit sick and like you have an uncomfortable solid ball in your stomach for hours after.

It's great for soaking up the bubbly

I'm with you OP. My go to buffet is potato salad, pasta salad, savoury rice, crusty bread, (all home made), then ill make a ham and/or bake a camembert, buy some good smoked salmon and prawns for a seafood platter. Making your own chicken legs goes down well. Olives, hummus, Greek salad.

See, my heart would sink at this. Uncooked fish, prawns, olives are not to my taste. Rice is a dream home for a bit of food poisoning too.

However, the party bites you can get in most shops at this time of year, tend to be aimed as canapes, or nibbles to have at a drinks party, not a full on meal. Things you can pick up without needing cutlery or even a plate, and just have a little something to soak up the alcohol.

You do realise you don't have to buy it don't you?

Aw, shucks, REALLY? Thanks for that revelation.

@UsingChangeofName I don't really drink alcohol because of a health condition, so maybe that's why I don't get it 😅

I’ve never been to a party/meal where I’d really wished for a pasta salad that would leave me with green bits in my teeth all evening, or a rice salad that was crying out for something to alleviate the boredom. Spring rolls, prawn tempura & other beige stuff followed by cheese are what my family get-together has on Christmas Eve.

It’s just simple middle class snobbery. A growing trend for MN recently