I'm looking for some ideas to help with a birthday party buffet. It's my aunts 60th surprise party taking place in my house. I have a few ideas already but looking for more, hot and cold and anything a little unusual! It will be mainly adults. Thanks for any suggestions

Not even one suggestion - is there anybody out there . . . .

I would say it all depends on what your aunt likes after all it is her b/day. I know what l would do - carveries/curries/chicken thai/ seafood marinara/ paella etc. I am all for the easy way out - anything that can be made in advance!

Hi,
For your buffet, you could do:
- on cocktail sticks, put a small dice of cheese (like gruyere), and a small dice of ham ; you can add a dice of pineapple/a white grape - some ploughman's pickle to dip in would be nice.
- take a loaf of square white bread and butter each slice. Then cut them in four equal piece. You can now prepare two different big plates of little canapes: some with a slice of saucisson or chorizo on them, the others with smoked salmon (cut the size of your little bread canapes).
- get the Herta hot dog style sausages, cut them all in 6 equal piece and through them in simmering water at the last minute. After 3 minutes, drain well and serve immediately as you walk around your room so that people help themselves while talking. Dippings aside such as ketchup or mustard are a good idea.
- if some are health-concerned, then provide a big plate of cut veggies (carrots, cucumber) and cherry tomatoes, with vinaigrette aside.
- the buckets of pre-cooked drumsticks in supermarket are always handy. Pre-heat your oven at 180 degrees (around mark 6) and wack in all the drumsticks in an ovendish for about 30 minutes. They'll be nice, hot and tender... During the same 30 minutes, in another oven dish (but you can put both dishes in the oven at the same time on 2 trays!?), put chunks of carrots and broccoli, and why not a lot of garlic cloves! In 30 minutes, both chicken and veggies will be ready to eat. You can add chunks of potatoes but as they take longer to cook, you would have to boil them for a good 10 mins before you put them in the oven for these 30 mins. It can be a hassle so you might spik the potatoes.
- for veggies, you can buy pre-made veggie quiches in the supermarket and warm them up in the oven.
- what else... I don't know. I'll connect again if I can think of other quick-to-do or simple-to-do things...
:-)

Also, it's a bit obvious but I don't know if you cook a bit or never. In the veggies' tray, sprinkle salt, pepper, and pour some olive oil - mix well.
and the herta slices of sausages, to be presented with cocktail sticks :-)

If you're looking for ######## stick snacks why not try a cube of feta, a 1/4 slice of cucumber about 5mm thick and 1/2 a cherry tomato. Drizzle with E V olive oil and sprinkle with a little dried oregano for Greek Salad on a stick.

Speaking from the experience of doing my daughter's wedding buffet I would say do remember that a domestic fridge has quite limited storage space for food you prepare in advance. I found that quite a bit of lateral thinking was needed. Ready cooked drumsticks are great & you don't need to pick them up till the morning of the party. Those little swedish meatballs are useful, you could make up some dips to serve with them and a helpful butcher who will provide sliced cold meats to be collected on the day is a real lifesaver.

Hi there

How about cooking a big Ham (delia's wrap it in foil & bake in oven is foolproof - works evey time) salads - Green, cherry toms with chives, hot new pots, french bread etc. - Looks impressive but takes little effort and can all be done in advance except the pots, unless you do a cold potato salad. You can hire a bain marie to keep them hot if you like and cook them slightly earlier - catering equipment hire shops are quite reasonable .
Or even easier is a selection of good cheese & cold meats from the deli - with olives, sunblush toms, french bread etc - again looks super especially if presented on large wooden chopping boards, but next to no prep - it's all presentation... good luck whatever you do

Adrienne

Coronation chicken with rice salad and a poached salmon with a huge bowl of salad and some french bread has worked wonderfully for me on many occassions. For goodness sake don't BUY a cooked quiche from the supermarket for the poor vegetarians, they surely deserve something homemade - squares of puff pastry with a smear of sundried tomato paste and a slice of goats cheese bakes in minutes for a lovely tasty meal for them. Hope this helps

As its her 60th you dont want to have jelly and ice cream or sausage rolls. lol Think of her fav foods and minimize them to finger foods. for example mini kebabs, (diced lamb,red onion,mushroom,peppers on a skewer season and grill untill lamb is cooked and everything is golden brown. sticky chicken portions, served with a sweet chilli dip. or go the easy way and go buy some nice indian bites from the supermarket..like samosas onion bajees they taste just as nice! well good luck watever u go for hope she enjoys it!

I once did a Jamaican style buffet which went down a treat. Jerk chicken, jerk root veggies, ribs, rice and peas, spicy meat balls, loads of different breads. Just buy a packet of seasoning - chuck it over with a bit of oil and stick in oven, ribs you can buy frozen and stick them in to the bottom of the oven in advance and rice and peas is a can of beans/peas/ lentils and some coconut milk - dead easy.
Not too expensive and very tasty, you can get the stuff in the supermarket you just have to root.

I made a lovely cold buffet dish with papaya, wild rice, blanched almonds, lime juice, chopped mint and coriander, celery, and king prawns - seasoned to taste. It was a recipe I got from UKFood and changed to suit myself. The dish was left empty after the party and everyone wanted the recipe so I was singing UKFood's praises.

Another little side dish - easy and served cold instead of rice - soak coucous in boiling water with an added vegetable stock cube. When cold mix in chopped peppers in small cubes - pineapple - anything you fancy but to keep it moist and not sticky mix through low calerie french dressing - very tasty.

how about theming buffet to year she was born. 1946 would (i think) have been shorlty after the end ofWW2. my grand parents had their golden wedding anniversay a few years ago and they were married during WW2 when he was in the Navy and she was a land girl. we all dressed in period dress and had a similar themed party. Grandpa had been based in Trinidad so rum tended to feature rather a lot!