Ideas for a nice birthday buffet lunch for about 20

[LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood]

In 3 weeks I'm catering mother in law's 70th birthday lunch. At her house but I'm cooking.

I'm a fairly competent cook but often come on here for additional ideas. There will be around 20 guests. Maybe a few more. The only children are likely to be my 3. Probably traditional tastes. Mostly DMil's friends who I have met but don't know well. I shall be doing the cooking single handed though DH will help with the setting up.

Arrival of guests might be a bit staggered and I'd like a mixture of hot and cold dishes. Some nice but easy canapés and a few impressive desserts. I shall make a cake but have that sorted.

Any ideas would be really welcome. DMil is very dear to us and I'd like to make it special.

Thanks in advance.

Any ideas gratefully received.

Oooh I love these threads!

Coronation chicken
Home made sausage rolls
Some homemade soup (could be warmed up easily as guests arrive)
Potato salad
Soda bread
A lovely big trifle

You sound very nice by the way to take all this on for your MIL!

Thankyou

Will definitely do coronation chicken, potato salad and trifle.

Would rather have canapés than soup. So any ideas welcome.

MIL does lots of lovely things for us. Wanted to do a party for her 60th but FIL died suddenly so it didn't happen. I want to make it special for her.

I also need things that won't leave me hav

Sorry

Having to do too much at last minute.

I always find smoked salmon goes down a treat and is super easy to prepare quickly, you can have it with horseradish on crackers or similar for canapés

How about mini quiches made in bun tins? You cut out pastry rounds and put into tin. Leave somewhere cool, overnight if necessary. When you are ready to bake, you can make up quiche mix - eggs, cream, S&P whatever your preferred recipe. Place a 1/4 tsp of chutney in base and pour on egg mix but do not go over top of pastry. Top with some grated Parmesan. Or leave out chutney and top with slice of cherry tomato/spring onions. Or, as per Rachel Allen's 'Entertaining' book, do smoked salmon strips and dill in the egg mix. They are really quick to cook - about 15 mins - and lovely served warm.

For dessert, a pavlova, which can be made the day before and just filled when you are ready with whipped cream and fruit. You can make it like a sandwich cake ie 2 or 3 layers of meringue to look really stunning. Brownies are better when made the day before as well - they look good piled up, in a pyramid-shaped pile. You could buy an apple/filo pastry dessert for the traditionalists.

I love these threads too! Here are some of my favourite buffet dishes:

Delia's Tarragon Chicken if you fancy something different to Coronation Chicken (which I love too!)

ham and potato salad with or without the asparagus

oven baked frittata - you can use peas instead of the courgettes and if you chop up into little cubes can serve on cocktail sticks as a canape

some kind of "sticky sausage" e.g.
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2672/glazed-honey-and-mustard-sausages

watermelon, feta, black olive salad

Some older people prefer quite plain food so would perhaps do a plate of meats... assuming not everyone will be able to sit at a table, you can cut slices of ham into strips, roll and secure with cocktail sticks to make them easier to eat. You can also fold thin slices of eg salami into quarters and secure with sticks.

Cheese platter, fruit salad - or even just a bowl of e.g. satsumas

Will have a think about some more

Blinis topped with horseradish crème fraiche, smoked salmon and caviar (small black fish eggs - may not be proper Caviar: buy from Sainsburys, the Lidl one is rank!)

Cheese and a nice chutney plus biscuits is always a winner

Thankyou all.

Definitely mini quiche as a canapé - they sound great
And smoked salmon on crackers
Lumpfish roe caviar on blinis

Coronation chicken
Potato salad
Meats.
Cheeses.
Green salad
The watermelon and feta salad.
Tomato salad
Nice bread
The sticky sausages - these sound great.

Trifle
Pavlova (I've made this before loads but never thought to do it layered - that's a great idea).
Chocolate brownies.

That's my list for now. Really grateful for all the help. If you think of anything else let me know!

Just saw this on another post - mimi halloumi tarts
wedonteatanythingwithaface.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/mini-halloumi-tarts.html

Blinis are great for buffets, try with a sliver of smoked salmon a blob of sour cream or dip and lumpfish caviar, or a smooth pate (bought) with a sliver of fig or onion marmalade or gerkin on top, or egg mayonaise with a blob of caviar, or crab pate topped with a shrimp.
Most supermarkets sell packs of plastic shot glasses which you could fill with cold spicy tomato soup or borsch or watercress soup, add a drizzle of vodka or sherry or top with cream, for something a bit different.
For pudding, what about absolutely no effort mini icecream cones or choc ices, or tiny tubs, take a platter round and don't forget to give out a napkin with each one.
As you are doing the prep at your MIL's house, consider having a supermarket delivery to her house early that morning for things like ice cubes, and perishables. Also check with her about fridge and freezer space well before the date.

I make sausage rolls with a mixture of pork sausage meat, finely chopped apple and Stilton - I invariably get asked by someone to make them their own personal batch every time I wheel them out!

Crusty bread and a decent selection of cheese/pate etc is nice and simple and would appeal to the more traditional guests.

Oh. Getting very excited about doing it now.

Great idea re the supermarket delivery.

Will look at halloumi tarts. And want to eat pâté and fig right now. A great combination I should think.

Those apple and Stilton sausage rolls sound luscious. Do you make them with puff or shortcrust? And is the apple diced or cooked first?

Thanks everyone.

I think you need some hot food - the menu sounds lovely but very summery.

Since I assume the friends a similar age to your MIL I'm struggling a bit with hot buffet type foods, since I assume the staples of chilli or curry wouldn't be popular?

I guess roast chickens are fairly simple, in that you bung them in the oven and then ignore and maybe some roast potatoes? Or a large fish pie with potato top or a chicken and leek pie with a puff pastry lid?

I know you have previously said no to soup, but that's another simple way for hot food - is it because you don't have bowls or are expecting people to eat not at a table? Whenever I have done buffets the older generation always want to sit and eat at a table.

I agree there should be some hot food.

There will be 20 - 25 people and just not enough room to seat everyone at a table - though plenty of places to sit down. Mil is a young 70 and her friends are fairly young at heart and physically robust so I'm not catering for an 'elderly' group IYSWIM.

I'm thinking maybe a hot chicken dish instead of the coronation chicken then. It's not so much that they won't eat curry or chilli. More that I'm aiming for something elegant and a 'treat' rather than hearty. But a few people will be travelling over an hour and I take the point about needing hot food. I'm open to all suggestions!

I use a packet of puff pastry, 6-8 pork sausage, 1-2 apples chopped into half cm dice, raw) a an 'average' size pack of Stilton, crumbled.

Just mix the filling ingredients together well and use to make the sausage rolls.

I did something similar to this for Christmas rather than traditional sausage rolls and that worked pretty well too if you wanted something a bit different.

This chicken and tarragon pie looks nice - the filo top maybe makes it a bit smarter than average?

You could also maybe try a whole baked salmon -whole fish always look impressive.

Tagine is also nice and a bit different to the usual casserole.

Would any of these be any good for your hot dish?

Could probably make them yourself for less, especially if you have a slow cooker (and could maybe borrow an extra one), and bung some small - medium jacket spuds in the oven.

It probably falls more into the hearty category, but my ILs are in their late 60s and love lasagne.

If you would like some hot food, how about a beef bourguignon (for the more traditional) and a lamb tagine, fruity and spicy for the more adventurous? Both can be cooked in advance and reheated on the day, and if carefully packed in lock clip boxes will transport well. Also timing is not a problem for them as it would be with say a beef joint.
I've not got a slow cooker, but possibly they can be used to keep things warm to free up oven space? There are lots of slow cooker fans on here who could give advice.
I'd serve them with rice, use Tilda microwaveable for speed and ease, cook a series of a couple of packs at a time and transfer into a hot covered dish, and pasta, twists or bows for easy serving and eating, or prepared ahead polenta, again easy to serve and eat.

What are you having for drinks ladymacbeth?

ps Great name!

Roast beef and a gammon sliced would go down well with more traditional guests.

Everything suggested sounds so lovely. You could still have mulled wine.

I like Waldorf salad.

Jacket potato cottage pie.

Do some small jacket potatoes, scoop out the filling and mash it, pop in some cottage pie filling and then add the mash on top. If you use smallish potatoes and cut them so you just use the ends they can be canapés.

Home made cheese straws and breadsticks are nice too with a few dips.

Mini pizzas are good if you have little guests!

Oh. What fantastic help overnight!

Thankyou.

Those sausage rolls really are a must.

It's also helpful seeing things crop up that I had considered. I had thought of salmon and a lasagne but wanted to get as many ideas as possible. The fact that others are suggesting these is encouraging. The filo topped pie looks good. But I'm not sure I can make it big enough!

Tagine is inspired. Hadn't thought of that at all. I've made it before but can't remember what recipe. I'll look into it.

Like the idea of Waldorf salad. And of jacket potatoes. Small ones I think would work as suggested. Very nice.

I'm serving Winter Pimms, champagne and/or bottle green cordials. They are not a big drinking crowd so can afford 'nice' drinks.

Glad you like the name! I always wanted to play Lady Macbeth when I was at school.

I've lots of planning to do and probably a bit of 'culling' from the menu thanks to all the great suggestions.

If you are thinking of a whole salmon, and they do make a stunning centrepiece, have a look at the M&S website, they've got a few versions there, you order on line about a week before and collect locally on the day. The salmon gets rave reviews.
They also do some nice nibbles too, to save you a bit of work, again on the website.

Those drinks sound fab, you could maybe add a bottle of Crème de Cassis (about £7) for Kir Royal with the fizz as an alternative.

It sounds as though it will be a lovely event, your MIL is lucky to have you.

Thankyou you. Kir Royale sounds good. I've seen it ready made in M and S. Do you know if its any good?