‘Naice’ Christmas Eve buffet food

[cockeyedoptimist]

I will be doing a Christmas Eve buffet for 10 people.
However, I’ve been at other events with these guests in the past and heard them talk about ‘all the beige food ‘ (they are nice people honestly ! just appreciate interesting food )
hit me with your best ideas !!!! ( that don’t break the bank or involve me fiddling with lots of tiny canapés .
Smoked salmon blinis
charcuterie
tiny stuffed peppers
crustless quiche

my imagination is a bit lacking

Cheeeeeeeese

For non carb options;

A ham
Chicken wings
Devilled eggs
Pigs in blankets
Mackerel pate
Smoked salmon
Sweet chilli Prawn skewers
Tomato mozzarella and basil salad with olive oil and balsamic glaze or mini mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes and basil on a cocktail stick.
Bacon wrapped scallops.
Steak bites
Jalapeno Poppers

In Nigella's christmas book there is a lovely recipe for crab crostini but instead of bread she uses blue tortilla chips. I have made it and it is lovely but I can't find the recipe online.

A huge, colourful cheese board with a wide range of cheeses, chutneys, grapes etc. a couple of camemberts done in the oven with rosemary and garlic, huge hit. And then of course crackers and fresh breads for dipping.

Pigs in blankets are always so popular.

Cook a ham and serve with buns, stuffing, chutney and apple sauce.

Macaroni cheese with chorizo.

Some charcuterie- different cured meats, nicely arranged with sun dried tomatoes etc, no beige there!

Why don't you do a hot buffet maybe a curry, rice, onion bhajis, naan etc. or pulled pork, mini wraps, rice, coleslaw.

I think this is a lot easier than lots of different canapés.

Can I point out that not everyone in the world loves cheese as much as you mumsnet turophiles.

Slow cooked shredded leg of lamb.
A huge dish of hummus drizzled with honey and olive oil and scattered with pomegranate seeds.
Toasted slivers of pitta and flatbread for dipping.
Salad of feta/cucumber/chickpeas/red onion.
Packet Mediterranean couscous with added dried fruits and fresh mint stirred through.

A large cheese board with a selection of crackers, homemade (ideally) red onion marmalade and grapes (get a pack of the 2 different colours for visual appeal)

A charcuterie board with olives, artichoke hearts, stuffed mini peppers etc

Tortilla chips and homemade guacamole (Jamie Oliver's recipe I recommend)

Homemade focaccia with olive oil and balsamic to dip

This is all easy to put together, start the bread, start the onion marmalade, make the guacamole and cover, finish the marmalade, cool, bread should be risen, bake meanwhile assemble the rest! About 2.5 hours total but you'll have down time in that!

I would be so disappointed with that a buffet need to be a buffet with all the little different things to try.

Agree with this
Cold buffet is for Christmas day evening
I like either curry, pulled pork or fish pie for Christmas eve.

I'd do slow roast pork hog roast style and have it in baps with cranberry or apple sauce. Could do sweet potato wedges and a green salad to go with.

Or PP's cheese board idea with PIBs sounds great.

Loaded Yorkshire puds - mini yorkies with a blob of stuffing and a pigs in blanket inside.

Cheese bake with sliced up baguettes - M&S have one but honestly the Aldi one is just as good. Just bung it in the oven and slice up some baguette.

Garlic dough ball Christmas tree - again aldi!

Cook a gammon joint and serve sliced with some nice chutneys etc.

I always cook a gammon joint and have some decent bread rolls along with piccalilli, mustard etc.

Potato salad always seems to get eaten, I make it with new pots and add plenty of spring onions

Salad never gets eaten. Maybe it's the way I prepare it or the guest we have but I have stopped bothering. Honestly as much as people moan about beige food I'd much rather eat a pork pie than a salad.

Smoked salmon blinis.

Crostinis can add a bit of colour. Pesto, sun dried tomatoes...

I love a cheese board or some antipasto. Add olives and some grapes. I always use some herbs or lettuce to wedge into the gaps to make it look more colourful.

Can I come to yours? They all sound lovely.

@BunnyLake Thank you 😊

Different cheeses with crackers
Smoked mackerel paté
Small fruit cups (grapes, raspberries, blueberries) with small jugs of cream.
Fruit scones
Hot dogs with onion and mustard
Bake a ham, mushroom and cheese quiche and cut into small pieces
Crisps, different flavours
Small rolls of smoked salmon
Pigs in blankets
Baps, cut into quarters, filled with rare beef, or ham and mayonnaise

Please can I come 🤤

I'm making chicken liver parfait and as I spend Christmas on my own, it's all for MEEEE. Easier than you'd expect to make, cheap and bloody lovely.

Also blinis and smoked salmon
very thinly sliced ciabatta with mozza, tomatoes and pesto
mushrooms a la Grecque
cheesy beignets
green olives stuffed with almonds (cheap and easy to do)
red peppers stuffed with rice and cheese
grilled goat cheese and honey on sliced baguette
mini brioches filled with mushrooms in sour cream

I have a big family, couple of coeliacs.

On Boxing Day one year, we all pitched in and brought one choice with gluten free option.

We had roast pork, stuffing and rolls, slow roast lamb, hummus and pita. Salad, mayo, chutney, turkey and tiger bread.

STP and individual trifles.

I fancy pigs in blankets and camembert.

I like a cheese board. We have that throughout the year.

Wow ! Thank you all so much . Loads of ideass
i live the idea of glazed gammon and maybe a big cheeseboard
With salads and maybe Yotam otfolenghi rice and orzo

I prefer fewer things in big amounts than lots of bits:

Love the idea of a few curries with sides. I remember going somewhere once and they did lots of little jacket potatoes, a couple of curries in slow cookers, bought bhajis and samosas and a bowl of salad. It was really nice.

Otherwise I agree with a load of cheese and things to go with it. Plus an obligatory pile of sausage rolls, both meat and veggie.

This sounds lush, I might nick this idea!

Lentil, beetroot, red onion and feta salad.
Mixed bean salad with added red peppers and spring onions
Caesar salad with home made dressing, cheese and croutons on the side.
Home made sausage rolls. Could do vegan and regular, Sprinkled with nigella seeds and onion chutney inside.
Loads of cheese and nice bread
A baked ham. Home made or shop bought.
Tzatziki, hummus, babaghanoush, home made or shop bought.
Home made coleslaw
Boiled baby potatoes with or without dressing

The Xmas eve buffet that went down the best here was slow cooked pulled pork in bbq sauce.

I then had

Apple sauce
Stuffing
Baguettes and crackers
Various cheeses
Jacket spuds
Veg sticks and some fruit (eh carrot sticks, cucumber, celery, baby toms, corn on the cob, grapes, watermelon) basically it added the colour 😂
Mini cakes that I got from Iceland!

I did a Tom Kerridge version of this a few weeks ago. Went down very well
gingeybites.com/2015/07/tom-kerridges-harissa-lamb-lime-couscous.html
Not convinced it's Christmas Eve buffet mind you!