Party at home

PinkLady001

Hi all,

I was talking with a family member earlier today and we are thinking of having a small party in my house for my Mam's birthday late in Sept.
We were wondering would it be better to do all the food ourselves to save a bit of money, thinking cold meats and salads, few hot things in the oven, or is just not worth the hassle and better to pay for catering?

We don't want to pay a fortune, just want to do something nice for our Mam to mark the occasion, plus our Mam is not into a big fuss.
This is why we are doing something at home and not going out.

This will be my first time to do something like this, probably about 30 or 40 people.

Any suggestions and advice greatly appreciated, as to what is best and ideas for food.

Mods, not sure if this is the right place so please move if not.

Thanks in advance.

rubadub

Curries might be a good bet, many say they improve over a few days after cooking as the meat absorbs the flavour, so no need for a hectic rush on the day. Also you might split cooking across a few houses, have people store the stuff in their fridge and bring it on the day to be reheated.

I think I have seen threads like this before, so somebody might link to a good one.

January

Ye could do stuff like Curry and Lasagne the night before and then just cook rice and wedges, cocktail sausages etc that day.

My aunt had a party in her house last night and done chicken curry, lasagne, chicken goujons, chicken wings, cocktail sausages, wedges and spring rolls. Brilliant spread.

All easily done if it's for a small amount of people. My mum has often done a party of about 60/70 in her own home the night before and day of a party.

January

Ye could do stuff like Curry and Lasagne the night before and then just cook rice and wedges, cocktail sausages etc that day.

My aunt had a party in her house last night and done chicken curry, lasagne, chicken goujons, chicken wings, cocktail sausages, wedges and spring rolls. Brilliant spread.

All easily done if it's for a small amount of people. My mum has often done a party of about 60/70 in her own home the night before and day of a party.

PinkLady001

Thanks for the replies, will defintely consider the curry and lasagne options.
Might be easier to give everyone a hot meal than little bits.

Adrieanne - fair play to your mother for organising parties for that many so quickly! I am having minor panic attacks thinking about 1 for 30 people a few weeks away

rubadub - I will have a look for some other threads so, thanks!

olaola

I find a BBQ an easy way to feed a group of people. Mostly everything is done in advance, and all you have to do is lash it on the BBQ on the day. All depending on the weather of course

MissFlitworth

You can totally do it a bbq is a fab idea. You can also have cocktail sossies, big bowls of salad, platters of cold meats, smoked salmon, a big baked ham, spanish omlette, all that sort of thing.

What also works an absolute treat is roping other people in to make stuff you know they make well. One of my aunts makes the most amazing desserts so at any family parties she brings along trays of goodies, my mam is our family bread queen so that's what she brings. I bring an empty tummy and wine Don't feel like you have to do all the hard stuff yourself, people will be delighted to bring stuff along and feel like they're helping out

Fajitas!

The problem with a BBQ is at least one person is going to be there the whole time until you're sure everyone is fed and happy, so someone's going to have to be willing to give up their night.

My mum's done a lot of catering for large parties, and finds dishes like lamb tagine's, with plenty of couscous great. You can put on a couple of large plates of antipasta misto platter, with veggie and meatie options with some bread for people to pick away at until you're main is ready.

olaola

Fajitas! wrote: »

The problem with a BBQ is at least one person is going to be there the whole time until you're sure everyone is fed and happy, so someone's going to have to be willing to give up their night.

I suppose it depends if you want to spend your time doing this. I don't mind personally, cos you're out with everyone and chatting. I usually cook everything, serve it on platters and let people look after themselves. So I'd say I'm not cooking for more than about 30 mins? I might fire it up later on in the evening for the stragglers, but they will usually look after themselves if you get things going.

ems_12

Hey PinkLady! I had the same problem about a year ago and, with help from boards foodies:p, ended up making a really nice lamb korma: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/591464

Most of the work was done that morning, and then put it in the slow cooker all day. Then I got pre-made samosas/bhajis etc for starter, rice and naan and salad to go with it. I cooked for just under 30 people, but needed 2 slow cookers and still had some more korma in the oven!! :pac:

(the thread is called "easy indian" if you want other ideas)

PinkLady001

Thanks all

you've given me great ideas so think I will go with a curry or bbq and then cold meat and salad too.
My other half will do the bbq if we go with that option, give him time away from all the family members for a while if nothing else
Definitely going to rope other people in. Starting to get into the swing of things now. Priced some cater's (sp) the weekend and just works out better to do it myself.