Friend and her family coming to dinner...

[SheWillBeLoved]

I have a friend and her family (husband, 3 kids) coming for dinner this Saturday. Nothing formal, nice home cooked meal type dinner.

Friend doesn't like fish
Husband doesn't like mushrooms, and unmelted cheese/butter
DD1 also doesn't like unmelted cheese/butter, mushrooms and sausages
DD2 doesn't like lasagne
DS doesn't like eggs

Pretty simple enough, but I really have no idea what to cook. Inspiration pretty please? Something nice and simple (because no doubt it'll get wasted by the kids - they're far more fussy than she has made out), but something that shows I know my way about a kitchen shows a bit of effort went into it :) TIA!

I wouldn't bother tbh. Tell them to get stuffed if they're going to be so rude as to insist on no 'unmelted butter'

Roast chicken with trimmings

why don't you just do a big roast with lots of trimmings?

Chicken and ham pie with veggies
Shepherds pie
Roast chicken with jacket potatoes done in oven at same time + salad
fajitas

Joni I did ask to be fair, didn't want to go to the effort of cooking for them only for it to be pushed to the side of their plates!

I'd do a roast, but I'm bloody sick of them after Christmas/Boxing Day/New years day roasts [boak]

Casserole?

pie and mash?

Steak and/or chicken fajitas? Everyone loves fajitas.

And you can give them pots of UNMELTED cheese on the side.

Yes, I was going to say that after Christmas, how about something really simple and light - how about curried parsnip soup for the adults/any children with taste, Heinz tomato soup for the others? You could make your own bread or breads if you want to maximise the visible effort, or just buy some nice rolls? You could add in some ham and salads to fill it out if you want.

Then a fruit salad if you can be bothered, or a jelly made with fresh juice, gelatin and defrosted or fresh fruit as you prefer? An orange juice jelly with pieces of tangerine is quite nice?

Fajitas sound good, I know the kids love making their own.

That also sounds really nice maktaitai, will be giving that soup a try before then I think

I'll probably end up just shoving a herby roasted chicken(s) on the table with a big bowl of mixed salad and some homemade bread and letting them dig in. Maybe some homemade brownies and ice cream for afters?

Why do I agree to these things! I'm absolutely not a natural hostess

Make your own chicken parmesan goujons. You can make a dead quick but ever so tasty caper sauce for the adults to drizzle over (nigel slater recipe, utterly delicious), big bowl of salad and another veg dish.

Very simple and kids love it too.

I have a recipe for sticky toffee cake which I haven't made yet but it sounds so simple and I can tell it will work.

Oh go on pointydog, I'll give it a whirl I'm a sucker for anything with the words sticky and toffee in the title!

Do they make these stipulations or did you seek them?
I wouldn't bloody bother.

It just struck me as very bizarre. A grown man invited 'round to someone's house for a meal to ask that there be no 'unmelted butter'

Right, make it befor eme and tell me what it's like.

I meant to make it on Hogmanay but felt too full from the previous week of food

Says it serves 16, smallish squares, so I was going to half quantities.

175g dates, chopped
1 tsp bicarb soda
75g butter
175g caster sugar
3 large egsg
half tsp vanilla extract
225g sr flour

sauce:
225g dark soft brown sygar
100g butter
300ml double cream

square cake tin, oiled and floured

date sin bowl with bicarb and half pint boiling water. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar.
Beat eggs with vanilla extract then pour in steady stream into butter and sugar, beating all the while.
Add the flour (which will sort out any possible curdling), beat well, add dates andall liquid and mix.
Pour into tin, in to oven (180C, gas 4) for 45-50 mins.
Sauce: all ingredients into a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until sugar has dissoolved. Cut cake into small squares and serve sauce over the top. Add vanillan ice cream or cream too.

I asked Moondog, didn't want to make anything that ended up getting wasted, wasn't quite expecting no unmelted butter though I have to be honest I mean surely it would melt in cooking any way, and I'm not about to butter his bread for him!

Sounds great pointydog, I'll definitely report back :)