charity come dine with me - recipe ideas

td

We are doing a "Come dine with me" to raise money for charity (for donkeys in Gambia) and wondered if you could help me with my ideas so far.

Pudding is always easy as I love baking and making sweet stuff - so I thought I'd make banoffee pies or cheesecakes in ramekins.

I was thinking of cooking something inthe slow cooker for the main course and wondered if anyone had a recipe for coq au vin in the slowcooker and what you would serve with it (I was thinking of roast potatoes as I make pretty mean roasties). Or any other ideas for a main course in the slow cooker - I have a few limitations because of guests' taste eg - no red meat, coriander, no sweet and savoury mixed in a course.

I was going to do pate to start but have since found out one of my guests is pregnant so can't do the one I wanted. Thought something fishy.

I'm a great baker but not a great cook - I tend to overcook most things as I'm paranoid about undercooking them.

Now I don't generally drink so my biggest problem is wine - I have absolutely no idea where to start with this and obviously don't want to spend loads of money on it but don't want to look like a cheap stake either. I don't know which wine goes with what food and din't think they'd appreciate my dad's homebrew.
Thanks
Td

shandyclover

I've cooked co au vin in a slow cooker, the family always liked it. http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/eight-hour-coq-au-vin-ghk0907
I don't really drink eitheir so not much help there - though I know white or rose' is supposed to go with chicken.

maman

What wine goes with what doesn't really matter these days but if you're doing chicken and fish then white is perfectly acceptable. People may bring wine. If I were you I would have red and white ( and plenty of water fizzy/tap) on offer and let people choose their preference.

For the starter, an easy option is a bed of mixed leaves with some smoked salmon over the top and a drizzle of vinaigrette. If you wanted to make more work then you could do mini quiches of smoked salmon with some leaves.

As you can't do red meat then stick with your 'chicken casserole' and roasties and maybe something green to go with it. Brocolli is good (tenderstem if you're going posh/can afford it)

This plus one of your HM puddings should be excellent.

td

Thanks for your replies - does anyone have a coq au vin recipe for the slow cooker I've had a search and can't seem to find one.
td

hermum

shandyclover wrote: »

I've cooked co au vin in a slow cooker, the family always liked it. http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/eight-hour-coq-au-vin-ghk0907
I don't really drink eitheir so not much help there - though I know white or rose' is supposed to go with chicken.

The recipe's in the link. Very good it looks too.
I don't drink much either so would suggest making sure that the non drinkers have something nice to drink a non alcoholic punch or something & maybe a boozy one for the others. Makes the wine go further & would probably be cheaper.
Have a great evening.

td

Sorry - I have to fight for a quick glance at my laptop whilst my daughter's climbing all over my head. I'll have a practice of this recipe on my trial run.

td

MrsE_2

I'm hosting the first work CDWM.

A lady who cannot host is going to provide 1 course for each meal she attends & is providing a pudding for mine.

I was thinking of Chicken Maideria for my main

http://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-madeira-79656

& something those goes with Irish brown soda/wheaten rolls for the starter - perhaps smoked fish or seafood, any suggestions for a simple yet WOW dish?

Any other tips?

Pink.

If you are planning on Irish wheaten bread then it will go very well with finely sliced smoked salmon or a smoked fish pate eg mackeral or salmon served with a small salad, hm dressing and wedges of lemon. Irish wheaten also always goes down well with with soup...if you have fish in mind what about a chowder? If you want my foolproof recipe for wheaten bread let me know and I'll post it for you.

Once you've made a final decision on your menu you'll need to chat with the lady who is providing pudding to check that what she is making will suit the rest of the meal....eg if the meal is quite heavy you'll want a light pudding and vice versa.

These existing threads may give you some ideas:

charitycome dine with me - recipe ideas

Starters

Dinner Party ideas?!

Once you've had more suggestions I'll add your thread to the first link to keep the ideas together.

Pink

minimacka

My husband got down to the last 5 in a CDWM interview they even filmed out house, in the end he didnt get in and to be honest when we watched the programme we were really pleased that he didnt get in but his menu would of been a starter of fish and chips made with tiny matchstick chips and a couple of chicken nuggett size fish on a spoonfull of mushy peas, the main was a lamb tagine, roast potatoes and roasted veg because its easy to do and you just put it all in the oven and for pudding it was a tart autan? sp unside down apple tart with icecream lol

Before we knew he didnt get in he practiced it on us and it was lovely.

x

MrsE_2

Pink-winged wrote: »

If you are planning on Irish wheaten bread then it will go very well with finely sliced smoked salmon or a smoked fish pate eg mackeral or salmon served with a small salad, hm dressing and wedges of lemon. Irish wheaten also always goes down well with with soup...if you have fish in mind what about a chowder? If you want my foolproof recipe for wheaten bread let me know and I'll post it for you.

I think I use you bread recipe, is that the one with bran & wheatgerm?

I was thinking of a smoked fish pate, I watched an old Delia where she did a smoked fish soufle (sp?).

I don't like chowder, my other thought was soup. Maybe something with Stilton.

Pink.

MrsE wrote: »

I think I use you bread recipe, is that the one with bran & wheatgerm?

I was thinking of a smoked fish pate, I watched an old Delia where she did a smoked fish soufle (sp?).

I don't like chowder, my other thought was soup. Maybe something with Stilton.

Yes that's the one I bake.

This is how I make smoked fish pate...

Blend some smoked fish (normally I use mackeral or salmon) with Philadelphia or own brand creamed cheese and lemon juice until you get the consistency you want. Add black pepper, taste and add more pepper or lemon juice if required. It's that simple and it's delicious with wheaten bread.

This is how I make broccoli and stilton soup:

Sweat a diced potato and a chopped onion in butter and oil for about 20 minutes. Add broccoli (florets, sliced stalk and all!) Top up with a mix of stock and milk to cover veg. Simmer gently until all veg is cooked. Add as much stilton as you like...my lot don't like too much. Blend with a hand blender. Add more milk if it's too thick. Season to taste and serve with a swirl of cream.

Try these threads for more stilton soup recipes:

broccoli and stilton soup

what can i make with stilton??

Pink