there will be 10 of us, I haven't specified a time, just expect guests to start arriving after church. I am getting more and more confused as I look at recipes and menus. There are so many possibilities, I don't know which way to turn. I'd like to have make-ahead, so I can enjoy the party, and something warm, sort of a main dish, that will keep (or can be refilled) for the afternoon. I have dessert covered, but I really need your advice for the other courses. Thank you so much for your help.
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ISO: ISO T&T Menu Ideas for a buffet lunch/open house on a Sunday afternoon in two weeks...
- Thread starter marianne
- Start date
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kyheirloomer
Well-known member
Sounds to me as though
you are stressing out far too much. That sort of party should be fun for everyone, including the hostess.
What I find works is to put out a series of appetizers and starter courses.
Appetizers are among my favorite things, as you can really let your creativity and imagination run wild. Plus most of the work can be done ahead of time, and you get to enjoy your guests.
Recently I was asked to prepare some guidelines for appetisers. They might serve you in good stead. Keep in mind my comments presumed a full meal to follow. So, in your case, just adapt them to mean the appetizer selection in total.
For starters (yes, I do have a punning license), let's look at some concepts, rather than just running a list of recipes.
Appetisers should be small, easily handled, and tasty. The whole idea is to get the juices flowing, to prepare the stomach for the feast ahead (if there's going to be one). Appetisers should also promote good conversation among the guests.
Just as with the main dish, itself, you want appetisers to compliment the flavors of what's to come, rather than conflict with them. Typically (but not always) this means a totally different type of food. If you're serving beef as the main course, appetisers should be fish, or fowl, or straight vegetarian most times. A hot (as in spicy) main course should not be preceeded by a hot appetiser. And so forth. (You can ignore this part for a buffet)
Give some thought to how you can convert main dish recipes you already are comfortable with into bite-sized morsals. Do that, and you have an incredible repetory of possibilities. You'll find that your small cookie cutters can be invaluable in this regard. With them, you can create equal-sized pieces of chicken breast or fish filets, or shape forcemeat, or cut pastry, veggies, etc.
Got a favorite meatball recipe? Reduce the balls to the size of marbles, and poof! There's an appetiser.
Won ton wrappers can be an invaluable aid to preparing appetisers. Use them as designed, to wrap around foodstuffs. Or combine two of them, to produce ravioli type dishes. Or bake them in muffin tins, to create individual, edible serving cups you can then fill with whatever.
Here are ways to use each method:
Pan fry some ground pork with appropriate spices. Add some chopped onion, grated cabbage, and bean spouts. Let cool. Fill a won ton wrapper, fold over, and fry. Or go the whole potsticker route.
Make a mushroom filling and sandwhich it between two wrappers. Cut into rounds and either boil or fry. Alternatively, dip the whole thing into an egg wash, then into bread crumbs, and bake at 350 until golden.
Fill a baked won ton cup with guacomole. Top it with a sauteed shrimp and a sprig of cilantro.
Pate choux paste is one of the most versatile things going. When you make it sweet it's called puff paste, and used for things like profiteroles. When made savory, it's called gougere.
Instead of just dropping it by spoonfuls, use a pastry bag and large tube and pipe out different shapes: rounds, crescents, logs, etc. Then use a different filling with each shape. Maybe a gorgonzola chicken salad in one, spiced ham mash in another, smoked salmon spread in still a third. In each case, use a fancy toothpick and a signature garnish, i.e., green olives, black olives, cocktail onions, cherry tomatoes, etc.
Vertical presentations are almost always more appealing. So, while keeping the total amount small, pile things upwards. For instance, I make reduced-size lamb patties, which are placed on a maple-broiled sweet-potato round, and topped with minted aioli. A mint leaf finishes the whole thing.
Where appropriate, criss-cross items to build height, and use garnishes in a manner that accentuates the visible appeal as well as the taste. When cutting items, offset the cuts. Equal sized pieces are visually boring, and lack movement.
Finally, something every cook probably knows. But it bears repeating: Anything tastes better wrapped in bacon.
Here's one of my own appetisers you might find appealing. It's a classic case of reducing a main dish entree into a starter:
Mini-Hot Browns.
Hot browns were first served at the Brown Hotel, in Louisville, Kentucky, back in the '20s, and have become a staple in the Bluegrass State. Nowadays mostly served with a cheddar sauce and garnished with tomatoes, the original used a Morney sauce, and garnished with mushrooms.
Make a thick Mornay sauce: Saute 1-2 tbls minced onion in 3 tbls butter. Add 3 tbls flour and cook for another minute. Slowly pour in 2 cups heated cream, stirring. Add salt, pepper, flecks of parsley, and a dash of nutmeg, and let cook down until very thick. For each 2 cups of sauce add 2 egg yolks (tempering them first). Stir until reaching boiling point. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup grated Parmesan and 1 tbls butter.
Cut bacon into lardings and fry until browned. Drain on paper towels and reserve.
Carve a small mushroom cap for each hot brown. Gently saute in butter.
Toast slices of bread (I prefer oatmeal bread for this). Using a 2 1/2-3" cookie cutter (I use a fluted one), cut the bread into rounds. Use the same cookie cutter to cut 1/4" thick slices of deli counter chicken breast into the same sized rounds. Make the same number as bread rounds. Then go down a size and cut an equal number of chicken rounds. Finally, cut out tiny buttons of chicken (I use a length of 1/2" pvc for this), making 3 for each big piece.
On each toast round lay a large piece of chicken. Then center a smaller round on it. Top that with 3 buttons, in a slightly overlapping triangle. Top with a dollop of Mornay sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan, and pop under the broiler until they sauce gets suntanned.
Decorate each tower with bacon lardings, and top with a mushroom cap.
Hope this helps.
you are stressing out far too much. That sort of party should be fun for everyone, including the hostess.
What I find works is to put out a series of appetizers and starter courses.
Appetizers are among my favorite things, as you can really let your creativity and imagination run wild. Plus most of the work can be done ahead of time, and you get to enjoy your guests.
Recently I was asked to prepare some guidelines for appetisers. They might serve you in good stead. Keep in mind my comments presumed a full meal to follow. So, in your case, just adapt them to mean the appetizer selection in total.
For starters (yes, I do have a punning license), let's look at some concepts, rather than just running a list of recipes.
Appetisers should be small, easily handled, and tasty. The whole idea is to get the juices flowing, to prepare the stomach for the feast ahead (if there's going to be one). Appetisers should also promote good conversation among the guests.
Just as with the main dish, itself, you want appetisers to compliment the flavors of what's to come, rather than conflict with them. Typically (but not always) this means a totally different type of food. If you're serving beef as the main course, appetisers should be fish, or fowl, or straight vegetarian most times. A hot (as in spicy) main course should not be preceeded by a hot appetiser. And so forth. (You can ignore this part for a buffet)
Give some thought to how you can convert main dish recipes you already are comfortable with into bite-sized morsals. Do that, and you have an incredible repetory of possibilities. You'll find that your small cookie cutters can be invaluable in this regard. With them, you can create equal-sized pieces of chicken breast or fish filets, or shape forcemeat, or cut pastry, veggies, etc.
Got a favorite meatball recipe? Reduce the balls to the size of marbles, and poof! There's an appetiser.
Won ton wrappers can be an invaluable aid to preparing appetisers. Use them as designed, to wrap around foodstuffs. Or combine two of them, to produce ravioli type dishes. Or bake them in muffin tins, to create individual, edible serving cups you can then fill with whatever.
Here are ways to use each method:
Pan fry some ground pork with appropriate spices. Add some chopped onion, grated cabbage, and bean spouts. Let cool. Fill a won ton wrapper, fold over, and fry. Or go the whole potsticker route.
Make a mushroom filling and sandwhich it between two wrappers. Cut into rounds and either boil or fry. Alternatively, dip the whole thing into an egg wash, then into bread crumbs, and bake at 350 until golden.
Fill a baked won ton cup with guacomole. Top it with a sauteed shrimp and a sprig of cilantro.
Pate choux paste is one of the most versatile things going. When you make it sweet it's called puff paste, and used for things like profiteroles. When made savory, it's called gougere.
Instead of just dropping it by spoonfuls, use a pastry bag and large tube and pipe out different shapes: rounds, crescents, logs, etc. Then use a different filling with each shape. Maybe a gorgonzola chicken salad in one, spiced ham mash in another, smoked salmon spread in still a third. In each case, use a fancy toothpick and a signature garnish, i.e., green olives, black olives, cocktail onions, cherry tomatoes, etc.
Vertical presentations are almost always more appealing. So, while keeping the total amount small, pile things upwards. For instance, I make reduced-size lamb patties, which are placed on a maple-broiled sweet-potato round, and topped with minted aioli. A mint leaf finishes the whole thing.
Where appropriate, criss-cross items to build height, and use garnishes in a manner that accentuates the visible appeal as well as the taste. When cutting items, offset the cuts. Equal sized pieces are visually boring, and lack movement.
Finally, something every cook probably knows. But it bears repeating: Anything tastes better wrapped in bacon.
Here's one of my own appetisers you might find appealing. It's a classic case of reducing a main dish entree into a starter:
Mini-Hot Browns.
Hot browns were first served at the Brown Hotel, in Louisville, Kentucky, back in the '20s, and have become a staple in the Bluegrass State. Nowadays mostly served with a cheddar sauce and garnished with tomatoes, the original used a Morney sauce, and garnished with mushrooms.
Make a thick Mornay sauce: Saute 1-2 tbls minced onion in 3 tbls butter. Add 3 tbls flour and cook for another minute. Slowly pour in 2 cups heated cream, stirring. Add salt, pepper, flecks of parsley, and a dash of nutmeg, and let cook down until very thick. For each 2 cups of sauce add 2 egg yolks (tempering them first). Stir until reaching boiling point. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup grated Parmesan and 1 tbls butter.
Cut bacon into lardings and fry until browned. Drain on paper towels and reserve.
Carve a small mushroom cap for each hot brown. Gently saute in butter.
Toast slices of bread (I prefer oatmeal bread for this). Using a 2 1/2-3" cookie cutter (I use a fluted one), cut the bread into rounds. Use the same cookie cutter to cut 1/4" thick slices of deli counter chicken breast into the same sized rounds. Make the same number as bread rounds. Then go down a size and cut an equal number of chicken rounds. Finally, cut out tiny buttons of chicken (I use a length of 1/2" pvc for this), making 3 for each big piece.
On each toast round lay a large piece of chicken. Then center a smaller round on it. Top that with 3 buttons, in a slightly overlapping triangle. Top with a dollop of Mornay sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan, and pop under the broiler until they sauce gets suntanned.
Decorate each tower with bacon lardings, and top with a mushroom cap.
Hope this helps.
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
KYHeirloomer I loved the mini hot browns.
so fun. Where abouts are you located in Central Kentucky? I used to play in the Lexington Philharmonic, about as central Kentucky as one can get.
And that Lexington Farmer's Market. Gotta love it.
so fun. Where abouts are you located in Central Kentucky? I used to play in the Lexington Philharmonic, about as central Kentucky as one can get.
And that Lexington Farmer's Market. Gotta love it.
Dear KY, you've got me figured out! I've always been a worrier (beware, FK, this becomes NFRC!...
and my house-guests for three days (the reason for the get-together) are probably why I sound stressed. I'm always more comfortable staying at a motel when visiting out-of-town, but sometimes a friend or family member thinks that I would love to have them move in with us for a few days. This is the case this time, and I think the stress is overflowing into the plans for the party, which is to introduce the house-guests to other friends. The house-guests and friends are all DH's, through professional/education ties. They are very nice people, and I guess I'm trying to be too much of a perfectionist for them.
You sound like you are a real pro at entertaining, and I appreciate your taking the time to write up the Entertaining 101 Guidelines for me. The appetizer ideas make a lot of sense. I have some that I like, and I'll wait to see if some of my other forum friends have additional suggestions.
I will keep reminding myself that this is supposed to be fun. Thanks, again, for your reply.
and my house-guests for three days (the reason for the get-together) are probably why I sound stressed. I'm always more comfortable staying at a motel when visiting out-of-town, but sometimes a friend or family member thinks that I would love to have them move in with us for a few days. This is the case this time, and I think the stress is overflowing into the plans for the party, which is to introduce the house-guests to other friends. The house-guests and friends are all DH's, through professional/education ties. They are very nice people, and I guess I'm trying to be too much of a perfectionist for them.
You sound like you are a real pro at entertaining, and I appreciate your taking the time to write up the Entertaining 101 Guidelines for me. The appetizer ideas make a lot of sense. I have some that I like, and I'll wait to see if some of my other forum friends have additional suggestions.
I will keep reminding myself that this is supposed to be fun. Thanks, again, for your reply.
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
Marianne, these aren't the Austrians by chance?
No, Richard, I wish they were. It's DH's USNA and Marine Corps buddies, who are all nice, too,...
and, I have a surprise for you: vinegar.at is sending me a copy of their cookbook as a present for you, after I told them about your love of Graz. I'm watching for a post from Austria now.
You've had a really rough time with the weather...stay warm, dry, and safe.
My best,
M
and, I have a surprise for you: vinegar.at is sending me a copy of their cookbook as a present for you, after I told them about your love of Graz. I'm watching for a post from Austria now.
You've had a really rough time with the weather...stay warm, dry, and safe.
My best,
M
Although, apparently it shouldn't be left at room temp for more than 2 hours...
"Food should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep track of how long the foods have been sitting on the buffet table and discard anything after two hours.
If the buffet is held outside and the outside temperature is above 85 degrees F, then the holding time is reduced to one hour."
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Menu/buffet.htm
"Food should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep track of how long the foods have been sitting on the buffet table and discard anything after two hours.
If the buffet is held outside and the outside temperature is above 85 degrees F, then the holding time is reduced to one hour."
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Menu/buffet.htm
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
Marianne how wonderful!
Did you tell them my dream is to retire in Graz? It truly is an amazing treasure. What a beautiful city!!!! You are so sweet. Thank you.
Did you tell them my dream is to retire in Graz? It truly is an amazing treasure. What a beautiful city!!!! You are so sweet. Thank you.
Yes, Richard, I told them of your dream. I asked them to reserve a copy of their cookbook for you
and to look for you to visit with them in the future. I asked them to wait for your e-mail to tell them where to send the cookbook, but there must have been something lost in the translation, because they are sending the cookbook to me, to give it to you, as a gift. I'll PM you to get your mailing address, so I can forward it to you when I receive it. They were so pleased to learn about your interest in Graz.
They told us that they are going to South Africa in a few weeks, to install a "vinegar making" machine there.
I thought you would enjoy conversing with them in German, but you can always do this, as they know who you are, now.
My best,
M
Be well,
M
and to look for you to visit with them in the future. I asked them to wait for your e-mail to tell them where to send the cookbook, but there must have been something lost in the translation, because they are sending the cookbook to me, to give it to you, as a gift. I'll PM you to get your mailing address, so I can forward it to you when I receive it. They were so pleased to learn about your interest in Graz.
They told us that they are going to South Africa in a few weeks, to install a "vinegar making" machine there.
I thought you would enjoy conversing with them in German, but you can always do this, as they know who you are, now.
My best,
M
Be well,
M
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
I cannot tell you how touched I am
thank you so much. I look forward to this wonderful cookbook from the Graz vinegar Leute. The Web site is amazing!!! Rose vinegar!!! be still my heart! I will have to visit the Vinegar Farm on my next visit to the homeland. Thank you for such a wonderful gift.
thank you so much. I look forward to this wonderful cookbook from the Graz vinegar Leute. The Web site is amazing!!! Rose vinegar!!! be still my heart! I will have to visit the Vinegar Farm on my next visit to the homeland. Thank you for such a wonderful gift.
Another Italian idea: my mom's New Year's buffet was always meatball and sausage sandwiches....
Halved meatballs and sliced sausages in tomato sauce in seperate crock pots (in pre-crockpot days is was electric skillets), with a big basket of split French rolls. There were also cold cuts and other breads for cold sandwiches but weren't really necessary. It's not a fancy idea but you could dress it up with nice hors d'ouvres or antipasti and a choice of salads.
Halved meatballs and sliced sausages in tomato sauce in seperate crock pots (in pre-crockpot days is was electric skillets), with a big basket of split French rolls. There were also cold cuts and other breads for cold sandwiches but weren't really necessary. It's not a fancy idea but you could dress it up with nice hors d'ouvres or antipasti and a choice of salads.
kyheirloomer
Well-known member
Entertainment Pro?
Richard, I'm outside of Richmond.
There are some problems with the Lexington Farmer's Market. Among other things, they'll be forced to move after this season. And there's a new, competitive market because too many of the vendors at Lexington are penhookers instead of growers.
Marianne, the thing to keep solidly in mind is that houseguests are (other than your MIL) not there to find fault. Just the opposite. They are prepared to find anything you do for them just perfect in every way. Indeed, when you start prepping for the party, I'll bet they offer to help.
So just chill. Everything will be fine.
A pro at entertaining? I don't know about that. We entertained a lot, in the past. And I've done some catering. And as a food writer I'm maybe more aware of the possibilities.
I love to play around with small plates, especially those that can be mostly done ahead. That way I get to enjoy my guests as well as show off my culinary skills. Thus, buffets make much more sense to me than sit-down dinners.
But mostly I just keep the three Fs in mind: Food + Friends=Fun.
Richard, I'm outside of Richmond.
There are some problems with the Lexington Farmer's Market. Among other things, they'll be forced to move after this season. And there's a new, competitive market because too many of the vendors at Lexington are penhookers instead of growers.
Marianne, the thing to keep solidly in mind is that houseguests are (other than your MIL) not there to find fault. Just the opposite. They are prepared to find anything you do for them just perfect in every way. Indeed, when you start prepping for the party, I'll bet they offer to help.
So just chill. Everything will be fine.
A pro at entertaining? I don't know about that. We entertained a lot, in the past. And I've done some catering. And as a food writer I'm maybe more aware of the possibilities.
I love to play around with small plates, especially those that can be mostly done ahead. That way I get to enjoy my guests as well as show off my culinary skills. Thus, buffets make much more sense to me than sit-down dinners.
But mostly I just keep the three Fs in mind: Food + Friends=Fun.