Dinner Party ideas?!

Lunar_Eclipse

What would you do with the bulgar wheat?

(I need to go out now but will pop back later.)

floss2

I often do mashed carrot & parsnips with lamb shanks or beef casserole, along with green beans or broccoli - would be good with a veggie dish too.

Lunar_Eclipse

floss2 wrote: »

I often do mashed carrot & parsnips with lamb shanks or beef casserole, along with green beans or broccoli - would be good with a veggie dish too.

Do you do a carbohydrate rice/potatoes type dish as well, or just the mashed and green vegetables.

Sounds lovely.

meanmarie

If you don't eat lamb why are you even considering it....what would you eat ....make life easy for yourself and have the beef with roast or hasselback potatoes, green beans, mashed carrots and parsnips and nice onion gravy. I would be very embarrassed if my hostess cooked something that she did not eat just for me...

But I could be wrong....has happened before

Marie

gingin_2

Oh.... I love feta with lamb, I thought that was very traditionally Greek? I love lamb shanks but I know some people fid them a little overwhelming in size and the bone can be a little off putting to some.

I love dauphinoise potatoes for a dinner party, they would go nice with the ale and can be prepped and popped in the oven later.

For dessert, heart shaped pannacotta's? You could even crystallise some rose petals.

kunekune

I'd serve both of these with mash. Maybe enriched by having parsnip or celeriac in them? Plenty of cream. If you don't want a last minute rush, make the mash in advance, and then put it in the oven with a parmesan topping to warm up and go crispy just before meal time. Then a green veg - there's only one last minute bit then, so it's all quite easy.

For pudding, last time we had people over I did lemon tarts with crushed raspberries - you could do icing sugar in a heart shape. Or how about a syllabub or mouse with heart-shaped biscuits on the side?

rachbc

nigella has a lovely recipe were you crumble feta over a lamb casserole - gorgeous and the sharpness cuts throug hte sweet fattiness of the lamb so I think that cous cous would be perfect

kunekune

Oops. Mousse not mouse.
If I was serving mouse, I think it would be as a starter or possibly pre-dinner nibbles. Far too small for a main and obviously a savoury not a sweet course.

Lunar_Eclipse

meanmarie wrote: »

If you don't eat lamb why are you even considering it....what would you eat ....make life easy for yourself and have the beef with roast or hasselback potatoes, green beans, mashed carrots and parsnips and nice onion gravy. I would be very embarrassed if my hostess cooked something that she did not eat just for me...

But I could be wrong....has happened before

Marie

Well I'm mainly vegetarian, but since the rest of my family eat meat and thus I'm used to cooking it, I'd never serve a purely veggie meal for a dinner party. I know that sadly, most meat eaters would not appreciate it in the slightest, my own usually lovely and reasonable husband included.

I do eat chicken occasionally, but rather fancy doing something new and I thought either of those two dishes would go down extremely well with the people we're having over. Actually I think that's part of being a good hostess and we're not the sort of people who can do anything but informal, relaxed entertaining so it shouldn't make anyone feel uncomfortable. With the amount of wine my friends drink, they probably won't even notice! I might also have another vegetarian person at the meal, in which case I will simply make a veggie chilli or something that we can eat with the rest of the meal, no big deal (hopefully.)

It's really sweet that you think like this, but I can tell you that sadly it's rare, especially amongst men. I don't mind cooking something else and whilst our friends are coming to spend time with us and not really for the food, I don't want to be known as the person that serves everyone vegetarian meals. Most meat eaters (that I have met anyhow) would be seriously unimpressed. It's just the way it is; I'm not going to fight against people's unreasonable beliefs!:rotfl:

Lastly, I am married and will therefore be one of two hosts, one of whom will be eating the carnivore option.:D

Would that make you feel less uncomfortable?

tandraig

if my host was vegetarian - i would expect a vege meal. if however my hosts were one vege one carnivore - would expect an option!
the one thing that would make me uncomfortable was if a host wasnt eating their own meal! dont worry too much about accompaniments to the main event - serve what you like!
personally i would serve mash with beef and lamb! or rosti or roasties! as long as it tastes nice and the company is good.......as a guest I would be happy!