Help me make a delicious meal on a budget.

[Tootyfilou]

Hello,
It is Ds 19th birthday on Monday ( how did that happen?)
He i in Uni as is his sister but both will be home this weekend to celebrate.
We are budgeting to within an inch of our lives so cannot afford to go out. I would like to make a special meal for 11 people, 9 adults, 2 children aged 13 and 10. No special dietary requirements but would like to spend about £70.00. I will make a birthday cake, not including that in budget.
Is this possible? I am a good cook so willing to try anything.
Please help!

That is more than doable! I thought you were going to say budget £20 or something. What kind of thing do you want to do, a traditional British meat and veg type affair, or something exotic and exciting?

I would maybe make some chicken liver pate if you want a starter. You can normally find them frozen in big supermarkets for a couple of quid a pack. Fry onions in loads of butter really gently for ages until they are soft and sweet, add livers and fry over till they are only just cooked. Blend with a good slug of cream and a very generous slug of brandy/sherry or whatever you have lying around, pass through a seive and set in the fridge.

For a main I would maybe do a shoulder of lamb. You can normally get a whole one for £15ish and it's just as nice as leg. Roast at about 120 degrees for 6-8 hours and shred with two forks. I would serve with piles roast veg, a lovely herby pilaf (Google the Moro recipe), a minty yogurt sauce and a spicy tomato sauce.

How does that sound?

That's a huge budget

I would do a Mexican theme with chilli, rice, nachos, salsa guacamole etc.
If you have anything or from the budget, but some stick on moustaches and Mexican hats

They both sound lovely especially the lamb. Keep them coming!

Tex mex sharing dishes would be good for so many...sticky ribs, pulled pork (pork shoulder for about £5 from Aldi would be big enough as part of a sharing meal), nachos, homemade slaw, spicy chicken wings, green salad, corn on the cob, homemade salsa, etc. Always goes down well with my family!

A few weeks after our wedding we had a party with some guests who we couldn't fit in, and we did a couple of trays of really lovely mac n cheese w/ an ice cream sundae bar afterwards. So cheap and so delicious.

It depends what you're comfy cooking and what you fancy really?! I would love lots of pizzas or fajitas, or a curry buffet! But I would hate anything fishy- if that's your sort of thing you could go breaded prawns, a big paella? Gazpacho etc

Large gammon joint, roasties, chantenay carrots, broad beans, parsley sauce. Baked apples with suktanas, muesli and honey with vanilla ice cream.

Gammon £25 (and will do a meal or three with leftovers). Carrots £3 (£1.50 for ord ones), broad beans £2.50 frozen, parsley £1.20, milk £1, apples £4 (ish), muesli and honey £5, icecream £4. That's £45 ish, so some money left for wine and chocolate. Or you could do a starter - soup and French bread, or just avocado, mozzarella and tomato.

On that budget I really don't think your options are limited at all (well maybe not a seafood feast or fillet steak but other than that). Actually does that need to include wine with the meal? I guess as it's your sons birthday I would be tailoring it to his preferences. Is he a foodie or being away at uni would he appreciate good home cooking like a roast or lasagne more. Does he favour one particular cuisine? Italian? Thai? Indian? Etc. At the moment the brief is pretty vague!

It's your DS's birthday. What kind of thing would he choose?
Almost £7 per head for a home cooked feast is plenty!

I think all of these sound delicious. Ds is a bit of a carnivore so the gammon and the lamb would both be appreciated. I am drawn to the lamb. yes budget does include wine, I have a nice bottle of fizz for the toast and it will be a trip to Aldi or Lidl for the rest.
Thanks so much, I will post to let you know what I have chosen and how it went.

I did a slow cooked shoulder of pork last weekend - it was gorgeous.

Good luck and happy birthday to your DS!

Ditto to the shoulder of lamb. Nigella has a great recipe where you slow roast overnight on gas mark 1 then it's ready for lunch. Shred with forks and add pomegranate seeds &chopped mint. Serving with pitta breads and hummus will keep costs down and more money for booze. Have fun!

For 11 of you it will be easier to make a feast for £70 including wine if you go for Pork or Gammon instead of lamb (although I really love lamb). You say that your DS is a carnivore, so picking a meat which is dearer so you might need to watch the portions seems a shame.
If you went for pork you could go formal:
roast with crispy crackling, choice of veg and spuds, trimmings, lashings of cider and sage gravy
or informal:
Sticky ribs or slow cooked pulled shoulder, served with corn on the bob, hand cut coleslaw, onion rings, small cut seasoned roast potatoes (or hasselbach), wraps and salad.