Who wants to suggest a dinner party one pot easy but gorgeous meal?

[LowLevelWhinging]

I need inspiration please! I am co-producing a meal and will be cooking a main in advance and re-heating it at friend's house. Ideally it would be a one pot thing as I don't want to be faff around in someone else's kitchen, though I could manage doing some pasta or rice if necessary.

Here are the rules (as dictated by various likes and dislikes amongst the guests):

DP hates chilli
So and so doesn't eat red meat much so I would need to perhaps have a veggie/white meat version of whatever.
So and so doesn't like fish.
So and so doesn't really like curry/hot food that much.

We usually do curries for this sort of do, you know, one lamb, one chicken, one veg, but we are getting a bit predictable .

Would you like to be served spaghetti and really nice meatballs with say, spinach and ricotta canelloni? or is that extra ?

COME ON PEOPLE, INSPIRE ME!! (please)

chicken basque is ace

I'm guessing soup isn't filling enough really.

Hmmmm.....

I'll be back after I've searched

I cooked this recently and it got the thumbs up from DH. Not sure if lamb counts as red meat though and looking at the reviews, it can be reheated.
Have a look anyway.

The spinach and three cheese cannelloni are also on the same site and are great too.

Looks good...chorizo is always a hit I find. It gives me indigestion but I don't care whether I like it because I'll be just drinking wine enjoying the banter.

I like doing Normandy chicken, which is basically chicken pieces, French cider, onion, chopped apple, and a load of creme fraiche stirred in at the end. Mushrooms and/or leeks are an optional extra. Very nice with wild rice, or rustic mash potato (rice probably better at this time of year). I dont have a recipe for it, it's a through it all in and season how you want, til it tastes how you want kind of stew, that I learnt from neighbours in Normandy.

Sorry, if it's too vague and unhelpful.

Lovely with a good cider to drink, though.

That's a good idea, with the carbs and protein all in the one pot. I'll have a look around that site, ta.

That Normandy chicken sounds yum

Is there any danger of the creme fraiche splitting? I would worry that I could ruin a perfectly gorgeous dish in the last two minutes of cooking.

Chicken basque is my stock one pot dinner party recipe too. Everyone loves it and it's easy. Not sure how it would do with reheating though? I do beef bourgignon when I have to reheat something because it's lush the next day but it fails the no-red-meat test

There is a ricotta and spinach pancake thing that I can probably find the recipe for if you like?

So far I've found chicken risotto; chicken with chickpeas and almonds; chicken baked with shallots, garlic and fennel with a creamy white wine sauce; frittata with leek, red pepper and spinach; pan haggerty; ratatouille; buckwheat noodles with cabbage potatoes and cheese

Any of these inspire you? I have more cook books if not. Does it have to be stove top, or can it be oven cooked?

Wow MrsC, thanks!

I think, out of that list, the chicken with shallots etc is grabbing me. But what is pan haggerty?

Oven is ideal I think.

Pan haggerty is basically layered slices of potatoes, with garlic, onions, chive and cheese, but you can add stuff in between the layers like ham or chicken or something. It's cooked in a pan and then browned under the grill, but there is nothing stopping you baking it.

that sounds rather gorgeous!! Maybe that kind of thing without the ham/chicken as a side for a chicken dish then? But two creamy dishes would be a bit much wouldn't it?

hmmmmmmm.......

BTW, I'm thinking a bag of salad if green stuff is needed!

yeah, it could be a bit creamy if the side was cheesy as well as the main. Coq au vin perhaps? Although I'm not sure how easy that is.

I've never had the cream split, I take it off the heat and stir it in literally just before I serve it.

I do love coq au vin, good call!

moroccan chicken - i will get the recipe in a mo but it is chicken thighs cooked with chickpeas, olives and brown rice, in a huge pot (le crueset is ideal) flavoured with lemons, cooks in the oven for a couple of hours, serve with flat bread of some kind.

here it is

Ah, thank WF. Looks nice, have you tried it?

I found the morroccan chicken a bit odd - think the lemon, olives and coriander seed made it too citrussy.

Catalan pork stew - with rice, and/or crusty bread and salad.

I like Chicken Jambyala (sp?) but I don't think rice would reheat well?

Instead of coq au vin how about a change and do coq au riesling, it's a nigel slater recipe that you basically use riesling instead of red wine then add some cream - the sauce is utterly delicious and you just need crusty bread to serve.

freespace.virgin.net/jamie.m/cuisine/coqries.html

Look up morroccan chicken with preserved lemons.
V good wih cous cous - not too citrussy.

yes, I have tried it. DH cooks it a lot when we have guests as although it is a bit time consuming to prepare, once it is in the oven, you have a couple of hours to clean and lay the table, welcome your dinner guests, enjoy a glass of wine, then all you have to do is either serve, or put in the middle of the table for each to serve themselves, depending on how rustic you like your dinner parties. Easy to clean up from too as only dinner plates and big pot to clean. I would recommend guests eating from big pasta dishes or shallow bowls rather than plates - easier to mop up the juices.

yes, DH reduces the amount of lemon used and takes it out before serving.

I am not sure this is the exact recipe he uses. he does not normally 'do' delia, but I don't know what one he does use and this sounds like it, but he thought the recipe he did use had too many lemons in. But then, he can never follow a recipe from scratch anyway, has to do his own thing with it!