'Easy but impressive' - Buffet/Party food

ChilliBob

We would love the Gravadlax, our guests less so unfortunately! We eat almost everything (well, except for upfs which we try to avoid, tricky though it is!?. Our family, hmm, we need to cater for a mix of non fish eaters, vegetarians and a gluten free! We've gotten quite used to it though!

I don't often go for typical 'birthday' cake either tbh, cheesecake fairly often, or cakes with greek yogurt, almonds etc. 

Slight aside, I made some hassle back potatoes a couple of days ago, they looked decent and weren't too much work, I may roll those out 

Brie

Quite agree with the Gravadlax - both that it's wonderful and that guest may not appreciate it.  I made a side of "Gravad" for a party when I was meeting my brother's first wife's family.  No one had mentioned that a lot of them were salmon fishers and wouldn't touch a raw salmon with a 10 foot pole.  Oh well, more for me.  

Easy dessert - Hello Dollies.  (no idea why they're called that)  And apologies again for the foreign ingredients and measurements.  c = cup or 250 ml

Hello Dollies

2 c graham crumbs  (digestives)

¼ c white sugar

½ c melted butter.  (115g)

Mix and press into a square cake pan.

Sprinkle on top in this order:

First 1 c shredded coconut (the stuff sold in the baking section

Second 1 c chocolate chips

Third 1 c chopped nuts (walnut or pecan are best)

Then drizzle 1 can of sweetened condensed milk over the top

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes at 325f.  (about 145celsius)

Exceedingly rich so cut into very small squares before they are completely cooled (merely a bit warm).  But don't worry about if you are on a diet because if you cut them at least 12 hours before they are served all of the calories will leak out.  When completely cool store in a sealed container, can be frozen and thawed before serving.  (but I've never known any to make it to the freezer frankly....)

Rosa_Damascena

I'd forgotten how delicious a nice potato salad can be until I ate some with a load of salad leaves the other day. So simple and such a crowd pleaser too! No one goes home hungry if there is enough potato salad on their plate!