Bridal Shower Lunch

[ianeccleston]

We're having 20 people over to our relatively small apartment this weekend for my sister-in-law's bridal shower. It will be buffet-style; since we don't have enough space for everyone to sit, the food has to be easy to eat. Furthermore, the relatives from Peoria are coming in, so the food can't be too 'challenging' (read, make sure there's some beef on the table).

I've got my menu figured out, but I'm curious what other people might do.

My menu:

The Teaser:

Cheese from 'The Cheese Stands Alone' (Chicago)

A little fruit

Roasted vegetable terrine w/ goat cheese

Olives marinated with preserved lemon and rosemary

The Pleaser:

Prosciutto-wrapped Asparagus

Mixed Herb Frittata

Bite-size, grilled, skewered flank steak - served with a choice of sauces: Chimichurri or red pepper aioli.

Green salad - mustard vinaigrette and Zuni Cafe-style croutons

And possibly a soup - chilled pureed cucumber soup, with avacado and yogurt, maybe garnished with watermelon. Served in our coffee cup w/ saucer set we got for our wedding...

What would yours be? Or do you have any suggestions for tweaking my menu?

Cheers,

Ian

Edited May 12, 2004 by ianeccleston (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

Sounds absolutely divine - I don't think it needs any tweaking...

However, will there be sweets?????

[Mulcahy]

Are you serving booze?

It sounds absolutely delicious.

[ianeccleston]

How could I forget! I'm ordering out - a Princess Cake from the Swedish Bakery in Chicago.

And yes, wine of course. The extended family that's coming in is known as the 'Chablis Sisters' - so plenty of white wine will be on hand. Belinis might be a nice touch too.

Thanks to both of you; glad you like the look of it. It's always fun to put together a menu.

Edited May 12, 2004 by ianeccleston (log)

[Mulcahy]

Wine and booze are critical components of bridal and baby showers in my experience. Bellinis might be a very nice touch, or mimosas.

May I ask what kind of cheese?

[ianeccleston]

We'll see what the cheese market has to offer. Last time we went to this cheese shop we got a terrific goat brie, and a national-award-winning cheese called something like Red Cow. We'll probably just have a mix - one stinky, one hard, one less stinky or a goat cheese.

[kiliki]

That sounds terrific. If all bridal showers offered such menus, they would be a lot less hellish.

[Malawry]

Sounds fabulous.

The shower my attendants threw for my now-spouse and I had a "domesticated wildlife" theme...including some ribald treats like breast cupcakes and an, ahem, special pasta salad. (There was also a delicious sangria, cookies, cheeses, and some other more common nibbles.)

I love the idea of doing Southern-themed food for this sort of event...little biscuits with country ham, lemon squares, candied pecans, brandy punch or bourbon lemonade perhaps. If I were to host one, and the bride-to-be enjoyed that sort of thing, that's probably the direction I'd move in.

[ianeccleston]

Thanks for your advice - here's how it turned out:

Edited May 17, 2004 by ianeccleston (log)

[Cusina]

Wow, just beautiful. Thanks for the pictures.