21 replies to this topic

[Major Floor]

Hi All,

Every year I partake in an event where 50 of us or so rotate in groups of 6 around other peoples houses for different courses of a meal then meet up for a party at the end of it all. As part of this I need to host a course for the meal, a starter or apertizer.

I'm struggling for ideas, the people coming to my house (I've no idea who they are that's part of the mystery!) have some dietry requirements including :-

• No Melon
• No Lamb
• No Mushrooms

So anyone got any awesome ideas? I'm not a terrible cook but I'll most likely need to find a recipe for whatever it is.

Thanks!

[Lady Dhalia]

Wow.. Dude this sound like so much fun! I'm blank with ideas now but will chip in if I have any..

[Dibbles]

Swingers club eh? Definitely Oysters How about Melon & Mushroom Lamb stew? 1. Smoked Salmon Paté with Melba toast 2. For the hardcore veggies/those still not clued up that its a starter and you shouldnt stuff yourself, you could do heaps of Humous/Tzatziki with bread sticks/chopped carrot/celery to dip with. or Some kind of soup if you are poor, you can pretty much pick any root vegetables, blend & add seasoning and call it 'Major's Massively Multiplayer Soup' Beauty of both is you can make them in advance

[ChildofDestruction]

Beef Stragonof is a nice and easy main course; Beef + Onions + mushroom with creem. I sometimes make is a fussion and add colerfull peppers for fun. Do you want the recipient ?

[Dibbles]

As part of this I need to host a course for the meal, a starter or apertizer.

Beef Stragonof is a nice and easy main course

[keacte]

Tapas or meze. That is all.

[ChildofDestruction]

Tapas or meze. That is all.

Hey I am Turkish,we are the masters of Meze

[Deran]

There's a great recipe for Chicken with forty cloves of garlic. Dead easy to make, very little effort and very surprising for folks that have never had it. There's a reference to it at the Grauniad website

[Othran]

Chicken Tikka? (NB not tikka masala) That rocks as a starter with some nice crisp salad. I have a great recipe for it (in fact I'm about to start marinating some now) but I dunno where you live, you might find some of the ingredients hard to source.

[Mujen]

Possible appetizers- a nice Brie covered with Fig spread w/ crackers. "Devils on horseback" Bacon wrapped cheese stuffed dates/or prunes popped into the oven. Man those are good. Personally I like the dates. http://www.marthaste...ls-on-horseback

[Granger]

+1174 to devils on horseback, I like dates, Stilton, and bacon as per linked recipe

[Major Floor]

Some awesome suggestions, thanks! I'll run them by the wife and see what she fancies!

[roigon]

there's an app website for that http://whatthefucksh...efordinner.com/

[Billy Colorado]

I love the site linked above. Though I've never made anything I find on it, it's way good for a laugh. Bacon around figs! That sounds like bomb sauce. I've always been a fan of taking a few kinds of cheese, chopping them up and comingling on a dish in pretty fashion, and then marinating it in balsamic vinegar. Way good starter.

[glepp]

I'm quite fond of duck myself... can get you a killer recipe for roast breast of duck with some decent stuff on the side.

[Draelor]

Along Glepp's idea, I'd suggest duck and ginger sausage. Absolutely killer stuff.

[Agent302]

try this for an appetizer:

chocolate bruschetta

[Kerzack]

Menu 1 - all prepared the day in advance. Simply bake and heat up some broth / oil and serve. starter: No-knead bread with hot spinach and artichoke dip. (both baked in oven at same temperature and served warm, so no need to be exactly precise with dinner timings, ie. late arriving guests etc.) main: Classic fondue - basically thinly sliced meats with a couple of sauces and sides of cheese / fruit and what ever else floats your boat. You can do an oil based one for the full on flavour or a broth based one for a bit of a lighter meal. Most meats will be available in the local deli or freezer section of your grocery store. Menu 2 - all cooked the day before and then 'assembled' and heated before serving. starter: South western taco salad with salsa and sour cream. Cook off some ground beef with taco seasoning the day before. Chop up some salad greens any 2 types, green onions, and tomatoes the day before. Shred some chedder / jack cheese or buy a package (usually they are shit so shred your own). Get some darn tasty corn tortilla chips preferably different colours ie. blue corn / yellow corn and white (un-flavoured of course). On serving day put greens on plate, surround with a some chips in a nice pattern 3 groups of 3 different colours is nice. Sprinkle with some cheese then onions and tomatoes. Once all plates are done microwave the ground beef mixture not screaming hot just warm enough to take the chill off. Then top each salad with a portion of the beef and a bit of cheese - serve with a couple of dressings that sound 'tex-mex' and salsa and sour cream. Little work but pretty snazzy presentation. main: Chicken Santa-Fe, Day or 2 before get some chicken breasts cook them with just some salt and pepper (350 oven for about 15-20 minutes use a thermometer... pull at ~140 - cook extra for that days meal ... do not over cook! Just barely cook them thru. Saute some red onions lightly - just until wilted. Make some rice, rice pilaf is really easy to make in the oven same temperature as you need for the chicken - use alton browns receipe here http://www.foodnetwo...cipe/index.html remember this is at least 2 days before. Cook some bacon and when cool slice into thin strips - about 1 piece per chicken portion. Everything keeps well in the fridge. Day of - boil a big pot of water for your veggies a nice frozen mix is great... you will cook the veggies last! Preheat oven before guests arrive about 350 is fine... take chicken breasts out and put on a sheet tray or two about an inch appart. Place a tbs of BBQ sauce on each, then some fried onions and bacon... top with cheese mozza is nice but a mix of chedder and jack is better. Put rice in a bowl and get ready to micro wave it ... put chicken in oven - once the cheese is melted and bubbly ~ 10 minutes it is good to go (its all cooked already remember?) Nuke rice... not too much just until hot. Drop the veggie mix into the water set a timer! 3-6 minutes max depending on type read the label. Start plating chicken and rice pilaf - you'll probably finish just as the veggies are done ... drain veggies and toss with butter, add to plate and start serving. Anyway if you want / need more help / ideas or clarification just ask. (I'm a Mr. Mom to a Mrs. Senior Officer in the Army so "We" entertain guests quite often) Hopefully it gets you on the right path.

[Othran]

Kerzack's stuff sounds OK provided its not "American" cheese. I dunno how the hell you guys manage it but with very few (usually ethnic and regional rather than national) exceptions you turn milk into homogenous plastic orange/white crap. You are where the UK was 40 years ago and its not a good place.

A good tip for rice is that you can cook it off (boil it) hours before you need it, just cool it down with tapwater as fast as possible once its ready, you need to stop it cooking.

When you need to use it then if you want it hot then boil a kettle and pour that through the rice.

Another tip at this point is keep some back cold for salads etc - you can give it a quick blip in the microwave with fresh herbs etc to get it warm, not hot, gets the herbs going.

Microwaves are generally bad news for cooking rice unless you're careful/practiced because they tend to pop the rice from the inside out which can leave you with mush. They are very good at reheating rice though - even multiple times in an evening (think long summer nights and BBQs).

[Kerzack]

very true about the cheese - i'm Canadian so no worries here eh?! not sure where Floor is from though....

[Max Torps]

It sounds like you need a simple dish with a dash of perceived difficulty. Potato and leek soup (tinned) with added real leek (sliced and shallow fry in butter until softened) to give it that authentic home cooked feel. Add a vegetable stock cube for zing. The Chicken Santa Fe is a good one. But you could also go for Chocolate Chili Con Carne served on a bed of wild rice with any reasonable garlic bread available. Either make Chili Con Carne yourself or buy the tinned variety. For every 150g of actual chili con carne add 25g (or to taste) of dark chocolate (finely chopped) and melt in. Serve over the bed of wild rice and lightly sprinkle with grated Red Leicester and Cheddar cheese (or local red and yellow mild equivalent) with sliced garlic bread/pizza to hand. Eton Mess There's tons of ways to do this and none are wrong. It might be out of season for strawberries but tinned can work well if prepared right. If using tinned, strain and rinse under cold water to rid them of syrup. Grab some (6 nests) meringue casings and break them into bits about an inch square big, roughly and loosely mix with a punnet of chopped fresh strawberries or a prepared tin of strawberries and smother with cream. Serve coffee. Job done.

[Kerzack]

give us FW's an update!