need a recipie that feeds 15-20 people, suitable for a celebration and can be done in advance!

[Heathcliffscathy]

i don't own Feast and all the right pages are missing from my copy of Hugh F-W's MEAT.

any suggestions.

i can cook btw (well, sort of)

x

Message withdrawn

My vote would always be for chilli with all the trimmings too.

what sort of celebration? what meal (lunch / dinner?)

what about that venetian chicken from the ghetto in nigella? that's a big dinner standby for us. you'd need a few chickens but the prep is literally 15 mins before getting it to the table. also it's very sociable cos everyone has to dig in. and it looks much more impressive and hearty than it is. i second lamb shanks as well, proper food that makes people happy from the inside out.

is for a post baptism lunch

i only have 'how to eat' and domestic godess...have you got the chicken recipe.

will be around 15-17 people

[slightly scared but rising to challenge emoticon]

pph suggested fabulous mezze/tagine style lunch, but am looking for something a little more trad.

thoguth about doing a big massive beef stew, with jacket potatoes/potatoes boulangere and then trifle for dessert.

what do you think?

I like to do chicken fajitas for a big crowd, could be easily prepared in advance then just reheat chicken bit, wrap tortillas in tin foil and warm in the oven and uncover all the bowls of stuff.

needs to be impressive, and i don't mind working hard the day before, but will have enough on my plate and don't want to be doing anything on day....needs to be something that can be in oven/on hob whilst we are at service and then served when we get home.

do you like the sound of Moroccan lamb? I have a lovely recipe that you can do completely before your guests arrive (I did it for 14 once) - it can simmer in the oven and really not important to half an hour or so when you serve it. only thing you need to do at the last minute is cous-cous. if you like the sound of it I'll type it out for you

Any kind of simple chicken in a sauce dish would be ideal as you can pre cook and them heat through. Prep veg and the cook when you get back.

Or what about roast beef, roast the meat in the morning or even the day before, carve when cool and cover with a thin gravy, put in a casserole and cover, heat in oven along with roast tatties and cook you pre-prepared veggies.

oooo yes hatwoman. there is a tunisian lamb recipe in hugh f-w's meat book but the pages are missing in my copy!!!!

Tunisian Lamb

I think a huge beef stew would be great - you want something that can be completely prepared in advance so you don't spend the day of the baptism slaving. How about the Oxtail Stew in "how to eat" it's actually better if prepared days before and is something many people don't cook nowadays, and I'm sure you have a decent butcher. Serve it with creamy mash and red cabbage & apple cooked in wine for a bit of a contrast. (Great recipe in Feast - let me know if you want it typing)

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prufrock i think that oxtail recipe sounds fabulous, but the though of oxtail makes dh shudder. weirdo.

lisa i love chilli, but it doesn't feel quite....formal is the wrong word, but i guess it doesn't feel quite 'weighty' enough for the occassion, more of a lovely cosy family supper iyswim

What about doing a big shepards pie, can be done in advance.

has anyone made the beef and anchovy stew in how to eat? and was it good.

Yes and yes it was very good - although my dh has a similar reaction to anchovies, and I put them in loads of things- so I had to tell him it was just a beef stew.

this is for 6-8 people

3 lbs diced lamb or fillet of lamb cubed
4 large onions
1 medium orange pepper
8 oz dried apricots
6 oz pitted prunes
2 oz butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 t-spoons ground cinnamon
3 t-spoons paprika
2 t-spoons cumin seed
half a t-spoon cayenne
garlic
6 oz unblanched whole almonds
1 pint apple juice
juice of 2 lemons
fresh coriander

halve and de-seed the pepper - chop it and whizz it in liquidiser/food processor (I had to add water to get it whizzed succesfully)

halve the apricots and prunes

chop onions, crush garlic, fry in butter in large casserole, remove

fry lamb in batches til brown

add all ingredients and simmer for 90-120 minutes

the recipe says to lift the meat out when cooked and reduce the sauce til thick - but I didn't think this was neccesary

serve sprinkled with the coriander with cous-cous

I did it in the morning and then re-heated it, it was very very nice

some people think lamb casseroles taste better if cooked a whole day in advance, personally I don't agree - the flavours do develop and do so too much for me - you get a really strong lamb flavour that overpowers the other flavours imo, but maybe that's just me.

You'll need to order the lamb for those numbers, but don;t do what I did and get your conversions wrong and order the best part of half a whole lamb!

just realised taht doesn't appear to use teh olive oil - it's for frying the lamb

the stews all sound lovely.
the chicken is in How To Eat, if you want to have a look. you basically just roast some chicken, boil up some pasta, toss it and some rosemary, pine nuts and sultanas (prepped in advance) into the chicken pan, while you are tearing the bird to pieces. serve the pasta with some fresh parsley in big bowls with great chunks of chicken on top. people love it.

oh good. i thought about doing it double quantities. and i could do it a couple of days in advance couldn't i? and trifles a day in advance?

salad with stew (is there a better vegetable i could do but in advance?) and jacket potatoes with sour cream and gherkins as suggested.

cheese

trifle.

not a bad plan unless someone can come up with something better?

thanks hatwoman that looks lovely too.

Red cabbage goes brilliantly with any beef stew - and tastes great re-heated. I've lent out my copy of FEast but it's basically wilt cabbage and small diced apple with oil, add red wine and spices, simmer.

i always find that my red cabbage leaches colour and ends up looking purpley mottledy white and not very appetising.

anyone know how to keep red cabbages colour?