Dinner party ideas or how can I posh up a mixed grill?

[sweetheart]

We are having some friends over for dinner on Saturday and i was thinking of doing a mixed grill but I need to posh it up (not to posh though!)

I'd also welcome your best "friends for dinner" menu - nothing too extravagant as I'm not the worlds best cook!

Thanks
xx

What's a mixed grill? Is it like a cooked breakfast plus a steak? Is there not something simpler you could do so you can spend more time with your guests?

it's down to the salads I think

I'd do a greek couscous salad with fresh lime juice and coriander (small chopped salad) and a roasted pepper / fennel thing and a nice mixed green one with capers and olives and avocado

oh and new potatoes with mint and butter

Wouldn't do a mixed grill, personally. Especially as I can't see how you can posh it up! (pineapple rings on the gammon perhaps?!)

How posh do you want your do to be, if you've also said not extravagant?

How about a lasagne with a green salad and garlic bread?

Or chilli, served with wraps and shredded lettuce, grated cheese, jalapenos (from a jar) and sour cream - for everyone to make their own wrap?

Both easy to make.

I'd change the mixed grill into skewered kebabs and you could have the meat beautifully marinaded and still prepare it all in advance for grilling / barbecue

and you could do a vegetarian version

How about:

soup - preprepared
steak and for example, marsala sauce
potatoes dauphinoise

don't know about puds

with this kind of menu you only have to worry about the steaks and sauce as you'll have the soup and potatoes ready.

Here's a pudding idea.

Really, really simple and very, very lovely.

Why don't you do a large joint of lamb - just roast it? Or some racks of lamb. I've got a dead easy posh green sauce to have with it too - it's delicious. It's got anchovies and loads of garlic and herbs. Serve with some pots (dauphinoise etc) and green beans. Or roasted veg and couscous.

Dizzy Dixies recipe on here for white chocolate cheesecake is a winner. Easy and really tasty.

I'd probably just do some mackerel pate and some other nibbly bits to start.

thanks for the input so far. I'm thinking of stearing away from the mixed grill in favour of something easier / quicker to prepare in advance.

I've been through my recipies and have so far chosen:-

STARTERS

• Crispy cocanut tiger rawns
• pork satays with peanut sauce
• roasted asparagus with basil and lemon butter

MAINS

• slow roasted duck in red wine and orange sauce with potato and spinach puffs (although I've never wisked an egg white before!?!?!)
• Lamb boulangere
• rack of lamb with pine nut and parmesan crust and garlic and rosemary rosted vegtables
• or something else

PUDDINGS
-molten chocolate & raspberyy pots

• dark and white chocolate shots
• fruit & nutmeg crumble

I'm not sure if the puddings will be too heavy after a lamb or duck dish - and I've never cooked duck before either but I know it can be quite smokey!

they all sound really good.

If I was your guest, I would love to have the prawns, rack of lamb and the chocolate shots [Smile]

yum - wish I was!

Hiya if you go for the lamb there is a good recipe for dauphinoise on here:

www.britishpotatoes.co.uk/potato-dauphinoise/

But I was also drooling over this recipe for balsamic baked onions & potatoes with roast pork from Jamie Oliver the other day:

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-at-home/balsamic-baked-onions-and-potatoes-with-roa st-pork-recipe/index.html

Its delicious and quite easy to serve up for a dinner with friends.......

Pommes dauphinoise is incredibly easy to do, however it tastes so delicious your guests will think you are a culinary genius.

A very easy but nice thing to go with are pork chops, cover with a teaspoon of onion marmalade (out of a jar, English Provender Co for choice), then a few slices of rocquefort. Grill the pork chops first and then top them with this and put under grill for 5 mins or so. Easy peasy.

I can never be arsed with starters. I do a very nice mixed board with pate, serrano ham, olives, houmous, taramasalata sometimes, nice breads and grissini. If you do do a starter, don't bother with anything that needs to be cooked. If you can do something cold (which can be partially prepared before your guests get there) it will be unimaginably easier.

Pudding wise, in summer I like chocolate pavlova (make a meringue base, cover with whipped cream, melt some very nice dark chocolate and drizzle over, it sets hard and glossy). Also Baked Alaska is very impressive and 'oooh' looking, and is certainly not as difficult as you would believe.

Or, baked peaches - baked peaches in oven with vanilla sugar, serve with nice shop bouight vanilla ice cream and a raspberry coulis (blend together some raspberries, which can be frozen if you can't find fresh ones, some water and icing sugar to taste. You do need to sieve it to get rid of seeds etc.)