Food for 30th party

Little Bubbles

Hi all. Need some help. Have to organize wife's party soon and need ideas on what food should I get for a party for about 15 adults and 5 kids. I'm not the best of cooks. I was thinking of doing the usual cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, vol un vonts, burgers and homemade chips. Would like to have better ideas but as I said I can't cook well.
Anyone have and good and easy recipes that they'd like to share.
Thanks,

LB:cool:

Dinkie

What about a giant lasagne, salad, garlic bread and baked potatoes and sour cream. Then buy in a couple cooked chickens.

This could all be done in advance leaving you time to enjoy the party. Lasagne is very easy to cook (and you could buy the silver foil trays minimising washing up). It should also appeal to most age groups.

In my experience people prefer this kind of buffet to sausages and chips these days.

Little Bubbles

Thanks Dinkie, that sounds nice.

TequilaMockingBird

Don't do homemade chips or you'll be stuck over a fryer for most of the time.

How about a big pot of chilli, baked spuds and salads? Chilli could be made day before (and is v easy to make) and bung in a load of spuds an hour before party. Ready made salads.

neuro-praxis

Very easy and crowd-pleasing party snacks

Smoked Salmon and Brown Bread

Butter some nice fresh brown bread using real butter. Top with good quality smoked salmon. Lay out on a nice platter with wedges of lemon to squeeze over.

Cheese board

Buy some goat's cheese, wensleydale, blue cheese like roquefort or similar, brie, a nice cheddar and maybe something smoked. Lay out on a plate with a jar of caramelised onion or red onion jam, a big bunch of grapes and a selection of crackers - Carrs melts are my favourite.

Pate

Buy a nice rich pate of the kind that you like best, and put it in the middle of a round plate, surrounded by wheat thins (again, crackers).

Tomato Bruschetta

Get some nice crusty white bread and smear it with olive oil and rub with a cut garlic clove. Put in a warm oven for a few minutes to crisp up. Then chop up a load of tomatoes (get different sizes, colours and types if you can) and drizzle with olive oil and a nice tasty vinegar (use red or white wine vinegar or balsamic or cider - do not use malt vinegar), add in a crushed garlic clove and plenty of salt and black pepper. Put the bowl in the middle of a platter and surround with the crusty bread toasts and allow people to pile tomatoes on their bread themselves.

Also as you said yourself, a range of cooked snacks like cocktail sausages and sausage rolls are always crowd pleasers, and easy to do. Don' forget to get the crisps, nuts and so on, and I always have a big bowl of fresh fruit at parties too, which is always devoured, especially by women!

For dessert, I recommend for 20 people getting a good cake made. It takes the work and stress out of it. You could have a bakery make it of course, or even ask a trusted friend to do it as their present to your wife, or have them make it and you buy the ingredients. You can buy some ice cream to go with it too, if you'd like.

Good luck!

Greenmachine

Some great ideas there not really sure I can add anything.

nice1franko

Homemade pizzas and garlic bread might also be good. Make up the dough and sauce, separate the bases with pieces of clingfilm. Have the toppings etc laid out and people can make them as they go?

Can't go wrong with a couple of pots of curry either.

olaola

I'm a big fan of the BBQ - all year round. Sausages to start then steak sambos. Salads on the side. No cleaning in the house to be done!!

jhynes2009

Another possibility would be to host a "bring a plate" party where each guest brings a different dish and fun is had around the table tasting each others recipes! You could have bowls of salad and bread on the table to go along with each dish.
Follow it up with the Birthday cake for dessert
And you can have your chip 'n dip plates scattered around for people to pick at, and sweeties for the kiddies!