So you want to host a party, not a sit down dinner. What do you serve? How much do you serve? It all depends on the number of guests and when they are arriving. To keep it simple, I advise that you host an evening event. Let me explain why…. Whenever I have hosted a lunch time event starting at 1pm, I have found that more often than not, people do not actually leave! You always have a good few guests who stay through the evening and late into the night so inevitably you scramble around for more food to serve as the evening wears on! If you decide that’s OK and you start at 1pm and allow people to come for either lunch or dinner, you must double your catering so that you can serve a batch at lunchtime and a new batch in the evening. If you plan to do this, make sure you let people know the times you plan to serve food so that you are not spending all your time in the kitchen instead of mingling with guests! Even when I do host an evening party, I advise my guests what sort of food will be served and approximately when. This is important as some guests may choose to go out for dinner first before attending your party. If you want people to come over early then you need to provide a reasonable amount of food!
In terms of what to serve, I always aim for anything that I can prepare in advance that I can simply whip out and put out on the table! I am hosting a party because I want to be part of it – the only way to do this is to have the preparation in advance and have a plan. The following is a menu of what I think are the easiest things to serve at a party! Choose as much or as little as you like, based on number of guests and what they eat. Almost all recommended dishes are scaleable. You can choose 5 dishes but make larger quantities to serve XX people or choose 10 dishes but make smaller quantities to serve the same number of people!
When Guests Arrive ….
There should always be some food ready to eat. It takes the pressure off and allows you time to greet your guests and direct them to the drinks. Here are my recommendations:
- Selection of Shop Bought Dips & Lavosh Biscuits / Biscuits for Dips
- Guacomole & Corn Chips
- Selection of Shop Bought Chips – Plain Chips are Mandatory with 1-2 Other Flavoured Chips
- Cheese Platter – suggest you buy larger quantities of each cheese so you can easily put out more if one runs out. Cheese platters are easy, filling and a great crowd pleaser at parties!
- Shop Bought Pates and Prawn Pate with Chopped Up Crusty Baguette or Water Cracker Biscuits.
The music is playing, most of the guests have arrived, you now want to serve some more food. Here is my selection of food that is varied, great for crowds and food that you can prepare in advance, all ready to go on serving plates in the fridge. If you are short on fridge space, make them up and put into containers so all you have to do is take out the container and put on a serving plate:
- Smoked Salmon Egg Crepes
- Mortadella Parcels
- Marinated Boconcini
- Pumpkin, Fetta & Spinach Frittata
- Caramelised Onion Tartlets
- Moroccan Chicken & Vegetable Rolls
- Duck & Hoisin Crepes
- Chicken Witlof Bites
If you want to add in some hot food or want to simply serve something more substantial, here are my party favourites:
- Roast Lamb Cutlets – marinate in advance and have them on an oven tray ready to cook and then serve immediately!
- Air Fried Chicken – this is definitely one you can cook in advance and serve at room temperature or reheat through just before serving.
- Tandoori Chicken Drumsticks – marinate in advance and have them on an oven tray ready to cook and then serve immediately!
- Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges – marinate in advance and have them on an oven tray ready to cook and then serve immediately!
Desserts are a must – they can all be prepared in advance!
- Chocolate Bailey Balls – because you can make lots of them and they are easy for everyone to just have a bit of dessert!
- Chocolate Cherry Ripe Mud Cake – because a little goes a long way – this rich, decadent cake is best served in thin slices!
- Baked Lemon Cheesecake or Sour Cream Cheesecake – because every party has to have a cheesecake!!
- Chocolate Mint Ripple Log – because it is the quickest of all desserts to make, tastes great and looks impressive!
- Flourless Orange Cake or Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake or Flourless Chocolate Cake or Chocolate Truffle Mud Cake – for those gluten-intolerant guests!
Choose what suits you best and enjoy the party!!!
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