New Years Eve Shindig - gluten free, vege, meaty - arrg!

[pickledHAN]

Hoping someone with some more food enthusiasm can help - have a combination of family coming to me for New Year - need to accommodate a gluten free vegetarian and my dad who loves meat plus someone who just loves food but not too many veg!

Trying to come up with a 3 course something - where meat and veg can be eaten alone or together as a full meal - possibly with rice or baked potatoes.

2 have gig appetites and not many like spicey - me, well my kitchen is caribbean inspired so this could be interesting!

2 or 3 courses with nibbles and drinks in the evening - any inspiration, thoughts or sympathies?!

for the gluten free veggies, you can make stuffed butternut squash. There are some really small ones in the shops at the moment and they are delicious when you split them in half, roast them until soft (45 min or so), scoop some of the flesh out and then stuff them with quinoa, walnuts and pesto. They go well with roast potatoes.

I get my quinoa from Sainsburys, but if you can't find any, basmati rice will do. Sometimes I also add bits of halloumi to make it more interesting.

Personally I'd suggest a plated buffet, then people can mix and match as appropriate (eg salads, hot dishes etc). Makes life simpler as you can have a plate of meats, salads, roasties, plus veggie bits (eg fallafels or stuffed vine leaves, not sure if gluten free though). Then those with the big appetites can get stuck in!

A good starter for this sort of group is a fig and mozzarella salad. Mixed baby salad leaves e.g. rocket. Top with ripe figs cut into 4 pieces, good quality mozzarella torn up and scattered over, and strips of prosciutto (which you leave off the vege's plate). Dress with plain yoghurt whisked with honey. Seems to please most people and it's really easy to assemble.