Help - what do I cook for 7 adults, including 2 new mums (1 of which is me), for a whole week?!

[babypowder]

At the beginning of June I'm going to have a houseful, including my PIL, 2 old friends (1 pregnant, 1 with a new baby)my adult SD, DH , DD1 (5) and myself (breastfeeding DD2). I've thought of a couple of things to feed everyone:

• a whole salmon, with new potatoes and veg
• a pile of sausage and mash with onion gravy
• maybe a large pork belly, slow cooked, or a slow cooked leg of lamb

Whatever it is, I won't have a huge amount of time to prepare, although it can take a long time in the oven or whatever.

Any ideas???

The berries with white choc sauce is a dessert they do at The Ivy and it is absolutely delicious. Definitely try that one.

If anyone expected me to feed them for a week without offering to help, new baby or not, they'd soon be ex-friends.
Lots of great ideas already, esp. about cooking ahead and freezing. Keep it simple! Probably duplicating what people have already written, but keep it simple. Roast chicken or bacon joint with salad. Big vat of chunky soup. Stews. Unadulterated fruit and yoghurts for afters. Cheese and crackers. Have some pizzas in the freezer. Fish and chips..... AND DON'T DO IT ALL YOURSELF otherwise you'll be knackered and your breast milk will suffer.....

What is your husband planning to cook?

good point about Breast milk - may I go one further and suggest tactical breastfeeding? Whenever you are feeling washed out, and in need of a sitdown, grab unsuspecting baby, fish out a boob and say 'I'm feeding, please could you start......x/y/z' and then stay put for a while (baby doesn't actually have to feed, btw, just look as if it is about to )- - I use this tactic whenever I don't want to empty the bin/bath the kids/answer the phone...... - please don't tell my DH!!!!!

Baffled, that sounds like the perfect solution! Maybe just feed for as long as it takes for the delivery guy to arrive

Chilli.
Sausage casserole.
Curry.
Pizza.
Tuna casserole.
Fajitas.
Beef roast.
Chicken dinner.
Sticky lemon chicken.
Lasagne.

Roasted parsnip soup (roast parsnips, puree with some veg broth, add more veg broth and whole milk. Serve with creme fraiche and crumbled bacon. The pureed parsnip can be frozen. You do need lots of parsnips to make a decent amount. Serve with bread and tossed salad.
I also love to do mexican food - its easy to cook for alot of people with not too much effort, does not have to be too spicy, and everyone assembles themselves.
Chef Salad- people can build their own, just put out plates of cheeses, ham, tuna, other salad veggies, sweet corn lettuce, whatever.
Good Luck

Tell them you'll be needing the recommended lying-in period of forty days to establish bonding and breast-feeding. You'll be happy to receive your meals on a linen-covered tray with a little vase of flowers on it

Do let us know the final menu plan!

Will do!

Ok, so here's the next few days:

• currently have 4kg of gammon bubbling away in Coke - we shall have some of it tonight with new potatoes and home grown salad, the rest in sarnies.
• A huge pile of sausage, mash, cabbage, carrots and peas tomorrow.
• Neneh Cherry's fantastic molasses dipped lamb on Sunday
• Chicken risotto on Monday
• Whole roast salmon with cherry toms on Tuesday

I've also made a walnut and coffee cake, a few tray bakes, a couple of dozen scones for lunches, and a few meringues for pavolva.

Getting there

Well done babypowder, you sound really organised and food sounds fab - can I come too??? one more won't make any difference! I've seen a gammon in coke recipe in a Nigella book but haven't ever tried it, have you made it before? I'd love someone other than Nigella to tell me what it tastes like!

Haven't cooked gammon in coke, but when we do boil a gammon joint, I usually keep the liquid and use with some chopped up bits of the gammon and some red lentils to make bacon & lentil soup the next day - easy and yummy. Not sure how/if it'd work witht eh coke though?

think you can make a bean soup with the coke liquid, havent tried it but i have seen this before.

Gammon cooked in Coke is fantastic - doesn't taste like Coke, just a hint of sweet and slightly smoky. Yum. It works really well with Ginger Ale, too.

The whole meal went down a storm. Am now feeling replete and a little smug. And worried about having to do it all again tomorrow!