Ideas needed for a meal

in a few weeks I will have to cook a meal for 10-14 people. The place we go to is quite small so it has to be easy to serve and to eat with a plate on your lap. It can be indulgent as it is the one night a week we all let loose. Just need something that is absolutely delicious.

huge dish of mince lasagne or chicken nibbles done in a honey garlic soy glaze baked in the oven , garlic bread on the side , salad if you want

jellabie, it will help if you can give some idea of the budget, type of meal, will you need to serve nibbles, and perhaps an indication of the age group you are catering for.

jellabie, you have 'said' that "The place we go to is quite small" so I'm wondering what cooking/preparation facilities and equipment are available? ?
I assume that this is a regular (weekly? ) get-together so what are some of the meals that have been popular/previously enjoyed by the group? - it may help if you tell us more so that any suggestions are appropriate and the type that the group will regard as "delicious".
:-))

chicken nibbles sound like a great idea and no one has done them yet.

Indy - the group is 30's and 40's - and the cost doesn't matter. The meals just turn out to be whatever a person brings along. . sometimes its a meal like you would cook at home, sometimes its something picked up during a flying visit to the supermarket, and sometimes its just finger foods - its whatever the cook brings along.

This will be my first time being the cook so I want to put something tasty on the table

I have plans for the nibbles so I dont need to worry about that.

sorry 245sam you posted while I was typing my previous post.

the place we go it is like a hotel room - there is a kitchenette with no oven (there is one downstairs though) and we all sit around a coffee table of average proportions.

it is a weekly gathering but i have only been going for a few weeks

jellabie wrote:
sorry 245sam you posted while I was typing my previous post. - That's quite ok jellabie.

So am I right in assuming that, for ease, you need to take everything pre-prepared?

With this cooler weather I'm wondering about a really special soup to begin the meal with - do you have a crockpot/slowcooker? If so, depending on the time between you leaving you home and being at the venue and taking food safety into consideration the soup could maybe be taken already heated so that it just needs reheating (that would only require a power point to plug the crockpot/slowcooker into), otherwise do you have sufficient vacuum flasks that you could take the soup already heated and ready for serving?

To follow on from the soup, how about the chicken nibbles as part of a ploughman's type platter - we actually had one about a year or so ago that was a mixture of hot and cold items including some yummy breads, cheeses, chicken nibbles, hot prawns, hot grilled salmon, grapes, strawberries (it's probably the right time for them now though), cooked pear and walnut (and their obvious accompaniment, blue cheese) - there were other items too however I just can't recall them all right now but I'm sure you get the idea anyway.

Do you need dessert ideas or are you ok re them?

Hope the above helps. :-))

A nice big roast? Hot ham or lamb leg or rolled beef perhaps? Easy to prepare in advance and carry - it can be kept really quite hot by wrapping in foil and then newspaper or a blanket.

Vegetables could be mixed salads. Crusty rolls would be an easy accompaniment.

Or if you 1 or 2 large slowcookers, you can pot roast meat (like stuffed shoulder of lamb or a stuffed rolled beef).

Sounds like fun.

What about make your own sushi?

We do this at home rather than me rolling it for everyone. Cook your rice and then all your favourite fillings and put it on the table. Just have the seaweed sheets torn into four and then everyone can help themselves to what they like. You get a square put some rice on at an angle and then top with whatever and fold opposite corners (sorry tis a bit hard to put inot words).

This is how we always eat it now and is very social as everyone is different on what they like.

Hi,
Haven't made these for years, but they are delicious and can be made ahead of time. Make some crepes 2 to 3 per person. Saute some courgette in some olive oil, don't over cook. Get some ham from the deli in a piece, chop into small cubes. Mix ham and courgettes into some cream cheese (might need 2 tubs for the number of people), season with freshly ground pepper, not too much salt. Put some of this filling into each crepe and roll up. Put crepes into a greased lasagna type dish. Make a tasty cheese sauce, pour over crepes, sprinkle over some tasty cheese and reheat in oven until golden brown.
Can be kept warm if dish is wrapped in 4 thick tea towels and placed in a chilly bin.
Your group of diners sounds like fun idea.

if it was me:
*chicken drum sticks (cooked at home) and then taken in the dish (which is wrapped in towels) - so still warm...
*rice and salad...

OR: Burrittos:
Mince (beef or chicken) with salad, salsa and avo on the coffee table... Make your own burritto...

OR:
Irish Stew - served with rice