What little tasty snacks do you like?

A really good cheese board, a bowl of marinated olives and a bunch of really fragrant grapes (Muscat ones if you can) is often better than going to too much trouble.

Cheese is lovely but tricky to eat standing up. What do you have in mind - things to hand round to guests while they're sitting, stuff for them to help themselves to while standing, a buffet-type plate-in-one-hand-glass-in-the-other thing, or what?

Thanks both!

Something quite informal so a few dishes out and they can choose what they fancy. Probably to be eaten sitting down.

Okay, so then you've got a lot more flexibility as they can use a knife and fork. Cheeses would work, or you could do a more full-on tapas or charcuterie or meze thing? We went to a function recently that was a "French picnic" - quiches, cold meats, rillettes, pickles, olives, baguette, cheese, grapes.

Roasted red pepper hummus with slices of pitta?

Tapenade on toasted ciabatta?

My fave but not very posh, is a bowl of honey roasted cashews?

Yum, yum, double yum, treble yum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YUM! especialy meze with stuffed vine leaves, not very healthy but soooooo gooooood ?

All of this sounds fab! I like th idea of doing some hot tapas things and some nice breads, just not sure what...

Def be stocking up on the honey roasted cashews!

How about mini spanish omlettes/frittata?? Dice some potato, sautee in oil with some onion, then pop a few bits into the bottom of each well in a muffin tray. Pour over some beaten egg and then bake for about 20 mins.

Mini sausage rolls or chicken goujons with dips...I aint posh ?

Mini yorkshire puds with roast beef & a dollop of horseradish

Parma ham and rocket rolls (A handful of rocket rolled up in a slice of parma ham - couldn't be simpler!

I luuuuuurve pistachios - salted or chilli ones - fab for picking at.

A hardish cheese, cubed, something like a brebis, or comte would work, again, just to pick at.

Mini sausage&mash for something hot - warm cocktail sausages (or sections of larger sausages) slit down the middle, and then pipe in a very smooth, creamy mash (almost an aligot) also dead easy.

Thanks all! Just been out and stocked up on honey roasted cashews. WIll go to the shops tomorrow and cook up a storm (love the sound of the mini sausage and mash, i'll see how much time i have!)

Cube of mozerella or feta with half a cherry tomato and a basil leaf/olive on a cocktail stick?

Mini cocktail sausages cooked in wholegrain mustard and honey...they go really sticky and don't need to be eaten boling hot.

new potatoes baked with salt, cut a cross in the top with a blob of hollandaise (sp?)....lovely!

HTH