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What about puddings??
Nigella's chocolate pavlova with raspberries is lovely,
Individual creme caramels,
Little chocolate pots in individual cups,
Tamzin Day Lewis's chocolate raspberry pudding,
Big bowl of exotic fruit salad,
Roast peaches in wine,
Any more???

I have a recipe for salmon mousse made with tinned red salmon. It can be made in a ring mould or fish mould. It looks impressive and tastes great. I don't have it to hand straight away but if you would like to make it I will look it out.

A whole salmon, dressed, as the centrepiece is marvelous.

Large bowls of green salad, potato salad with chives, coleslaw, tomato slices with mozzarella and basil leaves, wordolf salad.

Small triangle sandwiches - cucumber, egg and cress, gentlemans relish, potted chicken, beef and shrimp.

Asparagus spears wrapped in ham, cocktail sausages, cheese straws, mini sausage rolls and cornish pasties.

A couple of tarts (goats cheese and red onion, spinach and ricotta) or quiches

A selection of cheese with some fruit

Then the strawberries and cream to finish

Any good ideas there?

Yes Sookie, I was thinking more on the 'English' theme ie a huge bowl of strawberries and cream for dessert. I was thinking of prepraring just a day or two in advance. Big salads sound like a good idea or what about lots of finger food? Too difficult? Maybe a whole salmon, taboulleh salad and....?I cannot make a decision!

I think I'd go with cold meats and cheeses etc. You could perhaps go with a certain theme perhaps Italian hams and cheeses, stuffed peppers, frittas etc. Or are you thinking of more of an 'English' garden party theme?

How far ahead do you want? prepare then freeze or just the day or few days before sort of thing.

Have you done a search on this site? If you click on recipes you can search by occasion, course, cusine, all sorts of things and there are fantastic recipes and ideas there.

How about things like cold pasta dishes? You could do vegetarian and meat, e.g. chicken or bacon? You could do salads, but jazz them up a bit by putting things like Chorizo or french cheese or something in to make them extra special. Hope this helps

How about a big taboule salad? Easy to prepare and very popular in the summer.
I have just posted (on the subject titled 'French Cake ... I think) a recipe for savoury cakes - have a look. It's so easy to prepare, can be frozen and be adapted to anyone (veggie, kids, etc).
You could also get some cheese and bread. A big round of brie / brie de Meaux always goes down well and doesn't need any preparation.
Hope this helps