That naff 1970's cocktail stick hedgehog thing

[ggglimpopo]

I am knackered. We have 12 people coming tonight to toast dd2's birthday as she gets back this evening and her birthday was whilst she was away. We are all going to an aperitifs thing first by the river and then coming home and eating/drinking.

I have decided to hell with it and am just going to bbq dozens of different sausages - duck, herb, merguez, veal etc and then offer sliced baguette, mustard, ketchup and everyone will eat them as hot dogs, followed by very chocolatey cake with toblerone topping (picked this months country living up at the airport specifically for this recipe!) with champagne. There is a distinct lack of anything veg/fruit/vaguely healthy so thought of doing one of those cocktail stick things spiked into a cabbage to start - so have cheese/pineapple, melon and parma ham and um...... what do you stick on cocktail sticks in one of those things? Unless anyone has any better ideas?

To be truelly retro, it has to be tinned pineapple, a silverskin pickled onion and a piece of plastic, orange chedder..

I think you could stick most things that you would use for fondue on a cocktail stick hedgehog.

Fondue - ummmm.... I need ideas here. Google will overwhelm me on this one!

avocado and prawn?
blue cheese and bacon?

black olive and sundried tomato?

you could do cubes of cheese and another one with cubes of fruit - melon? pineapple? grapes? strawberries?

Hey, bacon and prune
Olive and cherry tomato
something and grape
something and something.....

I am pg Carmenere! Blue cheese is out (as is Parma ham, but will leave that one in and eat something else!)

HCC - that is a good idea but I am too lazy/kackered. Think dh is thinking that I will conjure up a three course escoffier type job. He is going to have a wee surprise here... hahahhahaah

Oh I totally forgot, in that case your dh should be organising it

Oh, and we always end up with more poeple than we bargained for. With this gourmet buffet, who cares?!

OK, how many cocktail stick things do you think would do?

(actually what I would do is buy some big bags of salad/watercress and chuck them in a big bowl and maybe have some croutons and some (shop bought!) dressing.
I expect you can some nice stuff where you are.
ubt I am v lazy )

I think that because you are a fab cook and because the French probably won't get the irony of the hedgehog thing that you should do all the toppings suggested but do them canape style on toasted rounds of baguette that have been drizzled with oil and rubbed with garlic.
It is really easy, quite impressive and lazy lumps of teens and dh's can easily help.

I have already got baguettes with thte sausages CM. I zam really hooked on the retro naff cocktail stick thing - the French will just mark it down to English foodie eccentricity. Which reminds me, I have to wangle marmite into the equation - with what/on what.

HCC. I am currently teenagerless - one with his mother, one in London, one on a boat (the prodigal returning daughter) but have two eager littlies who could help do cocktail sticks. DH is pedantic, he would start making things French and haute cuisine. noooooo.

oh dear, all french and haute cuisine, sounds tiresome

Exactly! ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

He will be most 'surprised' by my cabbage/cocktail stick thing, not to mention the hotdogs....

Whisky, pastis, kir etc with the cabbage job. Wine/beer with the hotdogs, champagne with chocolate cake.

Bed before stupid o'clock.

I hate to be pedantic but the authentic cocktail hedgehog was half a grapefruit.
this cabbage thing sounds a bit avant garde

Ha! really! I have pg brain (and half a white cabbage in the fridge!). Grapefruit hint taken.....

I would like to see you trying to stick cocktail sticks into a cabbage actually

Actually, I first thought it was in potatoes! I kid you not! Then I opened the fridge and saw the half cabbage just looking at me....

My dh was aghast when I told him about my sausage/baguette plan. I think he thought I was joking

I decided not to say anything about the grapefruit/cocktail stick idea.

olives and feta
baby tomatoes and mozzarella and a basil leaf
Hard sheep cheese and quince jelly (you know the hard one)
cucumber, mint and goat's cheese

I think sausage baguete great idea
we did it for our 40th it was fab

Thank you CD. Me too. he shook his head and kept saying 'droll d'idee' or something of nthat ilk.

He wants foie gras - we go to restuarant.