I'm liking your second choice of soup and chicken salad. Sounds delicious. And with the Holiday just ending I wonder how many don't want to see ham again. Lol.

I like the second choice, but I would serve the bread on the side. Sounds yummy.

Id also like that cauliflower recipe!

Definitely by far...the soup/ sandwich. Sounds luscious. Can I come?

Another vote for soup, salad, sandwich.

Mtnrd, that fundamentally is the recipe...about 1 1/2 lb of cauliflower or 2 c., about 2 lb of butternut squash or 2c. both cut into bite-sized pieces and add 6-8 cippolini onions cut in half (they get so sweet!) Drizzle veggies with EVOO and balsamic vinegar and 2 cloves of chopped garlic, salt & pepper to taste, and rosemary...can lay branches among the veggies before roasting or mix 1 t. of the crushed stuff. If using the branches, be sure to remove after 15 min of roasting. (If you want it sweeter you can add some maple syrup too.) Coat the veggies with the mixture. Spread on rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment and roast until tender, tossing halfway through. Some recipes say 425 for 30-45 min...but I find the oil burns at that temp and makes of mess of my oven, so I use a lower temp...maybe 375. After roasting I add about 1/4 c. chopped pecans I've toasted and about 1/4 c dried cranberries and chopped fresh parsley. I was thinking if you wanted to use it as a room temp side dish or on salad greens, you could add some crumbled goat cheese or maybe bleu cheese...

This is a similar recipe: https://www.loveandlemons.com/rosemary-roasted-butternut-squash-cauliflower/

The only reason I'm leaning toward the ham is the other fellows are "hearty" and eat "hearty" so I'm thinking while us ladies would be happy with the soup/salad/sandwich combo, I'm not sure the fellows would be.

In that case, maybe serve the ham along with an egg salad as suggested by Glenda.

That first sounds good (but leave out the pecans if I'm attending... but presumably you know if your attendees can eat tree nuts!) Maybe that and a soup?

My first bent would've been to serve fish...maybe stuffed fillets...but one member of the group is a non-fish eater. Fortunately no one has a thing about nuts in this group...that's not to say this group isn't a little nutty...they're economists!

Sounds very gourmet. A lovely way to do lunch. I would ad deviled eggs before I'd serve sandies. I like cumin, but a lot of people don't...and raw onion ......

Your lunch sounds lovely.

Have both the ham and the chicken salad. I would do a really packed green salad rather than the slaw. For me, ginger slaw would be something I would only eat a small amount of and trust me I love ginger.

To Nicole's point, if someone doesn't like some of the ingredients in the chicken salad, they have the ham as a choice.

Since this is lunch, I'm glad you are not doing the fish. That leans more toward a dinner rather than lunch feel.

eld6161, oh it's not ham AND chicken salad...it's one or the other. One would be a hot lunch, more like a dinner, and the other would be more like a lunch.

DH thinks the soup and salad and sandwich would be too light for these guys so he too is thinking the ham and roasted veggies would be a better option. In the past I've served the roasted turkey, so they'd probably be expecting a bigger meal.

If I make the ham, I'd probably want a salad of some sort...probably my classic wilted cucumber and dill which always pairs nicely with ham. And I could make my whole wheat biscuits which I love, and love them as leftovers too! I like to spend time chatting with these guests so the ham in the crock pot and the one dish roasted veggies would make it very prepare ahead and easy to serve too.

I like your second choice also...the soup and chicken salad. But I am not a big fan of ham/pork in general, especially ham, and tire of it easily.

Annnie--your ham menu sounds delicious! But maybe a little heavy for lunch? I like the soup/salad/dessert option for lunch.

One thing I try to remember when menu planning is to not have everything the same color---ie: pineapple, squash and caulifower are all yellowish. I'd opt for green beans instead of one of the veggies or add a green salad.

All options sound great......I'm on my way. :-))))

I don't mind it being a heavier meal, esp this time of year. In the summer, my lunches are much lighter -- more like a mediterranean kind of meal.

In my family it was typical to have a Sunday dinner around noon time that was the main meal and then have a light supper in the evening. These people are old world enough that that works for them too.

Then ham dinner it is!

You know your guests best. Whatever you decide will be perfect

I agree w/ Ava. We are commenting on what we all would like/expect. Part of being a great hostess is anticipating what *they* will like. I am sure they will be tickled at the effort and skill you put into it Annie!

Sounds delish. A quick question: if you add chopped garlic to the roasting veggies, does it burn?

Depending on the age of your group even the men may be accustomed to eating soup for lunch. Think tomato soup and grilled cheese. My husband's lunch group when they go to places like Olive Garden the men are the ones that order the soup more than the women. I would not serve ham because so many people are no longer eating things that are cured or high salt. Ham the way it is cured does have high salt content.

You know your guests. Ham is always a good choice and that options sounds lovely. And it would be a heartier meal. I often serve a hearty lunch if I'm having company especially if it is men. They can eat lighter in the evening if they so desire.

sjerin, I roast at a lower temp so I haven't noticed major burning of the garlic...at the higher temp, I would think it'd be possible.

Annie what do you put into your stromboli meat/cheese wise?

Bobbi, I use pepperoni, swiss and mexican cheese blend and sprinkle with italian seasoning. But you can use almost anything you want.

I lattice the top so it looks pretty too.

Thanks, Annie. I wouldn't have thought of a lattice top. One day each week, the children prepare a meal, with my supervision. I'm always on the look out for ideas.

Thanks again. We usually form ours in a wreath shape and make slits with a knife. They'll love making that.

Instead of roaste veggies, how about a great hearty veggie soup

and some fabulous ham slider sandwiches. The following 2 recipes have gotten rave reviews when I have served them:

Inga Garten's Winter Minestrone soup

Kings Hawaiian Ham sliders

Here's an in progress picture that I've posted before of the soup

And a picture of the final product from Inga's website

Grabbed this picture of the ham sliders off the Internet. The sandwiches can be made ahead of time. I guarantee you the guys will love them so make plenty.

Choice 2, maybe a club sandwich.

So many good options to choose from. Have you made a decision?

I may try that winter minestrone soup posted by badgergal. I think I have most of the ingredients except minestrone. I'll make grilled cheese sandwiches instead of the bruschetta on top.

Annie, if you decide on a salad of some sort add cubed crisp roasted gold potatoes instead of croutons. The potatoes can be made in advance and sit room temperature until serving time. Meat and potato men love that kind of salad. Oh, and, roasted pork tenderloin instead of ham in my salad please.

Edited: and tomatoes’...make it a caesar with homemade dressing and add all the above.

I‘m obviously hungry. I’m thinking you could include some homemade fried onion spirals to artistically add to the top.

At this point in the thread I dont care! Just feed me! I'll eat any of it. I'm starving.

winter minestrone soup posted by badgergal

I agree, that looks goooood

Yes, thank you for all the suggestions ... some really great ideas for what makes a nice luncheon. That soup does look delish...very much like what I make often.

I talked it over with DH and knowing who these folks are and their expectations, and given the season, I think it will be the ham with fresh pineapple, the oven roasted veggies, my whole wheat biscuits and a wilted cucumber salad with dill. One guest is bringing an appetizer, the other dessert. So we've got that covered.

Part of the attraction is this being pretty much make ahead lets me spend my time enjoying the company and not have any last minute futzing.

I did consider color, and the ham is pinkish, the pineapple yellow and the veggies are colorful white and orange with red from the cranberries and brown from the nuts and green from the parsley, and the cucumber salad has some green in it. So I think that's good.

Now on to table setting...

:)