Dinner party food ideas for 6 odd ones!!!

[batey]

Anyone any ideas, want to have some friends over soon, vague arrangements made. 1 of couple one is veggie, 1 or couple two dosn't eat fish and I don't eat red meat!! I know I'll have to do at least 2 "mains" , but what..........?

Why not go totally veggie for the evening? You could do something like veggie lasagne, or veggie chilli, or a big curry?

What about a mushroom and spinach korma? Or a thai vegetable curry/another veg curry? All the recipes are on the curry ideas thread I think. That would suit everyone wouldn't it? (unless you've got allergies to deal with too, I do hope not!) Or veggie sausages (you can get really nice ones) and mash with onion gravy? Maybe that's not dinner party enough-ish though. Or you could do one veg thai green curry and one chicken thai curry, that way you use the same paste and ingredients and won't feel so much as if you're making 2 completely separate meals. They'll take roughly the same amount of time too. Hmm, it's all a bit curry so far though! Will post more if I think of anything else!

Egg and chips?

A fab veggie meal for everyone that we adore and is very yummy, easy and cheap is Ratatouille pasta pie:

For six:

Four tins of ratatouille (you can of course make ratatouille if you are a good cook, but I'm not!)
enough pasta for six (the penne is good for this recipe)
White sauce (about 1 1/2 pints)
Mozzarella
Cheddar

Basically, you cook the pasta and then place it in a casserole dish/lasagne dish/le creuset pot/whatever, add the ratatouille, then mix in your white sauce (homemade or bought, I do make that myself) and then sprinkle the mozzarella and cheddar on top - to taste really, we like lots but others might like less

Then, bake at gas 6-7 for about 40 mins until the cheese is bubbling and the dish is cooked through (check with a skewer)

With a nice salad and bread (garlic, mmmmm) and wine this is really tasty and loved by all my friends veggie or otherwise

Let us know what you end up doing

batey, Delia's veggie main courses online are here

what about morocan ? couscous and a veggie tagine for everyone - then meat kebabs for those that want to ?

Go Italian and do three main course dishes for people to help themselves.

Ideas: Vegetable lasagne,
Spinach and ricotta cannelloni,
Seafood risotto,
Four cheese stuffed Giant pasta shells

I sometimes do Giant Stuffed pasta shells with three different fillings (four cheese, spinach and ricotta and bolognaise).

Add salad and garlic bread.

Last time I was faced with this - one couple who were vegetarians, one who would eat meat but not fish, another who would eat fish but meat, and DH who is liable to ask "where's the meat" if presented with anything vegetarian - I got round it by doing a Chinese buffet, with any meat/prawn things kept seperate from the vegetable/noodle dishes, so everyone could have what suited them, without forcing those who didn't want to be vegetarian for the night down that route.

Wow, thanks for all the ideas! Might go for an Italian feel.

Sobernow, are risttos easy? Oh, and have a look at your e-mails!

Rissottos are very easy - but maybe not for a dinner party as you can't prepare them in advance and nedd to stir almost continually for 30 minutes.
Just v. slow fry an onion/shallots, add the rice (arborio) and fry for a couple of minutes. I don't use wine, but most people would then shove a glass in and stir until absorbed. Then just keep adding ladles of simmering stock and stiring till liquid evaporates. After 30 miutes or so teh rice should be tender, but still with a slight bite. Flavours go in along the way -my favourites are wild musrooms, or red pepper and saffron. Knob of butter, shavings of parmesan and enjoy.

I know Italians will frown but if I'm doing risotto for guests, I start ahead of time and just get to the stage where I've stirred in 4 or so ladleful's of stock and then leave it to sit. Around 5 minutes before serving time, I then stir in the rest of the stock, cream/butter and parmesan.

I always make double quantity and the next day, mix the risotto up with a beaten egg, shape it into patties, fry it in butter and serve it with smoked salmon / parma ham and creme fraiche or a poached egg. Really yummy.

A variation of the rissoto, (kind of mixed with a Tai thing).

Chop some onions and garlic. Throw them raw into a deep roasting dish. Add red peppers, chillies, lemon grass, coriander and some lime juice. Quickly dry fry some arborio or paella rice, or some sort of short grained rice in a non stick frypan, until it starts to change colour slightly. Throw this on top of the other ingredients. Add just enough stock to just cover the rice. Cover with tinfoil and stick it in the oven at 200 degrees C. After about 20 minutes check to see how cooked it is. You may want to add some more stock, or leave the tinfoil off for the last 10 minutes or so if it looks too wet. I often add chopped spinach at this stage, so it's just cooked.

Serve in bowls with a variety of toppings separatly, e.g. prawns, grilled strips of chicken, stir fried veggies, spring onions etc.

Hmm, now that sounds interesting. Oh I'm all undecided again...

Lots of good ideas here, Batey. I think I would agree that a veggie main is probably easier - I DEFINITELY wouldn't go down the route of 2 main courses (too much hassle). What I think I would do, though, is a selection of starters, all of which could be prepared in advance, some including meat and some fish. Italian starters are really easy, for example - a plate of parma ham, salami etc. to satisfy the meat eaters, some dips with aubergine or a hoummus(sp) for veggies with nice things to dip and maybe some prawny things.....

Pasta bakes are lovely and easy with no last minute fuss. Something I love and haven't made in ages is a mixture of frozen spinach, sweated with onions and garlic until all the water has gone, then cooled and mixed with feta cheese and pine nuts and placed on a rectangle of bought puff pastry. Roll up like a sausage roll with the seam at the bottom and glaze and bake for about 30 mins. This is really yummy and can be served with simple new pots and salad.

Hope all goes well - let us know what you decide!

Oh Good Lordy!!! That sounds delicious, I'll have to have a serious think!!

O.K. we've finally got a date for this dinner, this Sat! Oxocube, I think I'll give your spinach thing a go, with 2 salads, and garlicy potatoes.
(Starter, cold chicken,grapes,spring onions,mayo in a green salad. Pud Lemon and lime cheesecake.)

Anyway, the question is roughly what quantities for 6 of us? !One or two packs of pastry?? Hope your'e out there Oxocube or I'll be winging it......!

Another really easy option is a Cheese Fondue (assuming vegetarian eats Cheese). We do this and have a nice green salad and crusty bread. Its easy and hard not to like.

Oxocube.............?