Christmas Party Buffet

[Allmyarseandpeggymartin]

This year I am hosting a tea time buffet on the 21st for the extended family that we can’t see on Christmas Day.

I’m trying to work out my menu and I want to get the right mixture of meat/sweet stuff/bread/picky bits/dips and I wondered if there are any best practices you’ve found.

My gran used to host a similar thing on Boxing Day years ago but it was very bread/pork pie/stodgy (god rest her soul)

Nigella seems to feed her guests on crab cakes and lumps of Parmesan so I want to get a balance.

It’s also complicated by DH recently being diagnosed with Coelic so no shop bought party food really

So far I was thinking:
A sliced ham/pork joint
Bread rolls
Olives
Crab cakes
Sausage rolls
Crisps

Trifle
Mince Pies

And there I’m stuck

Cheese!

Omg I can’t believe I forgot the cheese!

@ ElusiveOrangeTwirl Would you do a cheese board or buy separately?

Id do a hot buffet. Pots of chilli/bolognese/stew (cook ahead and reheat or do in slow cookers so they look after themselves) with rice and pasta or bread.

Grazing board. All the rage
shannonshipman.com/how-much-food-grazing-table/

Lots of different cold meats and a selection of fresh breads. Pickles and chutneys.

A fresh salad always goes well, go for a posher chef style one though.
Hot sausages and hot stuffing.(just chuck in the oven)

Then a lovely cheese board. I tend to go to my local supermarket and pick a few off the deli counter with olives etc.

The the usual, crisps, cheese twists etc.

Sweet wise, just bug a Christmas pudding and a chocolate cake. Serve with a jug of cream on the side or some hit custard. OH AND BAILEYS CREAM 😍😍😍

Now I want to come over please.

My typing is atrocious. I do apologise.

Homemade potato salad. Much nicer than shop bought. Salad/baby potatoes cooked until relatively soft. Leave to cool. Fry onion and garlic, mix with potatoes, add mayonnaise and fresh chives and seasoning. (I'm sure you know how to make it but that's my recipe!)

I like the idea of the hot food! Big pot of bolognaise or stew or chicken chaseur, rice, jacket potatoes etc!

If you are having cheese don't forget grapes, lovely sweetness, cherry tomatoes halved, we also have cured meats on our cheeseboard (separate board if vegetarians at the party) chutneys, crackers, or part baked mini pains. And a lovely pork pie.

We cook a hot ham with honey mustard glaze on Christmas eve and have it hot with roast potatoes and veg, then that left over ham is eaten cold on Boxing day with crusty bread, cheeseboard etc.

Hot food wise the chilli etc can all be made ahead of time and frozen. I do this anyway making 3 family batches when cook it, eat one, freeze 2. I use a food processor to dice the onions and grate the carrots (Anabel Karmel recipe). Or slow cooker on the day too. Jacket potatoes can also be made ahead of time, The Batch Lady (YouTube) cooks her in a microwave and then finishes them off in the oven for a crispy skin, and she freezes them! Have a look at her. Garlic bread is just thrown into the oven.

Are people going to be able to sit at the table or put a plate on their lap?

We have a heated hot tray thing that keeps dishes hot. If you are thinking you will be doing this again it might be worth investing. Like this one from Argos.

Ooh I love that grazing board - so chic! Not sure my northern family are ready for that though. My aunty raises an eyebrow at garlic bread

2 puds that have the same cream/custard is genius so I’ll do that.

I’m thinking buffet food rather than hot food - there is a lot of us and they’d have to have plates on their knees. Thanks for the chilli idea - I’m hosting some friends on a separate night and I’ll do that then, plus if I batch cook I cook serve it Xmas eve.

Sausages/Stuffing/Potato Salad/Pork Pie/Chutney have all been added to the list!