Ooh, I'm having a dinner party. What shall I cook?

[HuffwardlyRudge]

I thought instead of a starter I'd make some nice nibbley things. Any good ideas?

And a main course? Although choosing a main course is the easiest bit.

And a pudding. Not a hot pudding. Something I can do in advance. Not meringue because my meringues are terrible. Something exciting!

If the whole thing was vegetarian that would be ace, but I would consider doing meat.

Any thoughts?

quails eggs for nibbly bits

Could you do some mediterranean meze for starters? Houmous, pitta breads, olives, falafel, (you could add some taramasalata and stuffed vine leaves for the meat eaters) all of which you can buy from a good deli or supermarket (M&S food do these sort of things brilliantly) so it's mega easy to do.

Pudding... how about a summer pudding I absolutely love this with some single cream. The best pudding every IMO.

Quails eggs brilliant idea!

Would probably prefer to make than buy. I have the time and the inclination. Summer pud is a thought though. Maybe fancy summer pudding?

Well, if Come Dine With Me is any guide, you should serve a fusion of English breakfast and chicken korma followed by soft scoop vanilla, squirty cream and crushed maltesers topped with a fruit coulis (made of jam and cold water)

This should ensure you never have to host a dinner party again

Lol. Delicious!

Lucky you having the time to cook. My fave past time.

I tell you what my mind turns to in the summer... gazpacho. Really lovely and summery. this looks like a more authentic recipe I have seen some that suggest using tinned tomatoes Heaven forfend!!!

What about fish?

Could do pan cooked cod loin on bed of chorizo, red pepper & green lentils - really yummy and quick - will post recipe if you want it.

A couple of weeks ago for a bbq, I did Nigellas Anglo-Italian Trifle and it is gorgeous - dont be put off by the word TRIFLE, this isn't a normal trifle and is very alcoholic - so not for the dc!!

I had a delicious summer stew the other day of lamb shoulder braised in rose wine with flageolets. Rick Stein recipe i think. YUM. And ought to be done the day before giving you time to do something really impressive as a starter / pudding.

Oh - didn't see veg preference, sorry.

greek salad
Moussaka
Baclava and coffee

Moussaka very tempting as I have made it many times before and it's good (and veggie). Don't have an oven dish large enough for 6 people though. Could buy one I suppose. Or make two in smaller dishes.

It is efforty enough though? Isn't moussaka something you eat on a Wednesday night at home with the kids. I don't want to be too 70s about this, but it's sometimes quite fun to pull out a few stops.

My problem is that I don't have the right recipe books, it's so long since we had the sort of social life that involved friends around for supper.

The Good Food website is excellent. You can play around with ingredients/styles of cooking and it has some really good recipes.

Thanks for the tip NotWaving. Will check it out.

I had JUST decided to do chocolate mousse for pud when dh (who never ever ever has any opinion about food other than "that was lovely") said he'd really like me to do meringues. Pavlova it is then .

Canapes: A bowl of quails eggs. Halloumi skewers with parsley and lemon salsa. Maybe crisps and home made dip?

Main: Aubergine moussaka. Leaves. Pita.

Pud: Passion fruit pavlova.

How does that sound?

antipasti and eton mess

arf

stirling

recipe pliz

Eugene - Cook the (obviously line caught) cod in a pan then keep it warm.

(For 2) In same pan fry the chopped up chorizo (60g), 5 spring onions, a chopped up red pepper and a chopped up garlic clove. Then add a drained and rinsed tin of green lentils, a handful of chopped up parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice and season.

Put lentil mixture on the plate and lay a piece of the cod on top.

You could try a different fish - Salmon etc

To bulk it out a bit, I boil some chopped up new potatoes and then put them in the pan with the chorizo and they tale on some of the chorizo flavour