Dinner party amateur! Looking for something like cow au vin

[DorotheaHomeAlone]

We went to theirs and they cooked us an amazing meal despite having young kids like we do. Now we’re reciprocating and I’m panicking! Need something like coq au vin that can just go in the oven ahead of anytime. I don’t like stewed meat and feel on safe ground with chicken. Any suggestions? I’m actually a fairly decent cook but 7 years of small children, no sleep and pregnancies have massively limited my repertoire.

How about a cacciatore like [[https://www.gousto.co.uk/cookbook/chicken-recipes/chicken-cacciatore-with-crispy-potatoes this one from Gousto? We really like that one.

Sorry, what a useless attempt at a link!

Try here instead

Coq au riesling is nice - I use a mix of Nigella Lawson and Nigel Slater's recipes. The leeks in Nigella's are essential I think, but I don't like the way Nigella uses skinless unseared chicken - I use whole chicken legs and sear them so they're nice and brown, then nestle them on top of the liquid so they get nice and crispy.

Serve with mash and your favourite green veg side dish. It's really easy - stick it in a pan and pop it in the oven.

simply-delicious-food.com/nigel-slaters-coq-au-riesling/
www.nigella.com/recipes/coq-au-riesling

Oh and I love the thought of Cow au Vin by the way 🐄🍷

Is that a bit like Beef Bourguignon?

I like both the above ideas. There's also a Nigella recipe for a whole roast chicken with leeks and orzo (one pan) which I always think looks nice but have never got round to.

The Cafe Delites boeuf bourgiugnon is lovely (based on the Julia Child recipe) or how about Osso Buco? I made s lovely one in the pressure cooker last year but helpfully I don't remember which recipe I used 🙄

The Smittenkitchen mushroom lasagane is a lot less work than a normal lasagne, and lighter - would be nice with a big green salad, sharp dressing and homemade garlic bread?

Good idea to concentrate on the really important things that will ensure your guests are comfortable. Much better bread and cheese by firelight with people who are relaxed snd happy that attempted fancy food with a frescoes cook.

Get everything you can possibly do, done in advance. If the table is set invitingly when they arrive and some signs of food cooking, it will all be off to a great start.

One pot meal is perfect.

How about cheese afterwards, maybe a basket of chocolates and coffee, too

All good, enjoy.

A really good tray bake type dish works well with chicken and can be suitably jazzed up. It also looks lovely in the middle of the table. I used to do a lovely one with chorizo, new potatoes and peppers - I suspect there'd be a million recipes online. Serve with rice or mashed potato and a good salad. One easter I did a version with fresh spring greens which was also lovely.

I regularly do baked chicken with lemon and honey (and a few other things) when I have people over informally - but then do vegetables separately.

A regular weeknight dinner party thing I used to do when we still hosted dinner parties (a LONG time ago) is a roast chicken - which is relatively quick and easy to prepare and largely cooks itself. But instead of serving it with traditional roast trimmings I'd do something like new potatoes and steamed greens with a dressing of some sort (usually tahini-based, not least because then I could scatter fresh chilli or sesame seeds to make it look pretty ). Alternatively, I'd do it with some kind of "fancy" rice - risotto if I had time to make it or a pilau-type thing, again probably with steamed veg. If I was doing that now, I might do something like a potato gratin that I could assemble in advance and then just needed to go into the oven. I learnt this concept from a friend who ALSO did the roast chicken thing but always served hers with a warm couscous salad with piles of roasted vegetables and some sort of fancy dessert (she is BRILLIANT at desserts) to dazzle after!

Some kind of Morrocan Chicken Casserole with cous cous and green veg or salad would be my suggestion. Easy to make in advance and the couscous just needs boiling water or stock for a few minutes when you're ready to serve.

Cow au vin! Toddler was tantrumming so I didn’t get a chance to proofread.

Thanks for all your suggestions. Think I’ll go with the coq au Riesling as that sounds like I can prep way in advance! With rice, potatoes and green beans to serve at the table.

What sort of (easy) starter would people pick?

Nigella has some great, tasty chicken tray-bakes

This takes seconds.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/simple_smoked_salmon_pt_82860