OK, so what's your best wow-factor starter then?

[franch]

DH is doing cassoulet so it'll have to be light.

Nobody? Hmm, I guess like me you're all pudding girls ...

smoked salmon mousse

can post recipe if liked

Pate stuffed mushrooms

Not light but tasty - bacon wrapped black pudding in a mustard sauce

Many thanks! Yes please PandaG!

c and p'd from a previous thread where I suggested this

Salmon Mousse serves 8

10 oz smoked salmon trimmings
1pt double cream
Juice 1 lemon
3 tbsp chives, chopped
3 tbsp cucumber, chopped small
Black pepper

1 Blend salmon in a food processor until well processed ? I use a stick blender
2 Beat in cream a bit at a time, use a spatula not a whisk, keep going until all the cream is incorporated and mousse falls easily off the spatula
3 Fold in the rest of the ingredients and a good grinding of black pepper
4 Divide between small ramekins and chill for at least an hour

I serve this with crème fraiche mixed with lemon juice and honey to taste, to cut through the richness of the mousse, and wholemeal or multigrain bread. This is very easy to make, and can be prepared ahead for a dinner party. Leftover mousse makes a good sandwich spread too.

bit more faff but looks good - line ramekins witg clingfilm, then line with smoked salmon, leave some overhanging edge. spoon mousse into the middle, fold over overhanging salmon, then fold clingfilm over and twist up. Leave to chill for a couple of hours, then remove from ramekins using clingfilm, put onto plates smooth side from bottom of ramekin up.

Thanks Panda, sounds great! How do you serve it? Dollop the creme fraiche on top and hand the bread round?

Might try my hand at the fancy version - sounds pretty impressive.

Seafood platter. The no cook option.

I recommend "The Company Shed" on West Mersea, but chances are you're not an Essex Gal ;-)

I serve the ramekins version just in the ramekin on the plate - garnish with say rocket and chives if you like...hand round creme fraiche and bread at the table - or can ad a dollop to side of plates if you like

the fancy version does look nice, is just more fiddly - but all the prep is done ages in advance and the clingfilm means you can def get it out of the ramekins.

if you have a big main course you can just serve smaller portions of the mousse. - I have also been known to use the mousse as a topping for hors d'oeuvres - on crackers or tiny squares of toast - easy if you make the mousse as dinner party starter one day and have different people round for nibbles the next!

Brilliant - thanks PG. I'm afraid last time we had people round for dinner I couldn't move for about 24 hours, never mind assemble a canape - but I do like the idea

I do individual tomato, pesto and mozzarella tarts with a rocket side salad. It is quick, easy, and have yet to find someone who wasn't impressed It is my failsafe - and you can prepare all of it ahead, and just sling together at last minute.

Get some ready rolled puff pastry. Cut out a tart base per person - I use a small dessert bowl and cut round that.

Spread with a heaped teaspoon of pesto, leaving about a 1.5cm margin around the edge.

Cover with sliced plum tomatoes - I use because of the slight oval shape, but any flavourful tomato will do

Salt, and just a teeny bit of sugar

Rip up some mozzarella and scatter over

Rip up some fresh basil and scatter over

Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil

Black pepper

Brush the bare pastry edges with a bit of milk

Cook in oven for approx 15 mins until pastry looks cooked and cheese is a bit brown.

Ooh, sounds good whoami! What temp do you cook at?

The same temp as I cook everything at, 180

(I am a bit of an ovenphobe and despite having poncey range cooker, only use the one setting!)

Another reason to love this starter is that it is infinitely flexible to make it 'your own' - for example, you could do red pesto instead of green, you could use fresh oregano instead of basil, do roasted peppers and halloumi, have also done it with those ready prepared sort of caramelised onions you get out of a jar, goat's cheese and sprinkled balsamic vinegar over the top, and to think I never would have tried it if I hadn't found a pack of ready rolled pastry in the supermarket one day

Great - am going to try those and some of the other ideas on here. Many thanks

Whoamireally - I tried the tomato tarts this evening as an experiment - delicious - the whole family loved them. Just one question, how much do you do in advance? I did everything then left them for a bit - the olive oil oozed out to the edges a bit which meant the puff pastry didn't rise in some areas. Still tasted great though - would love to try the onion & goat's cheese version. Thanks