Inspire me please! Your favourite dinner party menus....

[Themasterandmargaritas]

It's for a dinner party for 6, what are your fave starter/main/pudding menus? No restrictions, anything goes!

I don't really do dinner parties, just "suppers" and I don't do starters as such. My favourite is a Moroccan-esque meal - dips, olives, breads etc instead of a conventional starter; cous cous, chickpea and veggie tagine and salads for the main; probably trifle or cake with berries and cream for pud.

Dinner party/suppers, whatever! Sounds lovely, it's a good start.

Jamies lemoney pudding always goes down well and is dead easy, our dinner parties are quite informal though.
A big fan of Delia's Keema for mains and toast and pate is a nice easy starter

Cant go wrong with Eton Mess either (I love puds)

Since it is so coooooold, try butternut squash soup to start with - lovely, easy to make and tastes really creamy and yummy. I am quite into cheese board and honey at the moment (with plain crackers).

For mains do something you can make in advance and hear up so that you aren't in the kitchen all night - pasta (make your own or buy some fancy stuff) with a nice sauce (tomato, porcini and paseley is dead easy and tastes nice), pizza or quiche (easy and always looks impressive - especially if you do a few different types and 'ta-da!' them on the table), risotto (my all-time favourite).

Desert - home made ice cream (I put up a recipe for lemon curd ice cream that you don't need an ice cream, maker for - it is really nice), fresh fruit and honey, home mde cake or pie...

Don't forget the cheese board!

I do as many "throw it all in a pot and stick in the oven so I can drink wine" meals as possible.

A few favorites (let me know if you want recipe)

Chicken Dhansak (with Indian type starters etc.)
Thai chicken rice thingy
Sausage & Bean Casserole
Chicken & Chorizo casserole
Salmon & Celeriac bake

Pud is usually chocolate mousse type thing, Tiramasu or chocolate risotto (bit more of a faff)

More suppers than dinner parties. Don't often bother with starters - just nibbles/canapes etc.

Lemoney pud sounds good, which book is it from? Eton mess I've done to death...

Toast and pate also a good idea, nice and easy, stress free.

I didn't mean to give the impression we are having a formal sit down dinner with the best china and crystalware.

Starters- mackerel pate, leek and potato soup, potato and avocado salad

Main- goulash, chicken in mushroom and cream sauce, salmon en croute, duck breasts with cherry sauce

dessert - chocolate fondant, cheesecake, pavlova, fruit and wine jelly, raspberry parfait

coffee and cheese

Nice, nice thank you.

Errrmmm I suppose I do have a few restrictions now I come to think about it, mainly by what is available here in Kenya, so no salmon/duck breast

TSM, chicken and chorizo sounds promising. And Thai chicken rice thingy

Its in Happy Days, Lovely Lemon Curdy Pud

I don't have that one, any chance you could briefly give me the recipe, unless it uses actual lemon curd, does it? Sometimes you can get lemon curd here, sometimes not... Though I suppose I could make it.

Thai chicken thingy

chicken & chorizo one

Sorry went off and had bath
For 4
2oz butter, 4oz sugar, 1 lemon rind and juice, 2 eggs separated, 2oz flour, 1/2 pt milk

Oven 200C/GM6. Cream butter sugar and lemon rind. Add egg yolks and flour and beat in then add milk and 3 table spoons of lemon juice and mix well.
Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff then add the restof the mixture. Mix it all well but don't over mix it; you don't want the air to ome out of the egg whites. Pour in to a buttered oven proof dish, stand the dish in a roasting tin about a third full of water, then bake in your preheated oven for about 45 mins until the top is set and spongy and its a nice golden colour.

You end up with yummy sponge on top and lovely lemon sauce on the bottom

Let's give it a try.