I was asked recently to handle a "tea party" for twins turning one - eighty people attended the party, so it was a wonderfully big project for me! It was also an hour away from my house (which sometimes makes food logistics a little tricky) but since the menu was mostly "finger foods" anyway, it worked out quite well! One of my favorite things about doing parties for other people is that I love to see their own creativity and what they've done - this mom is amazing! When I got there, the room was absolutely beautiful and she had great tablecloths already set up - here's her drink station: For food I kept the menu pretty simple - everything was small and easy to grab. We had mini chicken salad croissants, deli finger sandwiches, meatballs, antipasto skewers, fruit & yogurt parfaits, assorted pinwheels, deviled eggs, mini fruit skewers, cucumber hummus bites, pink bow tie pasta salad, crostinis (I LOVE these - they are just crescent dough cut into squares and you can top them with virtually anything - we had some caprese ones with tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella, and balsamic, some with bacon, bleu cheese and honey, salami and cheese, etc... There are endless combinations for those!) and there was a separate dessert table. Here are some of the food pics: I was able to prep almost ALL of the food the night before the party, which is always a goal of mine so things aren't too hectic the day of. I made the fruit skewers, chicken salad, antipasto skewers, and crostinis ahead of time and just kept them tightly wrapped in the fridge until the party. I had the pink bowtie pasta noodles dyed the night before as well (more coming on that! :) and the pasta salad was made the night before (just add a little ranch right before and stir and it doesn't dry out!) and all of the fruit was cut up for the parfaits. So the morning of the party, all I had to do was turn on the meatballs in the crockpot (General Tso's sauce from GFS has quickly become my favorite marinade for ANYTHING, but in a pinch I also often use ketchup, brown sugar, and a little BBQ sauce for the meatballs) and I spooned the yogurt into the parfait cups ($1 store for 10 packs of those!) right before the party (the only last-minute prep I had to do - this could be done ahead of time if you have enough fridge space, but since I had to travel for the party, I had to do it there). I also whipped up some finger sandwiches while I was there as well (God bless Hawaiian rolls, those can make any finger sandwich taste delicious!) and that's it! The total food cost was $220 and fed 80 people with some great leftovers for the exhausted parents to take home. Want some recipes? Theme food ideas? Make ahead storage tips? Email me at [email protected] - I'd love to hear from you and help you in any way I can. :)
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AuthorI love writing romance novels, editing other people's novels, planning parties (heavy on the theme food!) and watching movies. Cooking has also become a passion of mine (because you can't have a proper party without food!) and I love finding new hobbies when I can squeeze them in. Archives
December 2020
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