Help...cooking for 18 people on Sunday

[Sleepwhenidie]

we will have 10 adults and 8 kids here on Sunday and I need to provide lunch of some description...Normally this would not be a big deal for me but I have been really ill this week and am still feeling pretty rough, the prospect of even thinking of what to give them is tough enough and I need something easy, with minimal prep.

Any ideas please?

Jacket potatoes with a variety of toppings: Cheese, cheese and ham, cheese and spam, cheese and pickle, cheese and chilli, cheese, ham and spam, cheese, pickle and spam, cheese and cheese, cheese, chilli and cheese, cheese and bacon...oh...no bacon...cheese, chilli and ham...

A big stew or soup, and some nice bread. Maybe cheese too if kids are fussy. Very easy.

A ham, potato dauphinoise and red cabbage or green beans?

Raid the deli section and put out bread, cheese, hummous, parma ham, coleslaw and some baked potatoes?

Buy everything - 18 people aren't looking for Michelin star cooking, and they'll make their own entertainment, so don't stress overmuch. Oooh, and get some of them to bring desserts/ cake for afterwards

Can you roast a few chickens (or buy ready roasted) and get the other adults to bring salads etc, serve with crusty bread and let people help themselves?

Cut the meat and serve on large platters with a bit of garnish.

Beautiful and a piece of piss effort wise.

Hope you feel better on the day

Nice bread, cooked meats, cheese board, pickles, salad, few pizzas for the DCs?

Big bowl of chilli and rice - milder version for DCs?

How easy do you want to go? If I'd been poorly I'd either buy it in ready made or ask people to bring something

for that number of people, I usually do either beef stroganoff or chicken and mushroom casserole in the slow cooker. The chicken and mushroom casserole can be done cheatingly with mushroom soup ( chilled rather than tinned) and adding a bit of cream at the end.

DameEnid are you Enid from the days of yore?

Soup and sandwiches.

Or order pizza.

Thanks everyone, some great suggestions. As a bit of a mix of some of them I think I am going to do Nigella's 24hr roast pork and just serve it alongside some big bowls of apple sauce, precooked stuffing from supermarket and nice bread rolls. May throw in some jacket potatoes in case of picky kids/extra hungry adults.

Chipmonkey, out of interest, i don't have a slow cooker but like the idea of one. What kind of capacity do they go to?

Sleep, mine is quite large and holds 6.5L. Mine also has a split bowl so I can do a roast in one side and baked potatoes in the other. For baked potatoes, you do have to wrap them in foil and they're not quite as nice as oven baked but suit us if we come home after a long day and don't feel like cooking.
Roast beef/lamb and casseroles are divine!