What should be on my Boxing Day buffet?

[GameOfJones]

We are hosting a buffet for Boxing Day, with around 18 people coming. A few children but they aren't particularly fussy. I really don't want to be stuck in the kitchen cooking but I still want to make it nice for everyone. No allergies, but a couple of vegetarians and one pescatarian.

So far I'm thinking:

A cheeseboard
Crackers and chutneys
Pate
Smoked salmon
Nice bread and butter
Salami/sliced cold meats

Then maybe a couple of salads? But I'd appreciate ideas for that.

DH will be responsible for drinks and keeping everyone's glasses topped up.

For dessert I was thinking just mince pies, stollen bites, a yule log etc.

What would you put on a buffet if you wanted it to be kept easy but still nice?

An easy salad I do is lentil, beetroot and feta.

Just cook green lentils in bouillon for about 25 mins, then cool.
Add chopped packaged or grated fresh beetroot
Sliced red or spring onions
Plenty of lemon and a glug of good olive oil
Then finish with crumbled feta and fresh mint leaves.

You could make some tzatziki and hummus? Or if not then shop bought ones are fine. I love babaghanoush as well. Roasted aubergines with tahini and garlic, I think some cumin? I've not made it for ages. But that is lovely as a dip with crudités, bread etc.

That looks lovely, thank you.

@OMGitsnotgood I agree re mushroom pate. I've been making one for years, and a lot of people who've eaten it actually prefer it to meat pates. I have one friend who I think would eat it with a spoon if I let him! My version is a recipe from the Food Aid cook book, published in the 80s - my copy is falling apart now!

I always make sausage rolls for a buffet, and little cheese and anchovy palmiers. Quiche always goes down well, and things that disappeared quickly at our last party were homemade scotch eggs, homemade pakora and samosas, and Gruyère, sweet chilli and spring onion quesadillas.

I should add that they are mostly things that you can buy decent ready made versions of.

That's a good buffet.

I'd add a honey glazed ham, baked in the oven, potato salad, and with the puddings, a trifle.

I'd probably also put out crisps and olives and pretzels for people to graze on.

Aren't homemade scotch eggs really time consuming? I;d love to make them (DH adores them) but I assumed it would take me about an hour to make just one. How do you stop the egg from overcooking?

I did one last year.
I did much of what you suggest plus
Home made sausage rolls both meat and veggie. These were a big hit (I put a dab of chutney or jam in with the sausage)
A ham
Vegetarian quiche
lots of warm fancy bread

@GameOfJones I always make 'homemade' sausage rolls for a buffet - always go down a treat.

One pack of 8 sausages, one pack of ready-rolled puff pastry cut in half horizontally to make two rectangles.

De-skin the sausages, squash four horizontally on one half of the pastry, four on the other half, roll over, crimp with a fork, cut into sausage roll-sized pieces (I get 24 or 32 pieces depending on how big I cut them), 'eggwash' with a bit of milk, bake at 200 degrees for about 25 mins.

You can bake and then freeze, then re-heat, or you could freeze them raw. I've never cooked from frozen, so I would defrost before cooking.

You can add chopped apple inside which is lovely, or serve with chutney.

Also, pastry pinwheels - fill a sheet of ready rolled puff pastry with pesto and cheese, or tomato puree, ham and cheese. Roll up and cut into discs. Bake again at 200 degrees for about 25 mins.

Anything pastry-based always goes down a treat here!

We often cook up a bag of mini/baby potatoes in the oven, just bang them in a tray whole with olive oil, salt and we use a herb/salt mix but just oil and salt can be nice. Cook them until they're really well cooked and serve at any temp between fresh out of the oven and room temp. I do eat them cold out of the fridge but perhaps that's not ideal on the buffet.

Very simple but very tasty

Instead of salad have a big tub of coleslaw
Bowl of Greek Salad
Hot meatballs from IKEA, they also do plant based and veggie ones
A trifle
Roast potatoes

I love Greek salad like the PP said

Pizzas cut into thin slices always are very popular with children (and adults) - and it's still nice cold so you can do that early

The spring rolls, onion bhaji etc would be a nice idea, and if you have a look on supermarket websites lots do an entertaining range (waitrose, M&S, morrisons...) so you can buy big salads, pasta salads, sandwiches etc. Only issue would be you'd have to make sure they're open Boxing day to collect

I think boursin is ok for pregnant women if that helps?

@SereneCapybara Yes they're probably not the easiest of things to prepare - but so nice, and were really popular. I did try them with quails eggs once, but really not worth the effort!

As well as what you've listed
Prawns
Fresh salmon, if we did it plain or if MiL did it covered in cucumber scales
Bread sticks
Crisps
Other crunchy snacks
Olives
Coleslaw

And that was for 7 😂

And yes we were eating it for weeks.

Cheeseboard
Pre cooked meats
Bread
Pickes

Place marking for ideas, that Christmas coleslaw looks good.