help me with a sit down lunch for 11 adults and 2 under fives.

[Heathcliffscathy]

not so worried about the under fives as they will have same as us....but what am i going to cook.

want it to be nice, is special occassion (ds's baptism)

no vegetarians as far as i know.

need something fabulous but that i can put most of the work in for before hand....i'm toying with doing something that doesn't entail starter but rather lots of things on table at once...so that i'm not running backwards and forwards to and from kitchen.

all suggestions gratefully received.

Would deffo do a bung everything on he table and help yourself sort of thing.

Not really unusual but what about a roast then you can put the joint of meat in the middle of the table and put dishes full of roast spuds, veg, pigs in blankets, stuffing balls, gray ect for everyone to dig into?

if you don't want to be up and running then you need something simple

I'd do a posh version of a casserole tbh (which you can pre-cook)

chicken and olive casserole is extremely nice and you can serve with american long grain and wild rice and green veg then follow with a series of nice desserts

i've got a real foodie coming. gulp.

chicken and olive sounds lovely, but perhaps not enough vavavoom??? not sure.

i do a lovely lamb white bean and chorizo stew, but actually that works out v v expensive for lots of people as it uses pieces of leg of lamb.

hmmmmm...i'm with you on the casserole idea....much much less hassle than a roast, although there must be a hassle free version of a roast...if i did boulangere/dauphinois potatoes and they just went in the oven.

i need 'feast' by nigella don't i.

actually i've just thought, pork donnie brasco in hugh fearnely whittingstall feeds the five thousand doesn't it? has anyone made that?

I would do an indian selection. You could do quite stunning main dishes and then things like tarka dhal, cauliflower and pea marsala and all the bits that can all be prepared in advance. Having a variety of dishes will have impact and ensure that everyone can get served pretty quickly rather than waiting for 1 main dish to be served.

this is meat and drink to me (excuse the pun)

go lebanese.
for starters, have heaps of heated pita bread cut into strips, with hummous (shop bought if you like, but decant into nice bowl, drizzle with olive oil and some pine nuts), some roasted red peppers, generous bowls of olives, get those very good tinned dolmades (stuffed vine leaves), stretch the theme with some prosciutto etc. So people just help themselves. and children pick. And it looks lovely, all those colours etc. And all you have to do when you get back from church is heat the bread.

then how about doing a lamb tagine with apricots and things (nice and sweet so the children will like it) - cook it for ages, even do it a couple of days before and just heat it through. Serve it on a bed of pine-nutty couscous and with a big green salad. and crusty bread if you feel like it - even garlic bread (children will like that).

For the couscous - measure out the couscous you need into a big ceramic bowl (look on the packet for weight per person, varies by brand), mix in 2 teasps cinnamon powder, tsp ground cardamom, tsp ground cumin (this is about right for 12 people), add the right amount of boiling water (actually I use hot marigold stock). bung a lid on (bread board will do). Look at it a little while later - fluff it with a fork, stir in a can or two of chickpeas, and a load of toasted pine nuts. Takes about 5 mins, do it in the morning before the service and microwave it with some knobs of butter on top to serve.

Perfecto!

Sophable - check recent archives for a late Sept/early Oct thread by bossykate. She had a foodie for lunch, and did a lovely sounding Delia recipe (braised sausages with borlotti beans rosemary and sage). She said it was a huge success. Take a look and see what you think.

Feel I have to pop up here as I always do to recommend slow roasted pork. You rub a loin of pork with 5 spice and garlic and leave it in a low oven for 24 hours and it is the food of the gods. Tastes a little like Peking duck, but nicer. Serve with green salad and big dish of potatoes dauphinoise and sit back and enjoy compliments. Best of all, all work is done on previous day.

Last time I made this was easter and my foodie brother and his family were here. Twas just glorious.

mezze?

PPH has class

oh and pudding - do a syllabub for the adults - use cointreau and orange flower water and put it into pretty tea glasses with a few pistachios on top and it will be aromatic and lebanesey as well. Children will be bird happy with vanilla ice cream with sprinkles

I do this ALL THE TIME, SO easy

this sounds like a good recipe

and if you have foodie coming, make the hummus yourself , takes two seconds

syllabub
I'd forgotten it was a nigella recipe I use

oh i love the sound of pph's thing

If anyone has one, a chocolate fountains is fantastic and very simple for a dessert for lots of people, lots of fresh fruit, profiterole, mini donuts and marshmallows, yum!

it does sound fab. but somehow not celebratory enough (we eat loads of couscous here.

i'm being persuaded though...delicious recipe....

i made my own humous this week...was v nice. won't ever buy again.

so when you're not doing a lebanese extravaganza, have you got another standby for entertaining the hoards pph?

Not very sophisticated, but you could do tarragon chicken. It is very very easy and quick, and virtually foolproof. It tastes better than it sounds, because tarragon is quite a refined herb. But because it is essentially a plain chicken dish, fussy eaters and children will prob eat it.

Just take pieces of chicken breast (or thighs (skin on or off) for a better flavour but fattier), fry in butter till slightly brown. Add an onion/shallots and mushrooms. Add about a bottle of white wine (for your quantity), plus enough water to cover the meat. Once it has come to the boil add a whole packet of fresh tarragon and the grated rind of a lemon.

Boil or put in oven for at least an hour. Taste it at this stage and decide if it needs added chicken stock.

At this stage you can take it off the stove and put in the fridge overnight. Then reheat and leave in the oven if necessary.

Before serving, add a carton of creme fraiche, and some more fresh tarragon.

Serve with boiled rice.

Sometimes, when you have a foodie at the table, the only route to go down is simplicity...

Meant to add. It tastes just like the chicken you get at virtually every wedding, which in itself makes it feel like a celebratory meal.