Christmas Buffet Menu ideas

[mcbook]

I'll have a full house this Christmas so have decided to do a buffet lunch rather than full-on Christmas dinner. I'm going to keep it relatively traditional and the menu is shaping up as follows. However, I think it needs to be a little more exciting... all ideas welcome!

Starters
Prawn cocktail - this is a must and I love it, no matter how out of fashion it might be
Need an alternative, ideally vegetarian

Mains
Turkey and cranberry koftas
Pigs in blankets
Honey glazed ham
Goats cheese and pear salad
Charred brussels, beetroot and bulgar salad
Slaw

Deserts
Trifle
Christmas cake

[RC1807]

Veggie starter: a spicy red lentil soup
My wife makes this quite often. It's pretty easy, very tasty - and warming, too.

[cbmotorsport]

Veggie starter - easy and simple. Gruyere and leek tart:

Slice a load of leeks, sweat them down in some butter until very soft and melted (will take a long time), don't colour them (low heat) add a teaspoon of flour and cook for a short while and then a good splash of double cream/milk, stir until you have a thick saucey leek mixture. Add a handful of grated gruyere cheese and combine, season.

Lay out a slice of puff pastry, score a 1cm border around the edge with the back of a table knife and prick inside that all over with a fork. Spread the leek mixture out inside the border, add more cheese on top. Egg wash the edges. Bake until the pastry is golden and risen around the edge, and the cheese has some colour. Sprinkle with finely chopped chives.

To elevate it, give it a little drizzle of truffle oil before serving, slice and serve with a salad garnish. You can make this ahead, and then gently warm it in the oven before serving.

[vaud]

Veg starter: falafel, humous and tabouleh. Something a bit lighter to start?

[vaud]

RC1807 said:

Veggie starter: a spicy red lentil soup
My wife makes this quite often. It's pretty easy, very tasty - and warming, too.

Or chestnut, squash and apple:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chestnutroasted...

[cbmotorsport]

vaud said:

Veg starter: falafel, humous and tabouleh. Something a bit lighter to start?

Trouble with these things, is that it's what everyone thinks all vegetarians likes to eat, so they tend to get it everywhere they go.

[Cotty]

mcbook said:

Starters
Prawn cocktail - this is a must and I love it, no matter how out of fashion it might be

I don't blame you, I have chosen this as my starter on 20th Dec. Friends in the City not family

[vaud]

cbmotorsport said:

Trouble with these things, is that it's what everyone thinks all vegetarians likes to eat, so they tend to get it everywhere they go.

A good tabouleh is pretty rare?

Otherwise imam bayildi or japanese nasu dengaku is a nice (different) way to serve aubergine.

[cbmotorsport]

vaud said:

cbmotorsport said:

Trouble with these things, is that it's what everyone thinks all vegetarians likes to eat, so they tend to get it everywhere they go.

A good tabouleh is pretty rare?

Otherwise imam bayildi or japanese nasu dengaku is a nice (different) way to serve aubergine.

We serve Imam a lot when we do catering gigs. Many people haven't come across it, I had to google Nasu Dengaku, and instantly realised that it's Miso aubergine, which we also do a fair bit :-) - good suggestions.

[Mobile Chicane]

mcbook said:

I'll have a full house this Christmas so have decided to do a buffet lunch rather than full-on Christmas dinner. I'm going to keep it relatively traditional and the menu is shaping up as follows. However, I think it needs to be a little more exciting... all ideas welcome!

Starters
Prawn cocktail - this is a must and I love it, no matter how out of fashion it might be
Need an alternative, ideally vegetarian

Mains
Turkey and cranberry koftas
Pigs in blankets
Honey glazed ham
Goats cheese and pear salad
Charred brussels, beetroot and bulgar salad
Slaw

Deserts
Trifle
Christmas cake

I would take out the beetroot from the brussels, beetroot and bulgar salad - lots of other things can go into that - and make mini beetroot wellingtons as a veggie starter. These are on the Christmas menu at my local pub and going down a storm:
https://www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/recipes/be...

I would also add apricot and hazelnut stuffing balls to the mains/sides:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/apricot-hazeln...

[Gary Woodland]

Camembert and fresh bread with cranberry is a good veg starter for Christmas.
Turkey and pigs in blanket croquettes would be a fun take for a pickable main I think.
Individual cheese cakes with gingerbread for pud.
Good luck and enjoy!

[Kev T360]

to be fair this sounds like a good menu! i always like a pate/parfait to start and can be made 3 days ahead and is severd cold so no dramas heating it up again - https://www.thecornishchef.com/recipes-1/chicken-p...

a vegetarian soup is always a good choice, everyone can enjoy it and the older folk and more fussy people can get along with it to, jazz it up with a flavored oil on top and a fancy cheese crouton, and on a buffet it can be sevred in a coffee cup to make it less of a faff.

hope it all goes well

[miniman]

How about a nice beef carpaccio?

https://www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/seared-carpacc...