Pre- Christmas dinner party menu

[Travelcrazy]

We are having a get together with friends the week before Christmas, there will be 10 of us in total.
Can anyone suggest some menu ideas 3 courses , they like quite simple food no fish. One is vegetarian but I will make something different for her. I enjoy cooking so don’t mind a bit of work.
Thanks for any suggestions.

Butternut squash soup
Cottage pie with green beans and tenderstem broccoli (veggie version for veggie)
sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream.

Easy to make ahead and for a crowd, rich and warming but not like a Christmas dinner…

@Chelsea26 thank you for the suggestions, definitely worth considering.

I like I’d school stuff.

egg mayo starter with fancy salad bits ( can be plated up beforehand)
coq au vin for mains
lemon tart with cream or ice cream for desert

Lamb shanks slow cooked, with mash and green beans , get a posh veggie pie or nut roast with lots of gravy for veggie friend
Starter something bit lighter, Jamie Oliver does lovely roast squash salad, can serve it without the prosciutto

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/warm-salad-of-roasted-squash-prosciutto-and-pecorino/

Pavlova for desert?
All these things easy to make in advance

Sharing platter for starter - cold meats, slices of cheese, olives etc.

Main of feta chicken with roast potatoes and green beans/rost tomatoes.

Desert - pavlova would be good, sticky toffee pudding as oven would be on, chocolate pots done individually perhaps.

Feta chicken is a bbc good food recipe for years ago which involved a decent pinch of thyme leaves and 100g feta being put under the skin of a part boned chick breast per person and roasting for about 40 mins. It works equally well with chicken thighs. And you can prep it ahead of time to just slide into the oven. It's very nice to add cherry tomatoes on the vine to the roasting tin 10 minutes before the end.

Roasties can be ordinary but I like to slice baby potatoes in half and throw in a silicone bag with olive oil, dried rosemary, garlic granules and lemon pepper for up to 24 hours, then chuck in oven. They take about 40 mins also to cook.

French beans I do in the air fryer, having tossed with just a splash of olive oil and garlic and salt in a bowl beforehand.

I’d go for a Middle Eastern themed menu as it will cater for the vegetarian easily and will be a nice contrast to the traditional Christmas meal most will be having the week after.

Starter - sharing platters of Hummus, Tahini, Fatoush Salad, Falafel, Tabbouleh Salad and breads.

Main - mixed grill platter of chicken and lamb kebabs, separate platter of halloumi and veg kebabs. Serve with rice and chipped potatoes.

Dessert- Chocolate mousse cake and fruit

I’d do something hearty at this time of year - beef and chestnut stew (can add cranberries for a festive touch) with mashed root veg and a green.

canapés to start.

exotic fruit salad (pineapple, mango, papaya, pomegranate) or a lemon mousse as a counterpoint.

Definitely going with the butternut squash soup, I think everyone will enjoy that and easy enough. Undecided on the other 2 courses still but thanks for the suggestions so far. Any more really welcome.

I was going to suggest a casserole, Mary Berry’s rather special chicken and herb or beef bourguignon and a mushroom version for the vegetarian with mash and green veg but not sure they go with butternut squash soup starter.

A beef wellington, mushroom wellington for the vegetarian or a small roasted game bird with a vegetable filo parcel or tart for the vegetarian.

As the first two courses are quite hearty I’d go for a lighter dessert - citrusy cheesecake or poached spiced fruits with cream.

I'd do a lasagne, garlic bread, salad, antipasti, etc to contrast with traditional dinners.

Or a heavy appetizer buffet in lieu of sit down meal, with Turkey crown and/or ham as centerpiece.

Frankly the latter is more fun.

I'm only here for the suggestions
Which sound absolutely mouth-watering...

We always have this around Christmas and always goes down well https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/horseradish_and_mustard_10990/amp

Do you want it vaguely Christmasish? I don't mean turkey with all the trimmings but christmassy in the way that perhaps you might get a selection at a pub menu or something?

The butternut soup is a good shout. Can be quite filling so be careful with portion control.

For main, I'd go either with a whole side of salmon, with new potatoes, green beans and some kind of sauce. OR, I'd probably do something meaty, most likely a casserole or a roasting joint. So perhaps a good oxtail stew or a cassoulet. Or for roasting, a large rib of beef.

OP said no fish.

only pointing it out because I’m allergic to fish, but have turned up to lunch to be presented with jacket potato and tuna, and separately salmon pasta. Both hosts said “I know you said no fish but this is tuna/salmon, so I thought it would be okay”.

Oh, sorry! I managed to miss that! I got that she was doing a vegetarian meal separately, but missed the overall no fish option.

Does remind me of attending an event at a private club place for work - very French. The vegetarian was presented with a salad... with bacon bits on top. The chef kept saying, "but it's just a bit of bacon, for flavour and texture". hahahaha

Thanks for the new ideas, DH hates mustard and horseradish so that is out, looks lovely though!
@LaurieStrode I did lasagne last year, everyone loved it :)

I was looking for ideas yesterday and I thought about some sort of stuffed chicken breasts and dauphinoise potatoes but still not sure.

Personally, I wouldn't do a stuffed chicken breast with dauphinoise potatoes - too rich. But I like the basic idea. So either as stuffed chicken breasts (wrapped in parma ham/bacon to make it a bit festive and also a bit more forgiving when doing for a large crowd?) served with new potatoes or rice even and veg? OR, chicken tray bake using bone in thighs and served with a potato dauphinoise?

@SpaceOP ok that sounds lovely, do you know what is good inside the breasts, I have tried mozzarella before and it was ok but not great.

Any suggestions for a tray bake please?

I haven't done stuffed breasts in bulk before - only in relatively small portions, using my air fryer. But I've had success with using cream cheese, mixed with garlic and herbs, then wrapped in parma ham. A friend does something similar but she uses deboned thigh fillets and then also makes some kind of white win sauce to go with it? I'm not sure as I've never made a white wine sauce in my life, but it always tastes good and she whips it out for dinner parties.

For chicken tray bake, our favourite is a slower cooked one. So bone in, skin on thighs, but nicely trimmed. Then in a big roasting tray that will fit all the chicken pieces relatively snugly mix up olive oil, lemon juice and a generous tablespoon (or two) of whisky or brandy. Add a couple of chopped garlic cloves, then some cumin, cinnamon and a tiny bit of ground coriander. I like to add fennel seeds although I think that's my own addition, not from the original recipe! Marinade for a bit if you have time (I almost never do) then ensure the skin is facing up on all the pieces and sprinkle generously with salt.

Put in a relatively low oven - 150 fan or so - and cook for about 45 minutes. Baste the chicken and back in the oven for another 20 minutes. You can use some of the juices as a sauce (or turn it into gravy if you are feeding a child like DD who thinks gravy should go with everything).

The nice thing about this one is that because it's relatively low temp, it doesn't really matter a lot if you cook for a few minutes more or less which I find handy when doing it in large amounts because I have guests over.

I usually do this one with mash potato, but I think potato dauphinoise would also work.

The more i think, the more I'd do a posh buffet that people could select from, rather than a seated, plated meal. More variety and more festive, with champagne and such.