Easy yet Incredibly Impressive Food for a Dinner Party?

[BaconAndAvocado]

Will be cooking dinner for 4 this Saturday night. It's for my best friend and her newish boyfriend who is very very lovely so I want it to be a special evening.

Need ideas for a starter, main and dessert.

In the past I've cooked things like Prawn and Mango salad for starter, Lamb Tagine with Coucous for main and Chocolate Puddings for dessert.

Thanks in advance.

I love poached pears. I think they are super easy, really tasty and look impressive.

I use a nice white wine and cardamon recipe. It's so scrummy!

I usually make my own ice cream in our ice cream maker to go with :-)

I make Nigella's slow roasted chicken quite often with some roasted new potatoes and salad.

Mango, crab and chilli in lettuce wraps (made before, handy)
One pot job for mains; pork & mustard bake, curry, Normandy pork, butter chicken.
Dessert:pavlova (made night before),icecream , tart, crumble.
Lots of wine!

Lamb shoulder with pomegranate. Rosewater and pistachio pavlova with figs and honey. Middle eastern mezze to start.

Chicken fricassee - you can make the day before and reheat, very easy but lovely dish

A merange with chocolate cooked into the mix and served with rasberres or a self saucing lemon and orange pudding that deliah does.

Thank you all, really super ideas.

Keep 'em coming!

I tend to do one pot things so I can spend time with guests too like

Chicken and Bacon Casserole - tastes like much more effort than it is tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/chicken-and-bacon-casserole.html

or Beef in Beer tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/beef-in-beer.html

or something I can shove in oven like

ribs tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/pork-rib-marinade.html

or stuffed peppers tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/stuffed-peppers.html

or gammon in a tomato sauce topped with potato wedges tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/loaded-skins.html

or chicken pieces tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/spicy-chicken-drumsticks.html

or something I can flash off quickly like this chilli prawn curry tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/chilli-prawn-curry.html

Smoked mackerel pate is a super easy starter that tastes like it is far more effort that it actually is. Shred some smoked mackerel fillets into a large bowl, squeeze over half a lemon and add enough double cream to bring the pate together and season with a little salt and plenty of black pepper. Mix well with a fork or zhuzh with a hand blender if you have one.

You can prepare it the day before and leave in the fridge ready to serve with triangles of wholemeal toast. Yum.

This lime torte is really easy but tastes great. Again it can be made in advance and kept in the fridge ready to serve. Rather than faff about with chocolate rose petals, I place a star shaped stencil on top and dust cocoa powder and icing sugar star patterns on the top. Looks fab, takes minutes.

www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/recipes/recipe_directory/m/mascarpone___lime_torte.html

Sorry link fail

www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/recipes/recipe_directory/m/mascarpone___lime_torte.html

For starter try Mary Berry' salmon terrine with asparagus. Lining tin for mousse is a bit fiddly but even I could do it. Looks stunning.

Serve with melba toast whivh is basically toasted white bread sliced lengthways to reveal untoasted side. Then slip untoasted side under grill for minute until curled and toasted. Looks really hard to do but so easy really! Never fails to impress.

I second Mary Berry's terrine. It looks superb and is absolutely delicious.

BBC good food website - smoked salmon, avocado and goats cheese terrine. Delicious and dead easy!

Lakeshore pork - incredible crowd pleaser- friends have asked for doggie bags when I cook this lakeshore pork avoca it s simple too
Another crowd pleaser for desert is home made meringues stirred with strawberries and raspberries and cream (like an Eton mess) then put into a lines loaf tin and freeze - serve sliced drizzled with dark hot chocolate sauce.

I bypass starters and stick with nibbles and drinks.
Lamb shanks served with creamy mash.
Puddings - homemade ice cream with homemade biscuits.

For the mackerel paté, add a few drops of Tabasco sauce - it makes a subtle difference.

Mary Berry has a lovely chicken and watercress terrine in the Aga book. It's a little fiddly, but not really complicated, and is lovely. Could be done ahead and even frozen, leaving you more time on the night.

www.nigella.com/recipes/view/flourless-chocolate-lime-cake-with-margerita-cream-5146

People I have done this for rave about it for literally years afterwards.