Hot buffet ideas

[OneStepMoreFun]

I'll be feeding around 16 people (not on Christmas Day so not a trad roast). Was going to do a sit down dinner party but one is vegan, three are veggie, one doesn't eat wheat etc. So I thought a buffet would be easier. I want it to be very festive and a bit fancier than I normally do.

Any suggestions?

DH wants honey roast cocktail sausages
I was thinking of baking various pies or pastries
some salads...

I need inspiration

Lots of ideas but one I remember as lush at a wedding was serve yourself pork and lamb baps , the meat was in a Bain Marie type thing , apple and pork or lamb with mint they were lovely

Can you borrow a couple of slowcookers?

You could do a vegan casserole - maybe with red wine, puy lentils, chestnuts - and a beef stew or somesuch.

Then you could do the cocktail sausages on the side, a couple of bowls of salad, nice breads, maybe some roasted baby new potatoes or a load of little jacket spuds.

Or a couple of tagines, with cous cous, bread and salads.

Or curries

Sweet potato salad www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2303651/sweet-potato-salad This works really well with added chickpeas
Mushroom rolls www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/vegan-mushroom-rolls/
Christmas slaw www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/890635/christmas-slaw
Roast cauliflower salad www.countryliving.com/uk/create/food-and-drink/recipes/a1310/roast-cauliflower-and-puy-lentil-salad-recipe/

Aha. Tagines! Thank you Remus. That's the sort of thing I fancy making. And because of all the spices and apricots and nuts, the vegan one would be just as nice. And I can do some couscous with pomegranate seeds etc, so it's a bit prettier to look at.

Or I was wondering about venison casserole but not sure what the veggies could eat. A chestnut and puy lentil casserole with red wine sounds perfect.

Ricekrispies, some of those sides look great.

Speaking that does sound good, but I don;t want to shove the meatiness of the meat in the veggies' faces iykwim. Think two dishes that look very similar would work better. I usually do two Thai curries or middle eastern dishes but everyone has had those already so I want to try something new.

If you do go for couscous, you will need an alternative for your wheat free person. A nice rice dish maybe, like kosheri? Or buckwheat? I always struggle with what to serve with tagine as dh is gf.

Brown rice would be a good wheat-free alternative for the wheat-free person, with the tagine. You could get one portion in a microwave pouch to save pans on the go. Tilda rice pouches are good, just check that they don’t add wheat starch for some reason.

would quinoa work? It's got that same sort of grainy quality as couscous. Or brown rice. I love brown rice but always think I shouldn't serve it at dinner parties. It's a bit worthy.

Look at Ottolenghi recipes they are amazing great for serving many people and the favours !

Wild rice maybe for the non-wheat eater? It's a bit more interesting but not so worthy as plain brown. You can get lots of interesting microwaveable rice now to make it easier on you.

@littlebillie I usually use Ottolenghi recipes for dinner parties. Love his food. And it is great for large quantities.