Help with an English-themed dinner...

[Bazza]

We have some fantastic seafood over here in the UK especially in the Scottish waters. Crab, lobster, scallops oysters, cockles and mussels. We also have some great salmon. Smoked salmon is a popular starter here, usually with just a lemon wedge, but for a dinner party you might want to try it with some capers, watercress and a light viniagarette, and maybe some red onion marinated in lime juice. For a main it has to be roast beef with horseradish, Yorkshire pudding and gravy, some honey roasted parsnips and brussels sprout-no mushy peas, they usually go with pie and mash or fish and chips. Oh! and not forgetting the roast potatoes in goose fat. For dessert bread and butter pudding or apple and blackberry crumble with custard of course.

British food has not had a good reputation in the past but that is changing fast. London's restaurant are now amongst the best in the world.

[Bazza]

Come to think of it.... why don't you go French???

[siduri]

I'm not sure here, but i have the feeling most of these postings have been written after only reading the title but without reading the original post and don;t reply to the original question. MikeLM didn;t ask for a main course idea. Everyone is saying "roast beef" or "pie" or "fish" but his question was

"I could use help to pick out appropriate dishes to go along with the Beef Wellington, and perhaps to suggest to the other participants some things to bring as well."

Why suggest roast beef or fish or other main dishes when the main dish is already decided - beef wellington?????

I had suggested celeriac and spinach with cream, or brussels sprouts or braised endive, but i was thinking just now, it's getting on to spring and british asparagus is supposed to be exceptional. It sounds like a good match. You can;t pile up the heavy dishes with beef wellington, you need green and fresh to compensate the crust and richness of the beef.

Parsnips are also used a lot in britain, and maybe if you want a starch dish it could be roast root vegetables, parsnips, potatoes and carrots, or if you can find a more refined version of it than just mashing them up, some variation on potato and parsnip mash.

[boar_d_laze]

Thing is, Beef Wellington is a heck of a lot more American than it is British. It's also a lot more sixties than traditional. You might as well say "a saute of baby vegetables" as served in every restaurant with French pretensions in the eighties is the traditional accompaniment.

If Beef Wellie is the main, you'll need sides that don't fight a big red wine. Spinach perhaps, and sauteed potatoes tournee. Tournee -- now that will keep 'em occupied.

Whoever said "parsnips" had a darn good idea.

BDL

[bughut]

I would suggest Lamb shanks 1 each, Long slow cooking in a rich gravy, served on top of creamy mashed potatoes, glazed carrots and parsnips and braised savoy cabbage
Or maybe a fishermans pie :- Cod, salmon prawns etc. a rich white sauce flavoured with plenty of dill and parsley topped with crusty mash, served with as above
Hearty, and very british
PS Although it pains me to stand up for the English (being a Scot myself) they really dont eat mushy peas with everything. And Fish and chips is fast becoming an expensive treat due to over fishing.