Is this too expensive for a dinner party?

[Renovatinghouse]

Hello, I have guests coming twice over the weekend - different people - so I just did the shopping and now I think I may have spent too much but I am not sure... I will be cooking dinner in total for 17 adults (over the 2 days) and planned a simple menu but with good quality ingredients because we want to make it a special meal for the guests.

I have: Nuts (pistachios and cashews) and champagne (which was on offer half price) for when they arrive. Then smoked salmon canapes as a starter. Then chili con carne served with rice, sour cream, grated cheese, avocados, home made salsa, tortilla chips - for this I bought the best extra lean mince I found and will follow a very nice recipe which includes some expensive ingredients. For pudding I bought very nice ice cream (couple of different flavours) and a bowl of mixed berries (strawberries and blueberries). And to serve with coffee or tea or after dinner a small box of posh chocolate truffles. I also bought some soft drinks.

The shopping included some bits and pieces that will not be for the dinner party but not much. When I divide the shopping cost I have spent 16 pounds per person - does this sound reasonable or not? We can afford but it sounds like a lot for a simple menu...

Thanks!

It sounds fine to me to be honest but I always buy the best ingredients when having people over for dinner.

Sounds reasonable to me too especially if it is including alcohol, and the menu sounds nice :) good luck, hope it goes well! For pud, you could add some little meringues if you wanted?

Thanks for the reassurance!! I am a bit sleep deprived so I was not sure whether I should be doing something different.

I like meringues a lot, should I serve them to go with the ice cream, just with the fruit or by themselves?

I'd probably break up the meringues a bit and serve them Eton Mess style with ice cream and fruit.

Nigella has a fantastic chilli recipe where she adds dark chocolate. It makes it really rich and luscious.

thanks for the tip, I will look for Nigella's recipe - dark chocolate sounds good!

It is very very good. Mouth watering now.

Hi Skin, just wanted to come back and say that I used Nigella's recipe and it was a hit - they all loved it and there was nothing left!

That's wonderful. Glad it went down well. I really like it.

£16 a head including or excluding the champagne? My friends could polish off a bottle each no problem so my price per head would be lots lots more

It sounds very tasty, I have no idea how much I spend per person when I invite people over for dinner, it's never occurred to me to do so. Might be am interesting task for the next time I host a diviner party but don't think I'll make a habit of it ( night that organised ).

Could just eat some chilli,salsa and guacamole right now. Enjoy having your guests, it's lovely when they arrive and even nicer when they leave