Buffet recipes

[Happyinheels]

Hello! As the title says - I’m looking for inspiration please!

I always do a Christmas Eve buffet for family. There’s only 6 of us. But often I fill a good portion of the table with M&S party food. I’d like to make more homemade food this year - just not rating the price or the taste any more of the M&S party range. I can cook, and do cook, so please share your buffet ideas below, including a recipe if possible please 🙏 Thank you 🎄

Not massively sophisticated but volauvents with various fillings are amazing. My fave fillings are prawns with Marie Rose sauce and goats cheese with caramelised onion. Yum.

@Macinaethat is a good call as my son would love the prawns! Thank you ☺️

@Happyinheels you're welcome, they're a favourite of mine! I don't blame you re M&S buffet, we do the same every xmas eve and I'm finding M&S xmas offerings less and less interesting. Though I take my hat off to you for doing your own buffet, we just find it too much faff with Christmas dinner the next day, despite (like you) being competent cooks!

The tzatziki as part of this Jamie Oliver recipe, with some tweaks, is a fail safe for me. Double the garlic and dried mint, and a splash more red wine vinegar. I don’t eat meat but I imagine the pork souvlaki skewers in the recipe would also work well as part of a buffet.

@Macinae that’s exactly how I feel about M&S from last year. And currently our local one has very little offerings!
I’m lucky that I’m not hosting Christmas Day this year so that takes the stress off me.

@Nothankyew those sound delicious! Thank you for the tzatziki recipe - it looks simple enough!

I've posted some of these on other posts already, so sorry if you've seen the links before. Majority can be made at least a day ahead.

-Mackerel dip- so quick/easy but SO tasty https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/user/5548316/recipe/smoked-mackerel-pate
-Smoke salmon terrine can be made as a dip https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/smoked-salmon-terrine-recipe-cucumber-salad
-I love these, but also add some stilton for an extra kick https://www.recipetineats.com/special-pork-fennel-sausage-rolls/
-These can be adapted to almost any ingredient. Tuna/sweetcorn, tomatoes, ham/bacon, spring onions, basil, any cheese etc. https://www.amummytoo.co.uk/filo-pastry-mini-quiches-great-for-kids-to-make-and-eat/
-These are also so quick and easy. Use the cheap, basic brie which keeps it shape when cooked. I also tried them with brie de meaux and it all ran out of them onto the tray! Use puff pastry, not whatever crescent pastry is? https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a56610/cranberry-brie-bites-recipe/
-A friend makes mini beef yorkshires every year too but also brie/cranberry ones also, similar to the recipe above, but in a mini yorkshire.

Halloumi cut into finger sized sticks. Wrapped in streaky bacon. Cooked in oven for 10-15 mins at 180. Take out and coat in a mix of honey and wholegrain mustard to make them sticky. Cool for further 5 mins, turning once.

Sorry cook not cool

My go to recipe is

Parboil chunks of pumpkin. When cool enough, slice.

Make or buy your favourite Italian tomato sauce. Add some bacon, salami or Greek feta bits for a salt hit.

Layer the pumpkin with the sauce like lasagne. Breadcrumbs and cheese on top and into the oven until golden.

Someone on here made it and came back to the thread to say how good it was. I was so chuffed.

Thank you to everyone who commented on this thread with ideas!
It all went so well! A few lessons learnt - I made the Tom Kerridge sausage rolls and oh wow they were incredible! I forgot the sage though! Think I might make them the day before next time as it was quite tricky cutting them as the pastry was falling apart a little bit in places but overall on my first attempt they were unreal!
I did a ham in my slow cooker yesterday and finished off in the oven with brown sugar and mustard. And then today I did my beef in the slow cooker - was a bit worried but it was really tender and moist. I did the mini yorkies but they fluffed up so much that I couldn’t put the beef in them so I just served the beef sliced in gravy in a bowl and people helped themselves to the Yorkshires and put it together themselves. They were still delicious, just not exactly buffet like style!
I found a recipe for sticky sausages that used soy sauce, mustard and honey. My DD and I weren’t so keen on the tang of the soy sauce but the boys wolfed them down!
And now everyone is full and content and we have enough leftovers to feed us for the rest of the week!
Merry Christmas everyone! And thanks again 😊

I told you the Tom Kerriage sausage rolls were amazing !! Glad you made them