Recommendations for a buffet please

[StillWaters]

It's for a firts Holyt Communion party abouty 50 people coming.

I want it all to look 'nice' so am thinking of opened toped sandwiches and/or crotini.

Also going to bake a salmon.

But am now a bit stuck about waht else to do? apart from crisps and dips, which I will do as they are NECESSARY for a buffet but I need more substance.

Oh and I don't want to be cooking once peopl have arrived, even warming up, all neefds to be done before.

Quiches

Bowls of savoury rice/cooked pasta?
Go on - you KNOW you want to do sausages n cheese n pineapple on a stick shoved into a foil covered half cabbage!
Gateaux
Various flavoured chicken drumsticks?

Ooh yes - mini quiches are nice or just a big one sliced up
Posh filled vol-au-vents?

here

I was asking a similar thing earlier this week

I'm going to be dofficult....

I think quiche is vile
We don't eat meat (but do eat fish)
Pasta always seems to get left over

But

I am doing a cous cous salad
I am tempted to do cheese and pineapple onsticks, in an ironic retro way naturally
and I ahve pudding covered, they are my speciality

Thanks for the link will check that out...

Feta cheese and spinach filo triangles.
Mini new potaotes stuffed with cottage cheese and chives (and bacon if desired).Same with small plum tomatoes.
Asparagus wrapped in filo with shavings of parmesean with ailoi.
Toasted cumin pitta chips with hot crab dip (I know you don't want to cook but this is delicious).
Thai prawn cakes with sweet chilli dip. Can be made the day before then just heated in oven.

Wild Mushroom and Goat's Cheese Tartlets

Cheeseboard with french bread

Smoked Salmon Blinis

King prawns (or full seafood platter) with garlic mayo

Thai mini fishcakes

Retro cheese and pineapple sounds great (don't forget your silver foil covered potatoes to make it look like a hedgehog )

A large cooked salmon, served on the bone, ready to pull pieces off
Jacket potatoes
Nice bread
Salad
Cheese board
Smoked salmon (or other fish/seafod) pate terrine
Olives
Pitta pockets or wraps
Humous

cold cooked prawns with lemon wedges

smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels, cut up into bite size portions

some nice salads like: tomato, avocado and mozzarella - lots of olive oil and basil; blackened red, yellow and orange peppers marinated in olive oil and red wine vinegar and parsley (looks amazing and colourful on the table)

fritatta - sautee some veg (courgettes, mushrooms, peppers, onions) and some cooked potato - throw in an oven dish, fill up the gaps with seasoned beaten eggs and bake in the oven till cooked. Tastes great cold.

I always put out a really good selection of posh bread (walnut, sourdough, posh baguettes, ciabattas) with a selection of expensive posh cheese and people can hack bits off as they like.

Sorry to be a bum pain but...

Do all of your guests think quiche is vile?
Are they all veggies?

You might have to cater for other tastes I'm afraid. If they're all happy with what you're planning then that's all the better for you not having to do separate stuff though.

You could always do a large veggie curry/chilli?

Probably some would like quiche but am hoping to avoid it.

Not all guests veggie but would like t0 avoid meat.

Loving some f these suggestions, king prawns with garlic mayo would look and taste great

Digigirls salads sound fabulous

Tarlets a good alternative to quiche

Comeoveneer do you have recipes/roughguidelines for your suggestions, they sound excellent!!

This party is going to give me a bervous breakdown but it's going to be GOOD!!!

various mixes of olives
bruchetta
spanish/italian cooked meats
continential breads
smoked salmon, cream cheese blinis
M&S do some nice mini party foods of good quality that just need 15 mins in the oven

I did this type of thing for DDs christenings.

Also, how about a big bowl of sweets/quality street etc?

My MIL is mad for a buffet. Hers always feature Wotsits, without fail.

Spinach and feta

Makes about 50 triangles.

1/2 lb. Feta cheese
1/2 pt. cottage cheese
2 eggs
5 spring onions, chopped
5 oz. fresh spinach, finely chopped
1 tsp. parsley, minced
1/2 lb. filo pastry
1/2 lb. butter, melted

Combine cheese and eggs in a large bowl and mix well. Add onions, spinach and parsley, and blend well.
Cut the filo pastry into strips 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide. Brush a strip with melted butter and then place 1 teaspoon of cheese-spinach mixture on the strip, centered 1 inch from end. Fold one corner over in a triangle, and then continue turning over the triangle to the end of the filo strip (just as in folding a flag). Place each triangle as it is made on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Stuffed new pots/plum tomatoes

24 small new potatoes/ 24 small plum tomatoes
1/2 cup crème frâiche or sour cream
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese or shredded cheddar
4 tablespoons chopped chives

Bring enough salted water to cover the potatoes to boil in a medium size saucepan. Place the potatoes in the boiling water and reduce the temperature to low. Cover and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Do not overcook. Remove the potatoes and cool.

Cut each potato in half and carefully scoop out a portion of the center with a small spoon or melon baller. (If need be, you can take a very thin slice of potato off the bottom so that it will sit flat.) For the tomatoes cut a slither of the bottom to allow it to stand, remove a top section and scoop out seeds etc (discard seeds)

For the tomatoes
Place a small dollop of crème frâiche or sour cream in the center. Top with a pinch of cheese, bacon and chives.

For the potatoes I do as above but mix a little of the potato flesh I've removed with the sour cream before placing in the potato.

I always make LOADS of potato salad for buffets, it's one of the things that always gets finshed.

Asparagus wrapped in filo

24 asparagus stems
12 sheets filo pastry
melted butter
shavings of parmesean
sesame seeds

Blanch asparagus in boiling water then plung into ice cold water to prevent over cooking. Butter 3 layers of filo together and cut each into 6 rectangles. Sprinkle with parmesean shavings and place an asparagus stem in each rectangle so the tip sticks out. Wrap filo around stem and secure closed with melted butter. Brush melted butter over filo and sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake until golden (200oc for I think about 8 mins but keep an eye on them).

BTW I also sprinkle the feta triaangles with sesame seeds.

For the aioli

2 egg yolks
olive oil
teaspoon of mustard
salt and pepper
garlic cloves crushed (amount depends on your garlic love )

put egg yolks in a bowl, slowly drizzle the olive oil in a few drops at a time stirring conitnually, keep going until you have reached desired consistency and volume. Stir in mustrad season with s+p and add garlic.

A lot of people give all sorts of tricks and hints how to stop it separating etc but tbh I've never been unsucessful (famous last words ).

Hot crab dip

270 g crabmeat
230 g sour cream
224 g cream cheese, softened
235 ml buttermilk
235 ml mayonnaise
200g Cheddar cheese
70 g capers, drained
2 cans artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
15 g minced garlic
25 g grated Parmesan cheese

Lightly grease oven proof dish. Oven at 200oC
In a large bowl, combine crabmeat, sour cream, cream cheese, buttermilk, mayonnaise, Cheddar cheese, capers, artichoke hearts and garlic . Stir until well mixed. Spoon dip into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in preheated oven until top is crusty, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve HOT.

Cumin pitta chips

Pitta bread
melted butter
cumin powder

Melt butter add cummin and mix. Cut pitta in half (ie through the pocket so you have 2 flat ovals), next cut each oval into half (2 semi-ovals), then each semi-oval into 3 traingles (imagine a tortilla chip). Brush the rough (inner) side with the melted butter and lay on a baking tray and bake in oven 200oC for 3-4 mins (WATCH) until golden. You can store in a sealed container for a few days.

Thai prawn cakes

Ingredients
500g raw Prawns, peeled
2-3 egg whites whipped
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 red chilli, chopped
2 garlic clove, crushed
½ tsp Turmeric
1 stick lemon grass outer layer removed and finely diced
2 tbsp coriander roots and leaves, chopped
3 Spring onions, finely sliced
plain flour, for coating

1. Place the prawns, fish sauce, redchilli, garlic, turmeric, lemon grass and chopped coriander in a food processor and process to a paste. Fold in the sliced spring onions.

1. Carefully fold the prawns into the whipped egg whites.

1. Shape the prawn mixture into little balls, 3cm in diameter, and roll in flour to coat lightly.

1. Heat some oil in a deep frying pan until hot.

1. Add in the prawn balls and shallow-fry until golden on all sides, around 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

I cheat and serve them with bought sweet chilli dipping sauce.

This makes about 10 cakes so increase recipe as you wish.

I store them between layers of kitchen towel overnight, then place in a single layer on a baking sheet and reheat for 5- 10 moins before serving.

HTH

a salad of pumpkin, feta, pine nuts and spinach-
make a spice paste with some cumin corriander, pinch of chilli all mixed with oil then stir rub over some cubed pumpkin (or butternut squash) bake in oven for 20 min at about 180 then cool. blanch spinach, rost pine nuts then toss whole lot together.
I also have a great asian influenced recipe for a chicken salad if you decide to ahve some non- veggie stuff....BTW the crab recipe sounds yum!

Sorry was out last night.

Thank you Comeoveneer I am going to try those recipes, even the crap dip though I said no cooking, they sound fantastic!

Just a tad worried that stuffing new pots and plum tomatoes is going to be very fiddly and will end looking a mess with my bodge-it fingers, may have a practise firts.

Hettie that salad sounds really lovely I think I will try that too. I was trying to think of interseting salsda and struggling beyond my standard cous cous and my Mums traditional yet divine potato salad.

Thanks all for your help this has provided just what I need.

"crap dip"??? PMSL