Anyone having a dinner party this Saturday?

[MarmMummy]

And if so may I ask what you are cooking???!!!!

Haven't had one for over a year and the thought of getting my house tidy, my 2 LOs into bed and dinner for 8 people ready for 8.00 is filling me with complete dread!

Hoping for something pretty and spring like, but filling enough for big men. Was going to do a whole salmon (but have to order in advance) or a beef fillet (but balked at £80 price tag!)..... and am now just panicking!!

Any help gratefully received

One of best dinner parties I have been to had good company, lots of wine and awful food! (all burnt and nobody cared)

Oh yes perma's Nigella chicken and chick pea tagine is really really nice. I have had it at someone else's house. Truly scrumptious.

Oooh Marmummy - i am!

I am doing a light summer lunch type thing.

Doing

roast beef
chicken salad ( but stunning one with cranberries and mixed leaves etc)
lemon fried chicken
new potoat salad
purplse cabbage salad
palm hearts salad
rice

Desert is this complicated looking but very easy ice sorbet roulade type thing.

MM: If you like the lamb ideas, try this one.

It's astonishingly tasty, very easy and goes well with simple vegetables etc. I serve it normally with mashed potatoe but have had it also with savoury rice (almonds, sultanas etc) made my someone else. With green beans. For freshness I'd add a bit of salt and coriander to the beans.

Oh, it's the recipe posted by me as OhBling.

Nope. I was BlingLoving

OK, calmer now. Thanks everyone!

Have decided to do smoked salmon on rye type bread and pate on melba toasts to start (but not to sit down with)

Main: Fillet of beef wrapped in parma ham, some sort of potatoes, spring vegetables in lemon butter

Pudding: Nigella's gooey choc puds

Cheese

Oh, and a shed load of gin, wine etc!

Ooh, sounds lovely, how did it turn out? I made the gooey choc puds recently and weren't at all gooey in the middle but still yummy. (p.s. I have posted above on your thread too but have had to name change as inadvertently gave away too many clues to my nickname at alcohol fuelled dinner party on Fri night when was extolling the virtues of mn but saying how imp it is for me to remain anonymous so I can ask embarassing questions - such as about pelvic floors etc, didn't say that of course - without everyone else on the school run knowing!)

It all went really well thanks!

Choc pots were gooey, fillet was perfectly rare, everyone was in great form, and despite our 2 yr old DS joining us with a high temp at about 11 a fab time was had by all!

Now, if only the hangover would receede......