Help! Cooking for 6 next weekend and I have no idea what to make.

[pharmachameleon]

We have 6 good friends coming for dinner next weekend and 5 kids. I am fine with the kids food but I'm really stuck with what to cook for the adults. Has anyone got any foolproof recipes that are nice in summer but are fairly easy to make? No veggie-maybe beef or chicken?
It's for my 50th so I'm bloody raging I have to cook but it's just the way it worked out 😂 So I'm trying to think of recipes that are a bit more special but I'm not the best cook so need to be easy. Thanks!

I'd do sausages (really nice quality sausages, from a proper butcher) baked and coated in a bbq type sticky sauce till, well, sticky! For my fav sticky sauce, I mix sweet chilli sauce, tomato ketchup, honey and a splash of dark soy.
Baked potatoes, with lovely Irish butter to slather on. Couple of big bowls of salads.

Pudding would be Nigella Lawson's lemon meringue ice cream. It's a no churn, stir together recipe that uses lemon curd, cream and crushed meringues. Just need to mix that up a couple of days before. I think it's from How to Eat...
Serve with nice biscuits and some berries if you feel the need.

Is there a Thai restaurant you can order takeaway from? Your own big birthday celebration shouldn't be causing you so much stress with everyone sticking their oar in and making demands. Or get Thai curry, spring rolls etc from Cook.

Or if you want chicken, you could get boneless chicken thighs. I use them a lot when I CBA messing about with jointing and deboning etc.

Ive made this - its amazing!

The Good Food arrabiata isn't heavy at all, it's so tomatoey that it actually feels quite summery. The dumplings are really light too. Serve with a salad!

Sorry that you are still worrying about this - your party!
A different approach that may be worth considering could be a paella cook? I looked online yesterday and there were quite a few local to me. Staff come to the house and cook a huge paella outside while guests watch and chat. You choose which you would like - fish, chicken or vegetarian and they do the rest including shopping and clearing up. Suitable for everyone including children. Minimum number was 10 one what site and 6 on another.

Last time I cooked for 6 people I made a big chilli con carne and put it in a nice bowl on the table with rice, wraps, sliced avocado, shredded lettuce, grated cheese and a bowl of tortilla chips. It went down very well indeed!

I would do some crosstini to start maybe with grilled courgette and whipped feta, followed by a French chicken casserole, extra buttery mash and garlic green beans. Follow3d my a lemon syllabub and a cheeseboard.

Like this

www.recipetineats.com/chicken-fricassee-quick-french-chicken-stew/

OP, it can be hard to scale up recipes if you aren't experienced. Things that are easy to.scale up are casseroles. Boeuf Bourgignon is easy. Coq au vin not as easy as people make out.

A chicken thigh tray bake like the Nigella one with chorizo will work. Aim for two chicken thighs per person and use two roasting dishes if needed.

A greek salad is a good one to.do instead of veg.

Cous cous or rice is good if you don't have lots of oven space.
Eton mess for pud.
Goid luck!

I would make life easier and cook the same for the children as for the adults! And for dessert English strawberries, bought in meringues and thick double cream. I like cheese so would also have a cheese board.