'Easy but impressive' - Buffet/Party food

ChilliBob

maryb said:

Mary Berry does a lovely marinaded chicken dish with lemon juice, garlic, honey, parsley and paprika.  Cut chicken breasts into thirds, marinate in the mixture for anything from a hour to overnight,then cook in the oven for 20 minutes.  It comes out a lovely colour but not too spicy.  I serve it with potato salad so there is some sauce plus a green salad which makes it look very colourful and tasty

Another thing I do is mix pesto with mayonnaise as a sauce for salmon.  The pale green looks very pretty over the salmon

Nice that sounds tasty. Suspicious though, somebody called Mary B is biging up a Mary Bery recipe.. Come on, it's the real Mary Bery isn't it? How exciting! 

maryb

😂. I do get comments about how appropriate it is that I use quite a lot of her books.  But at heart I’m a Delia fan.  No buffet in our house is complete without her sausage rolls

Katiehound

Waldorf salad

sultanas, apple & salted peanut salad (similar to above- but a cheaper option)

Spiced red cabbage as a side- Delia's recipe. Delicious cold with cold meats (or anything!)

ChilliBob

maryb said:

😂. I do get comments about how appropriate it is that I use quite a lot of her books.  But at heart I’m a Delia fan.  No buffet in our house is complete without her sausage rolls

I think that's where I read about sausage rolls to be honest. Now I free form and use whatever, chorizo, blue cheese, cranberry, different seeds etc. I think to be honest in just a pastry fiend, anything in pastry catches my eye, unfortunately! 

ChilliBob

Katiehound said:

Waldorf salad

sultanas, apple & salted peanut salad (similar to above- but a cheaper option)

Spiced red cabbage as a side- Delia's recipe. Delicious cold with cold meats (or anything!)

They both sound great! Cheers 

bouicca21

Mini blinis with cream cheese and fake caviar
Plus one for sausage rolls (I buy high quality sausage meat, and use ready made puff pastry; amazing how many compliments i get for something so easy)
Mini (sausage roll sized) spanakopitas
hummus
baba ganoush

tiramisu

MrsStepford

Tabbouleh
Ratatouille
Confit bayaldi
Samosas
Vichyssoise
Gazpacho
Tarte Tatin
Baked Alaska
Prosciutto-wrapped chicken drumsticks etc

Nelliegrace

I miss the quail, a few bowls of their pretty, hard boiled eggs went well at buffets.
A friend would have a dozen or so for dainty Scotch eggs. 

PipneyJane

ChilliBob said:

Brambling said:

If you want another dessert this is always popular and really quick and easy to make I swap the digestive biscuit for ginger snaps and it works with lemons instead of limes 

https://www.carnation.co.uk/recipes/key-lime-pie-recipe

Banofee pie is another one which goes down well, using the tinned caramel rather than making your own.

strawberries and marshmallows dipped in chocolate 

smoke salmon blinis
pizzas or quesadillas 
tabbouleh salad 
bruschetta with various toppings
small savoury scones ie cheese, cheese and chive, bacon etc
whipped feta dip
some nice bread like focaccia  

Cheers! I can see the banoffee going down well, with some clotted cream!

Whipped feta I'll look into my wife, and bizarrely my nearly 2 year old daughter, love feta!

Brie - those muffins sound well nice, what's cornmeal thougu? Can't say I've come across they before

Hi @ChilliBob.  I’m not @Brie, but I can answer your question.  Cornmeal is ground, dried corn and is readily available in 2kg bags in the ethnic aisles in Tesc0 or Sainsbug’s.  In Italian cooking, cornmeal is used to make polenta, so the expensive version is sold in a small box near the pasta.  There are two grades:  fine and coarse.  I’d use fine for the muffins.

To answer your original question, here are my suggestions:

1. Chicken drumsticks, which can be roasted en-mass in the oven and then chilled.  Marinate if you want.  To ensure a good, crisp finish, make sure there’s at least an inch between each drumstick while roasting.
2. Cheese and Ham Quinoa Bites from Eat Well For Less. This is an easy recipe to vary. I’ve made them using tinned tuna instead of the ham; ditto smoked mackerel; ditto cooking bacon; and left out the tomatoes.
3. Pasta salad.  Cook one of the smaller pasta shapes.  Once cooked, drain, then toss with a couple of tablespoons of oil, before allowing to cool.  (The oil stops the pasta sticking.). Add chopped spring onions, slices of red pepper, a drained tin of sweetcorn and a couple of tins of tuna or salmon (boned first), before stirring through your favourite brand of mayonnaise.
4. If you have a slow cooker, how about making a large pot of chilli?  Just double or triple up most of the quantities of your favourite recipe, combine the raw ingredients in the slow cooke with half the amount of liquid that you’d normally use, then cook for 10-12 hours on low.  Serve with bread rolls.

HTH

- Pip

CapricornLass

Cheese straws?

I have a friend who uses the cheese straw recipe with double the amount of cheese and makes small savoury biscuits with them - they're good too.  She makes it with gluten free flour just for me, but every one else tucks into them....

If you are confident about deep-fat frying, then home made pakoras, onion bhajis and samosas are very good.  Or courgette fritters?  If you look at the Hairy Bikers Mums know best books, there is a courgette fritter which has an Asian twist, and be frozen and heated through on the day.  Spanish tortillas/ Iranian kuku are both based on potato and egg, and both are good for a buffet.  

Puddings - pavlovas and meringues.  If there are very young children present, then you will be judged the host(ess) with the most if you have jelly and ice-cream!