Gonna be lots of posting today I think from me...

Going to a dinner party Sat night & I've been asked to prepare the starter however one of the girls does not like/eat 1) cheese unless it's melted or 2) raw tomatoes, which consdiering I was going to do marinated mozarella on beef tomatoes causes me a few problems!! All the starters I make revolve around these 2 ingredients generally so I need some help.  It needs to be easy to make or something I can make the night before e.g soup - can you help?

I've had a look at Delia's site but her recipes look hard I normally do Gordon's reccipes!!!

All suggestions even comments about how stupid the gilr is for not liking cheese or toms welcome!!!

Wish i had some ideas for you, i am rubbish at cooking and loathe it with a passion haha!

That girl is silly billy, she is sure going to cause you some problems lol!! Hope you find something though!! :)

The girl in question sounds exactly like my best mate... annoying to say the least! I think your idea of soup is great. You can make it in advance, transport it easily and re-heat it at the hosts house. I am useless at cooking, but I am sure others will provide you with some tasty options! :-P

I'd cook my favourite starter and she could eat the bits she likes while the rest enjoy it.  I would never accept a dinner invitation and start reeling off what I would or would not eat unless it was going to drop me stone dead.  I'd have a try at anything and if I really couldn't manage I would make do with the other courses.  There is usually some bread isn't there? :-)
Anyhoo, I bet you are a lot politer than me ;-) and you are not going to say that to her so I shall put my thinking cap on.........................

The BBC web site is quite good for ideas.  You can search my ingredient thereby avoiding her list.  Sainsburys is another one, all blessed by Jamie no doubt.

Could you not do as planned, but for hers - roast the tomato(or cherry tomatoes) in the oven with a little bit of olive oil and put grated cheese on just before the end of cooking and return to the oven for 5 minutes or so to melt it ?

Failing that, give her a nice bowl of James Wellbeloved - very tasty so I am told.

> All suggestions even comments about how stupid the gilr is for not liking cheese or toms welcome!!!

No help with recipes but yes how anyone can not like cheese is beyond me... cheese chocolate and red wine are the best things in the world. :-D And what's not to like about tomatoes? Maybe just make what you want to and if she doesn't like it she doesn't have to eat it. :-D

I like your idea crinklecut, I might do that with the other things I was thinking of, kind of like mini pizzas!!! It is very annoying especially as she is the only one out of use 8!!

I thought about doing canape style food
1. Pan fried parma ham wrapped asparagus
2. Homemade hummus with warm pitta bread
3. Stuffed olives (bought from local deli)
4. Cherry tomato, feta cheese & basil kebabs (at least they'll be more of these to go round!!)
5. Warm some ciabatta & serve with good quality olive oil & balsmaic vinegar

Sounds a bit like mezze or antipasti - what do you think?

I always fill myself on bread with soup & never enjoy the main cos I'm so full!

Have a mixed leaf salad with some parma ham (or crispy shredded bacon works too!), roasted cherry tomatoes and warmed goats cheese -  NB obligatory drizzle of balsamic vinegar of course :)  Quick, simple, very tasty and not too far removed from your original ingredients.

Teri

Hi, Delias recipe for potato and leek soup is so easy to make and is really delicious. I havent known anyone I have given some to not to have really enjoyed it. Looks a bit horrid whilst its cooking but once it is blended it is great. It is very quick as well and doesnt have a lot of ingredients. Saves you having to bother with lots of fiddly bits of food. Good luck and let us know how you get on.
Donna x

I have to agree with Isabel :-)
But if you're going to indulge your guest, what about pate and toast as a starter? Very easy and quick and tasty. I like the soup idea too....maybe with some garlic croutons. Or Delia Smith's stuffed peppers recipe (with fennel and tomato) is really nice and looks quite fancy. They only have a thin slice of tomato on the top which is cooked anyway. Good luck :-)

Gembo... your antipasti sounds yum, go for that!

> of the girls does not like/eat 1) cheese unless it's melted or 2) raw tomatoes

I didn't know I was invited to a dinner party on Saturday night - excellent!

I have to say, I'd never tell people what I do or don't like to eat (and the don't list is quite extensive I'm afraid).  When at someone's house I would always give everything a try or just decline if I didn't want something (apart from the main course).

My usual starters (but I can't cook, so they're very easy!) are pate with blackcurrent jus (or another), crusty bread and a little salad to dress up the plate, stuffed mushrooms or something from M&S that can be heated up and put on a plate with some salad.  As I said, I can't cook, so things have to be very easy for me.

> warmed goats cheese

yum yum yum yum Teri that sounds fandabidoozie!

Thanks Stormy here's hoping it tates nice!

Why not do a slightly different take on your mozarell and tomatoes.  Deep fry the mozarella in breadcrumbs and have a few oven roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine, with a little rocket salad on the side drizzled with a basil dressing.
Jane

Stuffed mushrooms. use large flat mushrooms. Fry red onion, red pepper and the mushroom stalks till soft. Put in a food processor with stale bread and basil. Fill the mushrooms put on baking tray and drizzle oil over and put in oven for about 15-20 minutes.

That sounds nice mmm

This sounds lovely but I don't have a deep fryer - how else can I fry the mozzarella?

Can't help but it looks like you've got some good ideas already :)

Tomatoes actually seem to be a very common dislike. I can think of more people I know that don't like raw tomatoes than do (but almost all will eat tomato sauce, ketchup..etc).

And as for the cheese....is it possible there could be a medical reason? I know my father can't eat raw cheese because it gives him migraines, but he's fine if it's cooked!

Enjoy the dinner party!

Just put enough oil into a saucepan to cover the Mozzarella and when browned take back out with a slotted spoon.
Jane

If they can eat melted cheese then perhaps do baked brie in its box with some lovely cranberry sauce - generally a fav for many people.

I had for the first time in the States the following - hot dish.

Dates(pitted) stuffed with goats cheese, wrapped in parma ham and then had over it a thick sweet balsamic dressing. It was to die for and had never enjoyed dates before.
I even have the purchased the items here to make them myself.

Warm pate on some crusty bread with mango chutney.

The list is really endless.

I don't eat tomato's either and it does prove a huge problem as a fruit and within a sauce they are everywhere.

I've just tried making the dates and goats cheese dish myself. It fried them in olive oil and fig balsamic vinegar(found in sainsbury's) for about 5 mins, should of done a bit longer to get the middle bit cooked. Looks like it is an American Tapas dish from searching through the net.
But have to say it was lovely!!!