Menu for a dinner party - need inspiration

[princesspeahead]

Right. Have a quite major dinner party coming up on the weekend. Two other couples - a client of my dh's and his american wife, and a french couple where the bloke trained as a chef. So not much pressure there, really.

Need inspiration for the whole thing - starter, main, pudding. I'd like two of the three courses to be essentially done in advance (don't mind last minute touches). Don't want anything too heavy, and want to feel vaguely spring-like.
Thought for main course maybe I could marinate some lamb fillets in something or other... serve with dauphinoise potatoes (too heavy?), or couscous, or pea puree or something? Haven't got any thoughts about anything else.....

please, someone help me!

yum yum

Like lamb idea

hwat about asaparagus for a starter?

what about a coeur al la creme for pud wit h fruit puree?

How about a lamb tagine for main course - served with the couscous. You can marinate all the lamb and other ingredients in advance in the morning then pop it onto cook slowly while you are getting showered and changed.

You could then set the rest of the meal around this moroccan theme. See the MOMO menu below for inspiration!

I think you could maybe do a nice roasted pepper and tomato tart (possibly with crumbled goats cheese on top) and a variation on the red berry desert with vanilla scented cream. You could make all of this in advance - just warm the tarts through just before you serve.

starters
Compote of peeled roasted peppers, tomatoes, garlic, cumin and fresh coriander - £8.50
Filo Pastry filled with potatoes, cod and chermoula, red pepper mousse - £8.00
Traditional sweet and spicy pastry filled with wild pigeon, eggs and cinnamon - £10.00
Terrine of foie gras, fig chutney and "Pain D'Epices" - £10.50

main
Fillet of wild sea bass served with wild risotto and artichokes - £19.50
Roast rack of lamb with mint and coriander, white beans and wild mushrooms, rosemary jus - £16.50
Tagine of quail, sweet potato and tefaya - £15.00
Tagine of baby vegetables and wild mushrooms - £15.50

dessert
Home made sorbet - £5.50
Fresh red berries coup with hibiscus and vanilla ice cream - £5.50
Poached Williams pear, vanilla ice creams and caramel sauce - £5.50
Crispy chocolate Mille Feuille, Raz-cl-Hanout caramel - £5.50

asparagus is a good idea... parma ham, marscapone and asparagus drizzled with olive oil is delicious and is really assembling rather than cooking... v easy... but is it good enough for the chef?!

what is coeur a la creme?
ooh, but I could do a syllabub with fresh fruit for pudding, delicious...

coeur ala creme is a type of cheese/ cream shape ( normally doen ina heart mousld) learned it on my cookery course. classic french

I wouldnt try and impress TBH just do your usual and get him legless!

plain good ingredients

You have to do trifle for pudding, it is quintessentially English so they won't have native comparisons. Use Strawberries and rarspberries, I have a rather fabulous recipe if you are interested

soapbox, I like the idea of roasted red peppers - maybe I could do red peppers, marscapone, toasted flaked almonds and asparagus? or something.... but haven't made a tagine before, a bit scared of doing that first time. I could marinate the lamb fillets in some nice spicy stuff though - cumin and red chillies and cinnamon?
could do a syllabub with orange flower water and cointreau topped with pistachios, that would be quite moroccan...
could have my moroccan tea glasses on the table with tea lights in...

PPH you poor thing - as you say no pressure!

Well my advice would be to keep it simple as then you can't go wrong and concentrate on really really good fresh ingredients and good presentation.

Eg something like

Charcuterie with figs, onion relish/marmalade and green salad leaves

Pan fried wild salmon or trout fillets with french beans and dauphinoise potatoes

Good smelly cheese

Pavlova with mixed red berries (can be v pretty if you can find redcurrants as well as raspberries, strawberries etc) piled on the top dusted with sifted icing sugar

The only thing you would have to do at the time would be to fry the fish. Right time of year for wild salmon too - so delicious and earthy tasting, and make your own mayo or something to go with it.

ps have best Pav recipe from my australian mum if you need it

Ponce

(pph)

go for asparagus
then lamb and veg
and someting sylabuby

I do like a lemon pudding meself

the frenchman is typically french. refuses to eat bread sauce ("it is a sauce? made from bread? but that is a horrible idea", sweetcorn ("we feed this to animals in france", etc etc. Not sure where he'd come out on trifle, I have a feeling english custard is a no-no

think coeur ala creme is in delia brown

pps re the Chef, I would imagine that being a chef, you must get sick of people trying to live up to your standards and preparing overly fancy things. Chefs appreciate the sourcing of good ingredients and presentation over fancy cooking IMO

What is poncey about that Coddy? Not as poncy as heart shaped cream thingy IMO

I made a spectacular pavlova for the frenchman once. About 10" round and completely perfect. He said it was quite good, but it had a little bit of chewiness right in the very middle which, apparently, was because I'd made the meringue the day before and not that morning...!!

Good smelly cheese clearly key.
Figs impossible, I've never had a good one in the uk, will only eat in Greece or other s med country. ditto apricots!

We have crap fish around here, only have fish when I can get really good frozen stuff which is rarely. People in n wilts don't eat fish, apparently!

Order online then

Could call my brother, see if he could nip out and catch one and send it to you

Ok its 8oz unslated cream sheese
1/2 pt soured cream
2 tbs caster sug
2lg egg white
4 tbds double cream

mix all tog
add egg whites

put in muslin to drain overnight, then ponce around putin git into pretty shapes and add fruit

try it out

coddy, the heart-shaped suggestion shows a soft, romantic (and frankly poncey) side to you that us mumsnetters hadn't dreamed of...

you are suggesting I make something that involves the use of a muslin cloth overnight? are you MAD?

(cookery course!!)
hmm fishmongers in salisbury but a long waty to drive

I would get him a happy meal, the critical one

good recycling of baby equipment!

How about:
Goats cheese wrapped in vine leaves & salad
Aromatic Moroccan lamb shanks with couscous
White chocolate & cardomom mousse

All Nigel, all simple

Surely the chef gets fed up of poncey food?

eurgh!

well I have to sat tou're missing something rather luscious then PPH
You live in the country don;t you, go to your local organic butcher get the best joint of lamb or his trcommendation and roast it, can't go wrong with the best of local.
how about potted shrimps to start? you should make English food that your picky frenchman can't snipe at.
Agree about the salmon, cooking it perfectly is all about timing.