Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Food/recipes

For related content, visit our food content hub.

ideas please for a simple lunch to serve to friends plus their kids on saturday

52 replies

Tutter · 02/10/2008 19:20

am great at saturday lunches in the summer - piss easy - nice salads

and great at sunday lunches

but am drawing a blank at autumnal saturday lunches

kids are 8yo, 4yo, 3yo and baby

OP posts:
SorenLorensen · 02/10/2008 19:23

I'd still go for a buffet-y type thing. Nice bread, nice cheese, cold meats, salads, maybe a roast chicken. You could do some mini jacket potatoes with sour cream and chives.

Hulababy · 02/10/2008 19:24

DD's favourite with friends is a big rainbow platter. We have a big plate full of colourful salad vegetables, old meat, cheese, pitta bread, etc. and then a pot of hummous in the middle. I served it for DD and 3 of her friends today (very autumnal day) and it went down very well.

For the adults - how about a chilli, with jacket potatoes or crunchy bread.

Charlee · 02/10/2008 19:24

Buffet sounds lovely! With some pickles and Tiger Bread!

What about a big bowl of pasta in the middle with a simple sauce and some garlic bread for everyone to help themselves?

SorenLorensen · 02/10/2008 19:25

I'm not so keen on old meat myself

lazyhen · 02/10/2008 19:25

I just make up a load of sandwiches with different fillings, bowls of crisps and veg sticks with dips. You can tart it up a bit with quiche or pizza.

MrsMattie · 02/10/2008 19:25

Pizza & salad. Everyone likes pizza.

Overmydeadbody · 02/10/2008 19:25

Quiche and salad

soup and cheese on toast

Sausage baguettes and falafel baguettes with warm roasted veg salad

Overmydeadbody · 02/10/2008 19:26

Hulababy surely it's easier to feed everyone (adults and children) the same thing?

Tutter · 02/10/2008 19:26

yes, but, but...

they always do proper, grown-up food for us

i do like a nice sandwiches plus bits spread myself, but i'll feel like a copper-outer

OP posts:
Twiglett · 02/10/2008 19:27

either bung a chicken in the oven or some sausages

serve with french bread and a big salad (couscous salad)

sorted

Tutter · 02/10/2008 19:27

what if i make a soup

then serve sandwiches and cold chicken with it?

OP posts:
Twiglett · 02/10/2008 19:30

no not sandwiches IMHO .. well not closed sandwiches .. maybe french bread / nice bread topped with range of stuff

unless of course you're doing the whole bagel, smoked salmon, cream cheese spread thing

and I wouldn't do soup either .. it goes either way with kids IME and ends up everywhere

Overmydeadbody · 02/10/2008 19:31

Do soup and serve it with lots of thickly sliced (tiger) bread made into cheese on toast.

If you want to be fancy use a variety of cheeses or do welsh rarebit and sprinkle with worcestershire sauce.

AllBuggiedOut · 02/10/2008 19:31

Macaroni cheese, with broccoli and/or salad? (Jamie Oliver recipe v good, easy and on here somewhere...)

sarahsmummy · 02/10/2008 19:32

aren't sandwiches more trouble? I'd go for the platter idea and people can make up their own sandwiches if they want...

Tutter · 02/10/2008 19:32

trrsssk

you are right

what about something like this

with salad and nice bread

OP posts:
SmugColditz · 02/10/2008 19:32

Fajitas

Overmydeadbody · 02/10/2008 19:33

that looks yummy tutter, do that, with baguette.

Not macarroni cheese! yuck.

Twiglett · 02/10/2008 19:35

oh of course I've just remembered I have an excellent chicken and olive recipe that's a really easy but hearty meal

you can make it before they come .. serve it with a mixture of american and wild rice (a la sainsburys) and some brocolli .. it's yum .. really it is (as in I've had a few people call up afterwards for the recipe)

want me to dig it out?

AllBuggiedOut · 02/10/2008 19:36

Don't knock it unless you've tried Jamie's, Overmydeadbody.

Crispy oregano, taleggio, mascarpone, buffalo mozzarella - suitably child-friend and sophisticated enough for Saturday lunch. Scrumptious.

Tutter · 02/10/2008 19:38

go for it, twig

OP posts:
Anna8888 · 02/10/2008 19:39

Roast chicken (no need for stuffing but put lemon in its tummy and use lots of butter).

Lovely butcher's sausages.

Mashed potatoes.

Green salad (with cucumber, avocado, herbs).

Chocolate mousse.

Raspberries and thick cream.

Overmydeadbody · 02/10/2008 19:41

AllbuggiedOut, Jamie may have tarted it up, but it is still not worthy of being served to guests for lunch! Macaroni cheese is what you cook when there's nothing else in the house and you're desperate, not when you have guests coming over and loads of time to plan something nice, imho anyway

Charlee · 02/10/2008 19:42

Jamie's mac n' Cheese is delicious!

I have made it for guests before and had plenty of compliments.

But if your going for a Jamie O recipe you want

FANTASTIC FISH PIE
For 6 people

Ingredients
5 large potatoes, peeled and diced into 2.5cm/1" squares
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 free-range eggs
2 large handfuls of fresh spinach
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, halved and finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
about 285ml/1/2 pint double cream
2 good handfuls of grated mature
Cheddar or Parmesan cheese
juice of 1 lemon
1 heaped tsp English mustard
1 large handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
455g/1lb haddock or cod fillet, skin removed, pin-boned and sliced into strips
nutmeg (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 230c/450f/Gas 8
1 Put the potatoes into salted boiling water and bring back to the boil for two minutes.
2 Carefully add the eggs to the pan and cook for another eight minutes until hard boiled, by which time the potatoes should also be cooked.
3 At the same time, steam the spinach in a colander above the pan. This will only take a minute.
4 When the spinach is done, remove from the colander and gently squeeze any excess moisture away. Drain the potatoes in the colander. Remove the eggs, cool under cold water, peel and quarter them. Put to one side.
5 In a separate pan, slowly fry the onion and carrot in olive oil for about five minutes, add the double cream and bring just to the boil.
6 Remove from the heat and add the cheese, lemon juice, mustard and parsley.
7 Put the spinach, fish and eggs into an appropriately sized earthenware dish and mix together, pouring over the creamy vegetable sauce. Drain and mash the cooked potatoes - add a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and a touch of nutmeg if you like. Spread on top of the fish.
8 Don't bother piping it to make it look pretty. Place in the oven for about 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are golden. Serve with some nice peas or greens, baked beans and tomato ketchup.

AllBuggiedOut · 02/10/2008 19:44

Jesus, Taleggio, fresh oregano, buffallo mozzarella all "nothing" in your house hey, Overmydeadbody? Lucky you!

But seriously, pasta a good option as kids like it, and you can make it special.