Can I have your best starter ideas please?

[JanineStHubbins]

My parents are coming to stay next week, and my dad is obsessed with starters. Does anyone have some tasty but easy starters I can quickly throw together? I was thinking of doing a crab thing one evening (crab meat, breadcrumbs, mustard, cream, parmesan, baked in ramekins), but am sort of stumped after that. Thanks!

Smoked mackerel pate
Smoked salmon & salad and crusty bread

Soup?

I like the classic delia roasted peppers. Cut in half, pop peeled cherry toms in, an anchovy, drizzle with lots of oil. Roast, garnish with basil and mop up the juices with crusty bread. Yum.
If you can get hold of brown shrimps (sometimes waitrose), then potted shrimp is easy and so tasty.

Smoked mackerel/trout pate might work, although I've a feeling he made that for me the last time he came to visit must not get competitive with my own father on food.

Maybe mini-tartlets, although that might be a bit of a faff. But if I bought the pastry it could be fairly easy.

Garlic mushrooms with either bacon or Stilton. Delicious. We used to run a pub and it was a top seller.

The roasted peppers, with variants of pesto, pinenuts, goats cheese, has been the Christmas starter of choice in our house for years. Tis tasty though!

Tinlegs are these garlic mushrooms with cream? Served on toast?

I've had another idea: mezze starter one night - homemade baba ganoush, homemade falafel, some nice olives, homemade flatbreads, Yotam's cinnamon & lemon mushrooms. Too much food?

If I end up overshooting the runway on the amount of food, everyone's invited!

My quick and easy stand by is a smoked salmon and potato salad - mix the tatties with some mayo and squirt or 2 of lemon juice, mix through the salmon and serve with some rocket and a wee spoon of caviar on top. Delicious

Good old fashioned prawn cocktail, mackerel pâté ( got really easy recipe if you'd like it), nachos with guacamole, salsa and cheese on top put under grill - do a big plate everyone can dig in and share , pâté and toast ( can always buy nice pâté, re pot it and pass it off as own!!), grilled goats cheese with green leaves and cherry toms ( get larger log type slices from deli counter), smoked salmon with nice brown bread, cold meats with nice chutney

My 3 favourites are:
A ramekin thing which is like a thick white sauce with melted Gouda, prawns, chopped hardboiled egg and sweetcorn
Mezze
Griddled halloumi cheese with a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce and a few salad leaves

Am now hungry ...

Good old fashioned prawn cocktail, mackerel pâté ( got really easy recipe if you'd like it), nachos with guacamole, salsa and cheese on top put under grill - do a big plate everyone can dig in and share , pâté and toast ( can always buy nice pâté, re pot it and pass it off as own!!), grilled goats cheese with green leaves and cherry toms ( get larger log type slices from deli counter), smoked salmon with nice brown bread, cold meats with nice chutney

Pate mushrooms - grill large flat mushrooms till starting to soften, fill with dollops of your favourite pate, add a small knob of garlic butter & sprinkle with mixed herbs. Pop back under grill for another 5 mins or so till the pate is heated through.

twice baked roquefort souffles (Delia recipe)
lovely, and simple too.

I've never tried a souffle! Dare I?

I'm loving the sound of the mezze

How about baked eggs?
Ramekins with a few fried smoked lardons (butter the pots first) egg on top with salt pepper and Parmesan over that.
Baked under the grill served with thin toast

Or
Scallops with black pudding and apple purée

Or
Slices of pear on rocket with blue cheese

Or
Terrine/pate with toast

I'm very hungry now!

Haggis, neeps and tatties in a ring mould.
Scallops and bacon
Gnocchi with blue cheese
Sticky rice balls with prawn

Baked portobello mushrooms stuffed with pesto and goats cheese. Yum. Basically bake one large mushroom per person until half done, smear a little pesto in each and add a slice of round goats cheese to each then return to oven for 5 - 10 mins until done.

Roasted squash with parma ham and goats cheese salad.

Scallops and chorizo salad

green pea soup with a poached egg and chopped bacon

Blanched green beans, a halved hard-boiled egg and a criss cross of anchovy fillets. Drizzle over some balsamic ('glaze' if you can get it).

roasted pears, watercress tossed in lemon vinagrette, blue cheese dressing (wizz any blue cheese with greek style yoghurt, season) and toasted walnuts.

actually, a honey vinagrette would be better.