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!

ooh can I see too?

Now you may not want to do Delia but if you like roasted peppers then these 2 recipies are very good and virtually foolproof. They can be prepared in advance then just bunged in teh oven at the end. I think the fennel one is more morocan if you want to keep the theme going. Personally I think it would be worth it just to have the moroccan tea lights on the table.

Big plus also is that chef bloke being French will only have cooked french food and so will have no idea how 'good' the Moroccan food is - although I am sure it will be fantastic!

piedmont roasted peppers

or roasted peppers with fennel

here goes... (pasting from word so I hope it works)
Canapés
Rice pancakes with smoked salmon, dill and crème fraiche
Fillet of lamb with aubergine caviar
Quails eggs with celery salt
Basil pesto palmiers

Seated Buffet
Cold rare fillet of beef Wellington
Cajun blackened chicken with mango
Whole baked gammon with honey and five spice

Hot new potatoes with chive and parsley
Cherry tomato with basil pesto
Hot cous cous with spiced butter
Grilled Mediterranean vegetable salad with Parmesan shavings
Continental leaf and herb salad and mustard dressing
Bowls of horseradish and mayonnaise

Profiteroles with chocolate sauce
Mini strawberry tartlets

Coffee and Christening Cake

OH GOD HAVE WATERLOGGED MY KEYBOARD DUE TO DRIBBLING EXCESSIVELY

How is a girl supposed to stick to her points in the face of such provocation mutter...

I love fennel.... these look great soapbox. can you get fennel at this time of he year?

cd, you may have 3 quails eggs and a cherry tomato on your WW plan!

PPH - I've just checked the website I get my organic veg from and it is in season so you should be able to get it!

pph my dh does an amazing mackeral (or sardine) pasta sauce with fennel, pine nuts etc, sprinkled with golden fried breadcrumbs mixed with chilis and lemon zest, every time he cooks it people swoon incl real proper foodies. Is a great starter, you could do with linguine in little parcels and it can almost all be prepared in advance.

goody.....
so just need to look up nigel, and if I can do the white choc then I will, and if I can't they will have to make do with syllabub. and raspberries in either case

Oh I do love a quails egg. May have to go and buy some. Off salt at the mo so may not bother acutally, I like them positively rolled in salt!

sounds fantasic, but if it involves pasta is not no-last-minute-cooking enough for me. I want a drink before dinner!

wow @ christening menu. I make a great godmother bty

Just in case you didn't have this book - - I think it's Real Food

White Chocolate Cardamom Mousse
Serves 6-8

8 plump green cardamom pods
100ml milk
3 bay leaves
250g white chocolate
300ml double cream
3 free range egg whites
best-quality cocoa powder for dusting
Break the cardamom pods open and extract the seeds. Crush them lightly, then add them to the milk and bay leaves in a small saucepan. Warm the seasoned milk over a moderate heat until it approaches the boil. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a bowl balanced over a pan of gently simmering water. It is best if the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Overheating the chocolate will cause it to go lumpy, so as soon as it starts to melt, turn off the heat but leave the bowl in place.

Whip the cream so that it forms soft mounds rather than peaks. In other words it should not be too stiff. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.

When the chocolate is completely melted, remove from the heat and pour the warm milk on to it through a sieve. Stir the chocolate and milk together till velvety.

Scoop the mixture on to the stiffly beaten egg whites and fold gently together with a large metal spoon (a thick wooden one will knock the air out). Now fold into the softly whipped cream. Scrape into a serving bowl or espresso cups and refrigerate for three or four hours till set. Dust with cocoa or serve with a jug of chocolate sauce.

Look cute served in espresso cups with a langue de chat on the side!

yum bettys

pph that looks wonderful, a great variety of tastes and colours

sorry to be away so long but my real life intervened and Ihad to go and cler up DS1's regurgitated ham and cheese sandwiches

suzy like MY idea i would like to point out to you all

< crows>

pph do you still need ideas, i have a great quick and easy key lime pie receipe, very yummy!

Well Coddy - I have guests coming to stay for the weekend too and guess what I am cooking!!!!

Yes asparagus!!! Plain with lots of dripping butter!!!

Still deciding on main course.

Will do the river cafe lemon tart for desert. Probably with Nigella's slut red rasperry and chardonny jelly!
(They are big pudding fans).

Then a plate of really smelly cheese.

Yum Yum

bettys you are a superstar, I had just logged on to ask you where the recipe was as I've looked in"Appetite" and it isn't there.

Sounds delicious, and pretty easy. I'll give that a go then! One question - when it says "Break the cardamom pods open and extract the seeds. Crush them lightly..." does that mean you are crushing and using the pod part, or the seeds?

suzy, glad you like the christening menu, I'm looking forward to the whole thing enormously. and planning to get nicely tipsy. will everyone pray for sun on sat 8 may, as we are meant to be having this in the garden????? ta

I puzzled over that one too, & ended up just using the inner seed. Bit fiddly to pick out the husk but don't worry too much as once it's infused the milk is poured through a sieve. It really is delicious but quite rich so a coffee cup serving is enough. Looks very pretty sprinkled with cocoa ooooh I need some chocolate now.

yes, I think that must be right. it will be delicious with raspberries, won't it? and my dh will be delighted, the only type of chocolate/pudding he likes is white chocolate. and cheesecake.... thanks!

Raspberries with it sounds gorgeous...you'll have to let us know what the chef thinks.

Haven't read the whole thread so don't know what been suggested. If we have guests a favourite of ours is salmon with lemons cut in half and squeezed over salmon with french beans and pine nuts and plenty of pepper and then just put in the oven for about 20 mins. The beans cook in the juices. Then I just do a suitable sauce to go with it and may be some baby new potatoes. Its no too heavy and leaves enough room for a big pudding.

pph, another white chocolate idea then for your dh (and you of course), maybe not for your party as you seem all sorted now, but here goes: red berries (blueberries, raspberries and strawberries) with a white chocolate sauce (melt 175g Green & Blacks white chocolate with 170ml cream, and pour over berries). Ecstasy. Serves 4. Fight over who can reach bottom of chocolate sauce jug with their tongue.