HELP with funeral lunch, at home, many allergies

A

anna_x

Well-known member
My dad passed away after a very long illness. I need to have food ready after church. I'm planning to have potato salad, a fruit tray, and sandwich rolls for turkey and ham. Usual lettuce, condiments on the side. Everything has to be ready to pull out of the fridge.

What can I prep the day before to make this a little more attractive, friendly, less impersonal? Some finger food appetizers?

This is the family with allergies to olives, mushrooms, beef, tomatoes, peppers.. all the good things.

Thanks very much!

 
I'm sorry about your loss, Anna. Deviled eggs can be made ahead of time and

they are always the first to go at my buffet table. However, there are a lot of egg alergies out there.
Sweet and sour red cabbage slaw is an overnight dish that gets better by the day and is so easy.
Ready Slaw

Recipe By :Cookery for Entertaining by Marlene Sorosky
Serving Size : 10 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Salads Vegetables

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

1 small red cabbage
1 small onion -- chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup white vinegar

Shred cabbage. Place in a large heat-resistant bowl with onion and salt. Mix well. In a small saucepan, bring oil, sugar and vinegar to a boil. Pour over cabbage; do not stir. Cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight. may be refrigerated several weeks.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 164 Calories; 11g Fat (58.0% calories from fat); trace Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 535mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : A sweet and sour red cole slaw made ahead and stored in your refrigerator.

 
((Anna!)) What about a vegie platter? Crockpots are great for keeping things warm. You

can purchase the frozen meatballs and make a quick sauce. Also those lil hotdogs can be made with a sauce.
Sorry for your loss.

 
Roast Beef Roll Ups

When you get your cold cuts, buy some sliced roast beef. Mix up some cream cheese, chives, scallions or chives and some horseradish. Overlap 2 slices, spread cheese mixture down center, then roll. Wrap tightly in saran and refrigerate. Slice into small logs and serve.

Tortilla Rollups in T and T are good too.

I'm really sorry for your loss. smileys/frown.gif

 
So sorry to hear about your father. Our thoughts are with you and your family.

Does the church have a Caring Committee (or some such group) that can help with the food? Maybe someone could stay behind at the house to make sure everything is ready.

How about a fruit tray? And some cookies?

People will probably bring food, too. Lots of people brought stuff over the house after my mom's memorial service.

We'll be thinking of you.

 
I'm sorry Anna. It's tough. For the reception following, how about some sandwich quarters, easily

prepared the night before. I did this for a baby shower recently (well, the kid's 6 years old now, so I guess it wasn't THAT recently!) ;o) We made ham salad, egg salad, tuna salad, and chicken salad a couple of days before, and stored them in the refrigerator.

Then, the morning of, we just spread them on sandwich bread (fancy or not), trimmed the crusts off, and set them out on platters. Everyone loved them, and they were neat and easy to take, and offered a nice variety.

If you want specifics, I can provide the recipes, but basically they were just:

tuna (or shrimp) salad on wheat
hama and pickle relish on rye
egg and olive salad on white
curried chicken (or turkey) on pumpernickel

You don't need condiments for these, and lettuce isn't really neccessary, although you could certainly add it. Sprinkle some fresh fruit (grapes, strawberries, blueberries, range sections) on the platters and watch them disappear.

My thoughts are with you and your family.

 
Anna...my condolences to your entire family. I'm thinking "warm"....

Soup and crock-pot ideas are great. A simple chicken noodle soup has amazing restorative powers. Simplify by using rotisserie chicken, pull off the skin/bones and add to prepared broth to augment the flavor, buy veggies already chopped, saute and add to broth after removing the bones/skin and use a good noodle. Lots of pepper or add 1/2 of a jalapeno (seeds removed).

Don't forget to buy bowls and spoons.

Wishing you peaceful memories of laughing with your dad.

 
I'm sorry for your loss, Anna. Lemon Bars and Brownies are comfort food and easy to do

the day before. I second Dawn's finger sandwich idea. A pot of baked beans in a crockpot--no tomatoes or peppers.

In my experience, after the shared catharsis of the funeral, people are suddenly very hungry. Comfort foods are the best for sharing.

 
So sorry Anna. Some churches have funeral "dinner" committees that may be of some help. Costco was

also a big help for quick but nice finger foods and trays.

 
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