'Bring a plate" suggestions required - Help.

Please help, I have a function to go to tomorrow evening and we are to bring a plate to have with a BBQ. I cannot think of anything simple that will look like I put in some effort. Any ideas?

Stuffed hard boiled eggs are always easy. Asparagus rolls? Cheese and grapes? A vegetable dip?

Homemade focaccia bread - easy if you have a breadmaker
Rice Salad, Pasta Salad, Potato Salad

fee65, am I right in assuming that the plate does not have to be fingerfood? If that is the case, how about this? - it's both easy and quick to make.

Alison Holst's TOMATO AND GARLIC PASTA SALAD
Dressing:
1 cup (250g) bottled or canned Garlic Pasta sauce
¼-½ cup olive oil
1 tbsp wine vinegar
1 tsp each ofsugarandground cumin
½ tsp each ofsaltandcrumbled dried oregano

Mix all the ingredients in a food processor, or shake together in a screw-topped jar.

250g tortellini, spirals or other pasta shapes
2 spring onions, white and green parts thinly sliced
any or all of the following:-
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley;1 stalk celery, thinly sliced;¼-½ unpeeled, thin-skinned cucumber, cubed;drained whole kernel corn

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling, lightly salted water, with a tablespoon of added oil, then drain it thoroughly. Take care not to under-cook or over-cook the pasta.
Stir about three-quarters of the dressing gently into the hot, drained pasta and leave to stand for at least 15 minutes (“I find it convenient to put the pasta and dressing in an unpunctured oven bag to mix and store it. ” – A. Holst)
Refrigerate the salad until required for serving, then just before serving stir in the spring onions and any of the optional extra parsley and vegetables. Add a little of the remaining dressing if the salad needs it.

Hope that helps. :-))

Antipasto (i)
cheeses, mussels, smoked salmon, ham, salami, olives, pickled mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, artichokes, dips, breads/crackers.
Have a look through the deli at the supermarket and pick out a few yummy things and bung em on a plate! Breads can go along side in a baskset or bowl.

Make dessert kebabs mmmmmmmmmmm

Thank you so much everyone, some awesome suggestions. Keep them coming.

Guocomale and corn chips. Babaganoush and pita bread wedges. Melon slices.

You can't go wrong with a packet of toffee pops! !

bacon cob loaf.
250g cream cheese 1 cup cream 1 250gr pack bacon cooked and diced. finely chopped onion and a cob loaf. Mix ingredients together, Hollow cob loaf add ingredients to loaf cook in mod oven for 45 mins. ( the bread you take out to make the hollow can be cut into dipping size pieces and arranged around the tray with the cob loaf lightly brown these in the oven near the end of the cob loaf cooking)

CHEESE AND BACON FLAN

1 Cup Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
50g Butter
3 tbsp water

1. Put flour into medium bowl. Add salt. Rub in butter. Add water to
make a stiff dough. Line a greased flan tin.

FILLING

1x bacon
1/2 Cup Cheese
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon Milk
1/4 teaspoon Salt

1. Cut up bacon, put on pastry.
2. Add grated cheese.
3. Beat eggs, salt & milk. Pour over bacon and cheese.
4. Bake until set.

can also add semi cooked broccoli, courgettes, and grated carrot.

Cobb Loaf
2x cream cheese, 3/4 sweet corn relish, handful ham, handful sliced spring onions, squeeze of mayo, shake of garlic salt. MIX the above, scoop the insides out of a cobb loaf (or similar bread). Fill with the mixture, wrap in tin foil and bake at 180 for about 50 mins. Serve with the bread, snax/rice crackers and/or celery and carrot sticks.

OR THIS...

hot spinach and cream cheese dip in a hollow bread

1 carton cream cheese, 1 cup mayonaise, 1 cup grated tasty cheese, 1 chopped onion, few fresh spinach leaves chopped finely, salt and pepper - I mix it together in a pot over a low heat tll combined, Hollow out loaf (cut top off first to make a lid). Fill with cheese mix, put lid on top and wrap in foil. Cook for about 1 - 1 1/2 hrs! Stir once or twice through cooking. You can use crackers/chips to dip or bake insides of bread in oven for a bout 10 mins

Grasshopper Pie

Preparation time:
40 mins

Cooking time:
25 mins

Serves:
8

Don't let the name fool you, this is one delicious pie.
Ingredients

* Melted butter, for greasing
* 250g packet plain chocolate-flavoured biscuits
* 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
* 180g unsalted butter, melted, cooled
* 1 cup milk
* 1/2 bunch mint
* few drops peppermint essence
* 3 egg yolks
* 1/2 cup caster sugar
* 1 tsp cornflour
* 1/4 cup cold water
* 1 Tbsp gelatine
* 1/4 cup crème de menthe
* 300ml thickened cream
* Extra cream, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Brush a 20cm round springform tin with melted butter and line the base with baking paper. Process biscuits in a food processor until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a large bowl. Add coconut and butter and stir until well combined. Spoon biscuit mixture into prepared tin. Use a straight-sided sturdy glass to press biscuit mixture evenly up the sides and across the base of tin. Put biscuit-lined tin in freezer for 10 minutes.

2. Combine milk and mint in a medium heavy-based pan and put over a low heat for 3-4 minutes or until small bubbles form around the edge. Remove pan from heat and stand to cool. Strain milk through a fine sieve and discard mint. Whisk egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl. Slowly add mint-infused milk to egg-yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return custard to pan and stir, constantly, on a medium heat until it thickens. Remove from heat and cover top of custard with plastic wrap, to prevent a skin forming.

3. Pour water into a jug, sprinkle with gelatine and whisk with a fork to combine. Stand gelatine for 5 minutes, to allow it to soften and swell. Microwave gelatine mixture on HIGH/100% for

30-40 seconds or until gelatine has dissolved. Allow to cool slightly. Add gelatine mixture and crème de menthe to custard. Stir until well combined.

4. Pour custard into a large mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until mixture is cold and starts to thicken, but not set. Using an electric hand beater, beat cream until soft

peaks form. Add cream to cold custard and fold in using a large metal spoon. Spoon custard mixture into prepared biscuit shell and refrigerate pie for 2-3 hours to set. Serve Grasshopper pie with extra cream, if desired.

Kumara

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 a pack of Mesclun with Herbs baby salad greens (pre-washed)

100g of Gouda cheese cut into tiny cubes

1 punnet of cherry tomaotes cut into quarters

2 medium sized potatos cut into cubes

1 medium sized kumera cut into cubes

6 slices of cucumber cut into cubes

3 slices of wholemeal bread cut into cubes

a couple of sprinkles of lemon pepper

2 tsp of Weight Watchers marg

Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1 . Chuck potato and kumera into a microwave safe bowl, add marg, lemon pepper, salt & pepper and cook for 2mins. Check it & stir then microwave for a futher 2mins. Check it again & stir then microwave for a futher 1-2mins if needed (times may vary according to your microwave)... Put in fridge to cool down.

2. Chuck Mesclun, Gouda, Tomatoes & Cucumber into a decent sized bowl and toss.

3. Toast the bread in the oven to make croutons... leave to cool when done

4. Add Potato and Kumera to the salad bowl & toss

5. Add croutons to salad & toss

Kumara Sweet Potatoe Salad Recipe

Ingredients

* 3 Medium kumara(sweet potatoe)
* 4 spring onions
* 2 bananas
* 1/4 c lemon juice
* 1/2 c low fat sour cream
* 1/4 c mayonnaise
* 1 tsp curry powder
* pinch of salt
* pinch of Black pepper
* 1 Tblspn sesame seeds

Directions

1. Cut peeled kumara into pieces and cook in boiling salted water til tender
2. Drain and cool
3. Slice spring onions into diagonal 1cm pieces.
4. Cut bananas into roughly 5mm pieces
5. Place in bowl and pour in lemon juice and mix to coat
6. Cut cold kumara into cubes
7. Mix kumara, spring onions and bananas together
8. Mix sour cream, mayo, curry, salt and pepper together
9. Carefully mix through the kumara mixture
10. Place in serving bowl and garnish with sesame seeds

Banana and kumara salad

2 kumara (about 450g)
2 just ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
1 cup chopped pineapple (fresh or tinned)
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
4 spring onions, sliced
1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
Banana and Kumara Salad.

Scrub the kumara but do not peel. Cut into large chunks and boil or steam until cooked but still firm. Drain, cool and cut into bite-sized chunks. Place with the banana, pineapple, red pepper, spring onion and mint in a bowl. Pour the dressing over and mix well and serve. Delicious served with barbequed fish or chicken. Serves 8 as a side salad.

Rice Stuffed
Silverbeet Leaves

Ingredients:
Big bunch of silverbeet
(preferably about 12 leaves)
1 onion, finely chopped
2 heaped Tbls of peanut butter
¼ tsp cumin seeds
1 cup rice
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 Tbls dried oregano
½ cup grated cheese (optional)
2 Tbls oil
Salt and pepper
Method:
Lightly fry the onion and cumin seeds in oil, add the
rice, fry briefly then add 2 ½ cups water and ½ a
tsp salt. Bring to the boil, turn down to a low simmer,
cover and cook for 12 mins, then turn off and leave
the pan tightly covered for a further 12 mins.
Add the peanut butter to the rice, stir to combine.
Add the cheese to the rice and peanut butter
mixture, stir to combine.
Trim the silverbeet leaves from the bunch and run
the edge of a wooden spoon along the spines of
the silverbeet, pressing firmly to crush the spines.
This makes the leaves much easier to roll up.
Divide the rice mixture between the 12 leaves
and roll them up.
Place the rolled up leaves into a shallow baking dish.
Blend the can of tomatoes with the oregano, ¼ tsp
salt and a cup of water and tip over the leaves.
Cover tightly with foil and bake at 170°C for an hour.

Yes, it IS a cold dish - I've only ever had it warm when using the leftovers. :-))

The other day we took different types of smoked fish, cheese, salami , can be eaten on own or on crackers. This was in an area where the butcher sold some of thosethings as well as meat. Very yummy and simple things to have as nibbles whilethe bbq is cooking.

all those are yummy.