For a gang of 8 or 9. I'd like something I can pre-prepare, not too complex and just warm up in a massive pot or bake in the oven so I'm not stuck in the kitchen. Includes some part-time vegetarians but they will eat fish. In the past I've done sausage casserole, (with veggie sausages included) fish stew and fish pie. Lasagna has been done recently for largely the same gang so I'd like to avoid that too.
Inspire me with something impressive in it's volume and simplicity. Ta.
How wide is your oven?
Did a massive salmon, baked/steamed with butter herbs and some white wine served with salad fresh veg and a few other things dead easy but for that many it was longer then the double oven 😉
Good old fashioned hot pot. Or curry. Thats what my dad does when the family descends, a hot pot and curry. Make it up first thing and let it simmer away in a slow cooker for as long as you need to - the longer the better. Just before people are ready to arrive or eat, cook up some rice, put out some pickles. Delicious, can't go wrong.
chicken wings 45 mins in the oven, bbq rub or nandos style peri peri etc served with chips
various pizzas salad and bread
+1 for a whole salmon. Hire a fish kettle and do it in that. Takes no time, very easy, looks impressive.
Or a fish pie
Or a humongous lobster
Or an octopus and potato salad
Or a squid stew
Or a fish tagine
All much easier than they sound
Basically just put a chicken breast and handfull of veggies for each person in a big baking tray and bung it in the oven. I like chicken breast or thighs cut into large pieces and placed on top of sweet potato chunks, broccoli florets, quartered red onions and garlic cloves. Just drizzle over olive oil some dried thyme, pinch of dried rosemary some chilli flakes and paprika and put into 190c oven for 30mins or so.
Chicken breast, sliced carrots and courgettes on the diagonal and parboiled whole new potatoes also works.
Giant Toad-in-the-Holes & winter veg.
Use plenty of eggs, as per the BBC good food recipe. Make the mix up a few hours before.
Big old Cumberland sausages, not puny weeny chipoloatas. Chuck the sausages in a pan for 20 mins, pour in the mix & back in for 25 mins.
For veg, chop up a pile of Butternut Squash, Sweet potatoes & Parsnips, toss in a bit of oil, season with salt & pepper & into the oven.
Wash down with a decent ale.
If anyone asks for Leffe, make them wash up.
Chicken chorizo and chickpeas.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.com/food/recipes/chorizochickenandchi_87895/amp
Very simple. Very tasty. I normally just serve with bread and butter.
Or super slow cooked pulled pork. With coleslaw. Did this last new year for about 20 people, cooked the pork for about 18 hours on 100 degrees, can’t go wrong - google ‘Nigella’s pulled pork’
Go Indian. Fish curry. Vegetable curry. Many dahls. Many naan breads.
Or Look at Ottolenghi.
Or go Italian.
Look up ottolenghi’s chicken and dates recipe- a nice prepare in advance and bung in the oven number. I cook the regular version and a veggie one that I swap the chicken for haloumi and mushrooms. Chuck roast pots in the oven at the same time
Thanks gents. Think the salmon is winning at the moment, unless anyone can recommend where I might get sufficient quantities of vegetarian chickens before the 27th? 🤣
T’is the season to be jolly, so replace the Chicken with Turkey.. or Pork even.
Look up ottolenghi’s chicken and dates recipe- a nice prepare in advance and bung in the oven number.
You misunderstood my point Bikebouy, as much as I like some of the suggested chicken/meat meals, I've got 3 non-meat eaters and I'm not keen on making multiple things.
Now thinking veggie stew with dumplings. And roast potatoes. Plenty of those.
Think the salmon is winning at the moment, unless anyone can recommend where I might get sufficient quantities of vegetarian chickens before the 27th?
I just tell them it's Quorn.
Now thinking veggie stew with dumplings.
Veggie stew is an insult to meat eating guests. So unfulfilling, a huge let down.
In the past I’ve done sausage casserole, (with veggie sausages included)
how exactly do you tell the difference come time to serve ? and how can a veggie eat a sauce cooked with leached pork fat ?
and how can a veggie eat a sauce cooked with leached pork fat ?
Probably the same way they eat fish, being part-time and all..
buy 3kg of beef shin for about 18 quid. Usual stuff with onions, carrots etc. Cover it with stock or stout
cook it at 120c for 6 hours, then 200c for an hour (that last bit really breaks down the collagen)
you'll have the thickest, warmest stew. Serve with mash. Everyone's a winner
it is slow. But it is so worth it
EDIT; scrub all that. Just read the veggie bit. Um, Jacket potatoes and cheese?
scrub all that. Just read the veggie bit. Um, Jacket potatoes and cheese?
Posted 2 minutes ago
yeah we're going as long as they don't have to pick it "off the bone" the your good to go.
Fajitas
Cook the meat separately.
chicken wings
Tell the veggies it's fish legs.
and how can a veggie eat a sauce cooked with leached pork fat ?
Normally rene59 has it, the two that live here permanently just don't like meat, but don't mind me cooking Quorn stuff in with meat. It makes cooking much less awkward. Easy to tell the difference between a proper banger and fermented fungi mould replacement. 🤮
Veggie stew is an insult to meat eating guests. So unfulfilling, a huge let down.
It's only my dad and Our Ed. As long as there's plenty of wine and beer, we're golden. 👍
FajitasCook the meat separately.
+1
Took the words right out of my interweb mouth... When were you kissing me? 😮
Tartiflette
Nothing wrong with veggie food. I’m making the pie on this page for my lot on Boxing Day and it is effing lovely.
But I don’t understand the ‘veggie but I eat fish’ stance
SWMBO and No.1 just don't like meat, it's not an ethical thing. I reckon it's the texture rather than taste.
Cupasoup.
You can get big multi packs and many options for the veggies amongst your guests.
Good value and everyone likes a cupasoup.
Llama, I had a look at that pie recipe, that looks lush.
One of the guests is a student, so would be well happy with cup-a-soup. 🤣
3 bean chilli is very easy to cook and scales up nicely for bigger groups. Serve with guacamole, nachos, melt some cheese over it etc.
Good value and everyone likes a cupasoup.
You could put Slade's "Merry Christmas" while you eat it.
Well if you need to cater for veggies then curry has to win. Easy to make any current dish veggie and meat eaters don’t mind a veggie curry too and easy to bung in a slow cooker or low temp oven so just about as hassle free as you can get.
How about sausage casserole using Vege sausages ? We'll bring wine
Huge risotto or paella?
That Spanish fish stew thing that I can't remember the name of? Uses saffron though, mmmmm!
2 KFC family buckets. 3 if you are greedy. Coleslaw and chips for the veggies