Dinner party for 11 - help needed!

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I seem to have over invited a bit for DH's birthday and now have 9 friends coming (plus us, makes 11).

I usually only cook for 6 at a time. 8 tops.

Soooo, I need some really good ideas for easy but suitably celebratory menus. Mainly the main - I can always work starters and pudding round the main once that is decided. I don't mind putting in time in advance, but it should be pretty foolproof and no last minute faffing.

The slightly complicating factor is that I have some very fine French red wine that I've been saving and would like to serve. So I need a main dish which will stand up to that, which rules out Asian food or fish. But at the same time I don't want to be overly formal.

Thoughts so far include: slow roast leg of lamb (but won't be big enough for 11? or can I make it stretch with the right recipe/sides?); slow roast/pulled pork (not formal enough? what sides do I serve with it? rolls and coleslaw doesn't seem quite right!); coq au vin (chicken always seems rather dull...)

Ideas?

Or maybe I should give up on the special wine. Which opens up more possibilities. I only have 2 bottles so it would only be a small glass each anyway. Would be a shame though...

Some sort of beef casserole?

Daube provençale?

Same sort of thing, but beef casseroled with anchovies and thyme, the anchovies melt to form a lovely sauce without any fishy taste?

Pork fillet casseroled - don't cook too long or it's tasteless - with sliced mushrooms and smoked paprika.

Any of those could be served with rice and a salad or green beans. The daube would be nice with roast potatoes. Or you could go really arty-farty and do duchesse ones - the advantage of those is that they can be done in advance and frozen.

I think your slow-cook pulled pork sounds lovely. My Italian friend does a lovely dish of pork slow-cooked in milk which she presents on a massive platter surrounded by fresh polenta. Always gets a wow from the assembled! Small glasses of your special wine sounds great... why not?

I'm a fan of the whole baked ham for big parties. If you can get one on the bone and give it the full cloves/glaze treatment it looks great and goes miles. If you're leaving the red wine to one side you could go with fish such as a whole baked salmon cooked in foil. If you take the time to peel off the skin and dress it up for presentation it's an impressive centrepiece and there's lots to go round. Then again, I've served red wine with salmon before now (rebel) and it's not bad at all.

Def do a slow cooked pork shoulder! That is always my go to my a big crows. Slaw works if you do a nice one as in not very much mayonnaise maybe with some different vegetables, radishes, kohlrabi, apples and DEFINITELY red cabbage etc I also put lots of parsley and pecans in mine. Then it will look fresh rather than claggy and lumpen I also really like a casual vibe for lots of people. Think more fun and IMO impossible to do something really fancy seeming for so many. Better to go deliberately rustic. You could do a salsa verde as well (DELICIOUS with everything) and maybe a heaping tomato salad (quite spenny though as you'd need to get nice tomatoes) or just an interesting green and then some delicious crusty bread (I often ask my guests to bring some if they text and ask if they can bring anything). If not keen on bread then maybe just a huge vat of crushed red potatoes? Look pretty and delicious. Serving everything on wooden boards and nice big platters makes everything look lovely and plentiful.

There is nothing to do last minute which is the best part. I loathe 'plating up' and cooking things right before we eat/guests arrive.

Or is this something that you are keen to go really fancy for, people you want to impress with your culinary skills? I would say people are always more impressed when food is delicious and seems effortless (you can chat and drink etc rather than having to shout around the kitchen getting things done). All depends on your audience though as you often see people on Come Dine with Me unimpressed by a rustic approach and expecting michelin star style food.

Keep the wine for yourselves.

Make life easy/ enjoyable and do a large leg of lamb, slow roasted. Steamed greens (savoy, French beans) baby carrots and dauphioise potato. Little to do on the night- can just be prepped and then shoved in oven.

Get a load of decent but cheaper red in for the masses to guzzle with their lamb.

Feet up and be hostess with mostest. No stress.

I like the roast leg of lamb idea too. I'd cook it on top of boulangere potatoes (so the meat juices run into the spuds - divine!) and serve either with green beans or just a big green salad.

Or perhaps a lamb tagine with couscous and a green salad?

Or the posh beef casserole idea already mentioned.

I like lamb but I'm tending towards the pork just because I'm worried a leg of lamb will be too small.
Definitely want it fairly informal - no namby pamby plated arrangements.
I know the wine might seem a bit incongruous, but I've already tried some myself (though DH hasn't) and I'm really not that fussed. I'd like to give other people the chance to try wine they wouldn't normally be able to (in restaurants this would be in the 4 figures a bottle). Even if they decide they prefer Aldi! Perhaps it may seem a bit weird at an informal meal - but I think most of the guests will get it.

So - is a lamb leg big enough???

More thoughts on recipe/sides/starters with pork? Liking ideas so far...

PS I do tagines a lot so don't want to do this time even tho they are a fave.

But maybe the wine would be better with a slightly smaller group.
The reason I have it is that I work at an Oxbridge college with a wine cellar. Some old French wines that have gone through the roof in recent years due to demand from Asia are still available to us to buy at the original cost (in some cases about one tenth of the market value) but in very limited quantities. I don't truly appreciate it myself, so I'm quite happy to share the joy!

Keep the wine

I've just done Mary Berry salmon (with asparagus and quail egg) for 14, which you can prepare in advance. It was delicious but it's cold of course and I'm assuming you want something hot.

Nothing wrong with coq-au-vin and it would go with wine if you want to serve it (alternatively, please send to me, I will appreciate it).

I like Good HousekeepingFragrant Chicken, which is a bit different but very easy and delicious.

I love Korean BBQ Osso Buco ....but you'd need to do 2 lots or find another recipe.

Daube de Boeuf
Serves 6

1kg Ox cheek trimmed, then cut into 100g pieces
2-3tbsp plain flour
2tbsp oil plus extra to sear if needed
1 large onion cut into large chunks
1 large carrot cut into large chunks
1 large celery cut into large chunks
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
3 garlic cloves
500ml red wine
2.5 litres chicken stock

Preheat oven 160C
Season Ox cheek pieces and dust with flour.
Brown Ox cheek in an oven proof pan over a high heat, you may need to do this in batches. Remove meat and set aside.
Reduce heat and add carrot, onion and celery, with herbs and garlic. Fry for 5 mins then return Ox cheek to the pan on top of the veg. Add red wine and reduce to a syrupy glaze - about 10mins. Add chicken stock and bring back to the boil and remove from heat. Cover the surface with a layer of grease proof paper and a tight fitting lid. Cook in oven for 3-4 hours until the meat is meltingly tender.
Remove from oven, lift out meat with slotted spoon and set aside. Sieve cooking liquid and return to pan. Bring to boil and reduce by half, until it's a rich sauce consistency. Remove from heat and add meat to the pan. Serve!

Jamies lamb shanks

Ottolenghi's lamb shawarma serve with lots of nice salad sides.

Serve the wine with a fantastic cheese board after the main. That way you don't have to worry about matching the food, you don't have to do a faffy pud and people are more likely to savour the glass of wine - sort of treating it more like a port, iyswim.

I don't think people would appreciate the good wine at the end of the meal, I'd probably have downed at least 3 glasses of wine by that stage. And wine and cheese are hard to match successfully.

If you aren't sure one leg or lamb is enough, then just do two smaller ones. You can always make an awesome Irish stew for the family the next day with the left overs.

Have a fab evening!

French red isn't hard to match with cheese. They go together like cheese and wine

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1108644/slowroast-lamb-with-cinnamon-fennel-and-citrus
This is bloody lovely