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I once did an open house with two big pots of soup- one chili, one seasonal.

Then I bought several different types of bread loaves- rye, rosemary boule and Italian, onion loaf, etc. ... Made a diffenrent type of layered sandwich in each whole loaf, then cut into wedges and set the whole/cut breads/sandwiches on garnished trays and platters. Served it buffet style.

A cheese tray, fresh fruit, squash gratin and an apple dessert.

I second the slow cooker recommendation. Just last night, our slow cooker chicken was a smash hit--all guests went back for seconds and thirds! It was a modified version of this dish:
http://onepot.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/slow-cooker-moroccan-chicken/

nothing says fall like a giant pot of stew with slow cooked meat, gravy and root vegetables or pot-au-feu

Pumpkin Carrot Soup

1 stick butter
2 onions
2 1/2 cups peeled, cut pumpkin pieces
2 carrots
1 tbs curry
1 tbs Chinese five-spice powder
1/4 cup Thai chili sauce
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 quart heavy cream
4-5 shakes black pepper
1 cup sour cream
Dill garnish
Pot of chicken stock

Heat up a large pot with a stick of butter. Add the onions next so that they'll cook at the bottom of the pot and brown a little. Cut some carrots into chunks big enough to go into a food processor and add those to the pot. Add some peeled, cut pumpkin chunks to the pot with a heaping tablespoon of curry, Chinese five-spice powder and lots of black pepper. Last, add your chicken stock (or water base). Now, boil your soup for about two hours. Pureé the mixture in a food processor to your desired thickness and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, while you are heating your soup, add sour cream, Thai chili sauce, Dijon mustard and a little salt and pepper into a bowl and mix. Pour a quart of heavy cream into your soup while it's heating and add some salt. Pour the soup into individual servings (if your soup is still too thick, try adding some water), then add a dollop of the sour cream mixture and a handful of dill garnish to each bowl.

Individual meat pies? If you can score some small aluminium tins. Braised beef or pork or lamb (or hell, all three) with your favourite veg (I'm a peas and carrot man, but you can be creative). Use ale to braise, with onions and garlic, before adding to the pastry and top with creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes and yet more cheese on top. Store-bought pie crusts work just as well as the home-made thing, in my experience. And you can do them up to a day ahead of time.

If you need a veggie option, I love broccoli and stilton mini-quiches. They also make a nice starter, and you can add haddock or salmon (or whatever you want) for the omnivores.

At our wedding, we had whole roast tomatoes, de-seeded and filled with horseradish cream, with strips of grilled sirloin over it. Easy to eat with a fork.