Buffet, but make it bougie

[Toomanyusernames123]

It’s DD’s 1st birthday this weekend & we are having a little party (mainly adults). I have ordered a fancy cake but need some easy inspiration for food. For DS’s previous 3 birthdays, I have spent a day and a half cooking a huge spread which I did enjoy doing, but now with 2 little ones to run around after, I just don’t think I’ll have the time to put the same amount of effort in. I feel like people have high expectations after the last 3 parties though - gah! So, please tell me, what are your best buffet hacks?! The fancier the better!

Big platter with crudities- carrots, cucumber, red pepper, radishes. A bowl of hummus and tart it up with a swirl of good olive oil on the top and flakey salt and another bowl of whipped feta.

cooked ham with slices pre cut and looking nice.

cheese board- one soft one hard one stinky with lots of break and crackers and some dried fruits and chutneys.

Roasted and smashed potato salad

nice Bread and whipped sea salt butter.

Spanish homemade frittata- this made well is delicious.

sticky Korean hot honey chicken wings. So easy to make. And a real crowd pleaser.

put everything on a variety of boards and use pretty bowls etc to Place other items in. Use fruit and greenery to pretty up the display.

Home made sausage rolls, they look good, pastries are in right now, and people love them.

Big plate of sliced watermelon always looks good and is popular.

I would buy a few frozen chilled selections, pakora, samosa, teriyaki chicken skewers and make a yogurt dip to put in the middle (yogurt, cucumber, coriander, lemon juice and olive oil)

Hummus and a nice warmed bread

Bag of green salad pepped up with grated carrot and cherry tomatoes and a little oil and balsamic vinegar.

Decorative cheese/meat platter with chutneys

Pitta/wraps so people can make their own stuffed bread.

Big fruit bowl, apples, grapes nectarines

Make some small yorkies ahead of time. Buy a rump steak and fry it to medium rare allow to cool completely. Mix horseradish and a drop of lemon juice with some lightly whipped double cream. Spoon cream into yorkies and top with a slice or two of steak. Maybe garnish with watercress or pea shoots. It tastes amazing and looks impressive.

Go to morrisons. Fill up the salad bar containers with one item and piece. There are your salads.

They also sell enormous deli quiches. Buy one of those.

Cheese board and crackers, fruit, chutney.

Fresh interesting bread.

Dips and crudités.

That sounds delicious.

Spanish frittata - I've heard it all now. Is that like a Greek paella?

I’d go hot buffet… huge bean chilli (vegan and gluten free as long as you used correct stock), grated cheese, homemade guacamole (Jamie Olivers recipe is super simple), sour cream, rice, wraps, tortilla chips, sticky bbq chicken wings, chicken goujons if having kids there. oh and salad , crudités

Stick to one theme to keep it chic. Don’t mix Spanish, French, Greek, Korean etc, as that can look a bit Iceland! Middle Eastern is a good choice. Easy to cater for vegetarians. Get some decent flatbreads, buy in the dips, kebabs, etc., and just make a couple of big salads.

Make a big tray of roasting veg incl garlic, add liberal glugs of olive oil, stir through & roast, then let it cool and add/stir through S&P and a glug of balsalmic vinegar.

You can either have the roasted veg in a bowl solo as a side like your potato salad or make a bowl of couscous (no cooking - cover with boiled water, leave to stand, fluff with fork) & stir in your roasted veggies. You can also use the roasted veg as a quiche filling - too much work for you, posting for the lurkers.

The pre-prepped, cooked roasted veg freeze well in ziplock bags so you can do that in advance when you’re running the oven for something else.

This sounds lovely. Do you serve them cold?

Could you make pizza? It’s not that much work and with some (simple) salads would be nice.

this pizza dough is good and almost no work (no kneading) https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/10/lazy-pizza-dough-favorite-margarita-pizza/

What a useful contribution

cherry tomato, mozerella ball and fresh basil leaf on a stick. So lovely and fresh and easy.

buffalo wings with blue cheese dip. So easy to do and very popular ime.

have a lovely time op. I could eat a whole table of bougie buffet right now!

Not sure if the Spanish frittata might mean Spanish tortilla?

With nice olive oil, potatoes and eggs you have a wonderful tortilla sliced into wedges, a good crowd pleaser and you can make ahead of time. Good videos on YouTube on how to get it right the authentic Spanish way.

Honestly….M&S, order the entertaining platters and pick up the morning of the party (Sainsbury’s/Morrisons do their own).

So many fantastic ideas so far, thank you so much, everybody!

Have a lovely day!

Please would you share how you do your potatoes? I have seen them online a fair bit but never tried them... do you let the smashed potatoes cool before mixing through the dressing? Any top tips?

CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN

Filo parcels look good and you can have different fillings.

Cream cheese with chives or smoked salmon or mushrooms (do fry the mushrooms first).

Hasselback potatoes look good for a plate filler.

Its going to be hot this weekend. so I would factor that in!

Edit - if in the UK

@Whyx Yorkie idea is excellent and suitably impressive.

My version of this sort of thing is to do a a big roast of some sort, served on a platter, with piles of veg/salads/breads.

eg

Rib of beef - cooked and left to rest, brought to room temperature. served in slices (with the joint and a knife there for people to carve more as needed). Then a bowl of new potatoes, a tomatoe based salad, a large green salad that includes chargrilled veg like asparagus/courgettes and topped with feta and then at least one other salad. Also lovely fresh baguettes/rolls/ciabattas etc (I usually buy the kind that you just heat in the oven for a bit).

Or

Slow cooked shoulder of lamb, med style. Served with piles of flatbreads, tabbouleh, hummus, tzatiki, baba ganoush etc.

Yes, they taste best cold.

Are you ok?