Cooking

[Monkeys Fist 41358]

Right lads- bit of forward planning here. 
 

Day after Boxing Day I’ll be having 15-20 friends and family over for a feed and drinks. 
 

We’ll have omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, pescatarians… a proper mix up. 
 

I’m looking at doing 3-4 hot dishes that I can prepare in advance ( show doesn’t kick off until 3-4pm) that will keep everyone happy. ( there’ll also be a little cold buffet but I’m sorted in that front … however, any absolute certs you have here are always welcome- @Meenzer’s chili/soy/garlic/honey cocktail sausages are now a staple in any birthday/BBQ buffet events). 
 

I don’t mind splashing out a bit on unusual/exotic ingredients, but this is not a necessity- cheap and cheerful is also good, as long as it tastes nice. 
 

Cuisines- there’s predominantly English folk coming , a couple of Sri Lankans, a couple of Septics and possibly some Ukrainian. ( you can see why I’m asking for ideas- ). That being said, I’m quite happy to knock something out which is not from any of the above’s culinary history. 
 

Method- I can cover pretty much any cooking style other than sous-vide. 
Slow cooked, stove top, deep fried, whatever. 
 

For serving, I’ve got a couple of slow cookers and a rice cooker which can serve as hot food servers, also a couple of insulated serving bowls, and also a few large tagines and deep serving bowls that can be warmed in the oven. 
 

Fire away folks, I’ll probably try anything that tickles my tastebuds over the next month or two so I’m not going in dry on the day. 
👍

 

Recipes welcome, but also “ a handful of this, chuck some of that in” styles will do. 

[Howmanheyman 31684]

Sausage rolls.

[Howmanheyman 31684]

Corned beef pie.

 

Chilli.

 

 

 

 

[Monkeys Fist 41358]

5 minutes ago, Howmanheyman said:

Corned beef pie.

 

Chilli.

 

 

 

 

Didn’t have corned beef or pastry, used mince and dumpling mix instead. 

[Meenzer 15149]

When feeding the masses, I always make this from Ottolenghi which is spot on. I stir the rocket through just before serving rather than "dotting" it, mainly because I serve it in a bowl rather than "on a large platter" because I'm normal.

 

Also this from Ottolenghi - the onion-frying is a bit of a faff but it's what makes it.

 

Both are 💯💯💯, as the kids say, and (here's the winner) can both be made well ahead of time; the former is served at room temperature anyway and the latter is absolutely fine still warm or even at room temperature, as the recipe says - would probably be fine being kept warm in one of your slow/rice cookers too.

 

If you do want to try your hand at something Sri Lankan, this is a go-to chez Meenz - needs a bit of ingredient prep but then (as the video shows) you chuck them in one by one and it all comes together really quickly. Bulk it out with meat of your choice ( ) if preferred, but it'd be a good one for the veggies if not. I don't see why you couldn't make it in advance and then just reheat it when the time comes (a few minutes in a wok should be enough; microwave ought to be fine too but might make the parotta go soggy, I suppose?).

 

Also from Ottolenghi (just buy his Jerusalem book, it's great ) , these are basically just posh meatballs, which means they can be made in advance and popped in the oven when you're ready. Don't bother with the tahini sauce part, it's more faff than you need on Boxing Day. I've also made them with the pine nuts roughly crushed and the parsley chopped and stirred through the meatball mix itself, rather than sprinkled over the top - also works nicely and makes them a bit different to your average ball o' meat.