Need menu suggestions for an afternoon buffet

[Mud]

ideally stuff that can be prepared in the morning or in advance and just brought out, maybe a couple of hot dishes

Hoping the weather will be nice so think summery food please

easy to make but totally impressive to look at / taste is the aim here

quiche, salad, vegetable sticks and dips, summer pudding

cold little sausages, cold chicken drunsticks

potato salad with chives would be nice. Rice too.

i would do, houmous, guacamole, tzatizike and salsa and loads of sticks and also strips of pitta bread to go with the dips, tuna and mayo pasta salad with finely chopped peppers is nice

Depends how many you are catering for, if too many this could be a bit of a faff, but this is a lovely light summer lasagne.

Heat a bit of olive oil with some garlic and basil in it. Then layer sliced aubergine, courgette (both pan fried a bit first), mozarella and lasagne that you have pre-cooked, use sun-dried tomato paste or tapenade between the layers. Brush over with the oil, cook at 180C until the cheese is gooey. They are nice because you can do them as individual portions. I have done them for about 12 people and it was fine, but more than that would be a hassle I think.

Do you know anyone who has a Bookers card (or similar?) I bought masses for my DD's christening last weekend; they do lovely pasta salad, whole brie and stiltons, nice pates and really tasty quiches as well as frozen sausages/quiches/sausage rolls etc etc and v v cheap branded crisps, dips, breadsticks etc. Total bargain! And good quality stuff, too.

Buy lots of garnish - makes all the difference.

PLatters of sarnies, cut into triangles and crusts off. Tuna/cuke or tomato, roast beef and horseradish, ham and mustard, sliced egg and tomato. Mix brown and white bread sarnies on the plater. Drop watercress and tiny tomatoes over the top.

Garnish samosas/pakoras/indian snacks with slices/wedges of lime and coriander.

Cheseboard with stilton/blue cheese, hard yellow cheese e.g. cheddar, soft cheese such as brie/camembert. Bunches of red and green grapes, sticks of celery in a jug of water, biscuits arranged in a nice basket alongside, maybe some nuts too.

Chicken satay sticks with sweet chilli or peanut dip - again something green e.g. coriander.

HTH

Put crudites in colourful blocks around a central dip: dip in bowl in centre of round plate, strips of red, yellow, orange, green pepper, cucumber, carrots, etc in blocks around it.

waitrose to fabulous pack of 20 mini sausages with lovely flavours four types per pack...bang em in oven and done. how about cous cous (make the cous cous, then mix in olive oil, lemon juice, cooked chicken if you want, spring onions, peppers, etc etc etc...), or lovely middle easterny aubergine thing (i don't have a recipie but i bet you could google one, you know the type of thing, cubes of aubergine and spices and onions all cooked and marinated together and served room temp). ooooo i'm so hungry

Stuffed vine leaves. You can buy them if you can't be bothered making them.