In January, while my daughter is visiting us, my mom will have her 72nd birthday. My sibs and I are going to have a party for her - the sister who lives nearest Mom has volunteered her house. Here’s the deal -
Probably 20-22 attendees max, as few as 15. Not enough space for a sit-down meal.
Among the guests will be a diabetic, a couple of very fussy eaters, and several who are supposed to be watching their weight.
I’d like 2 hot dishes minimum, and one must be bland and benign, plus an assortment of sides and munchies.
Desserts aren’t a problem - it’ll be traditional cake and ice cream.
So, toss your suggestions my way. Just be sure it’s stuff that can be balanced on one’s lap or an ottoman and easy to serve on disposable plates. Plus it’s gotta travel well - except for hosting sis, we’ll all be traveling a minimum of 30 minutes to get there.
sj2 what do you mean nobody ever eats those tortilla roll up thingys? :dubious: They are among the finger foods of the gods.
Somebody already beat me to the finger sammiches suggestion. So much stuff you can do there and it’s kinda like getting a mini meal. Also I like the meatball and chicken skewer ideas. Have you considered cheese straws or cheese crisps? Both are nummy! I can give ya recipes for those if you want FCM.
Baby food is apparently big. I watched a whole show on a wedding on the Food Network that featured baby food. Teeny grill cheese. Itsty bitsy cheeseburgers. Widdle bitty bowls of macaroni and cheese. It was insane. But darling.
I worked with a woman who had a whole drawer full of tiny food. Oreos, Ritz crackers, tiny tostadas. It’s some kind of self-delusional form of dieting, I think.
One of the meals could be fried chicken…or roasted chicken. It was a big hit at a party attended. 50 pieces was 30 dollars at Fred Meyer.
At one of my parties (the ones where I plan and cook for days) my guy friend showed up with ten 1/4lb double stacks from Wendy’s. I cut them in sections and put them on a platter (sprinkled with parsley, of course). They were gobbled up immediately. Sigh.
Oh yes - I’ve often wanted to beg you for some of your legendary cheese straws - a recipe would be almost as good! I know you have my email, in case you don’t want to share with the immediate world.
I was thinking about taking my rotisserie and doing a chicken, but I didn’t know if I could get a chicken big enough so that there would be a reasonable amount for the crowd. I may do that anyway - I’ve got a super-yummy rub for it!
It’s this dang holiday season that makes me get so generous. I’ll share the cheese straws and cheese crisps here.
Cheese Straws
1 lb. extra sharp cheddar cheese
2 sticks of margarine (butter is fine too)
3 cups sifted self-rising flour
1/2 tsp. salt (go light cause the cheese is well, kinda salty and you can omit the salt)
Cayenne pepper to taste (1/2 to one tsp. depending on how spicy you want the cheese straws to be) DO NOT LEAVE OUT THE CAYENNE PEPPER
Allow cheese and margarine (butter) to soften. Grate cheese and work into the margarine (butter). Mix the flour, salt and pepper together and add gradually to the cheese mixture. The dough gets very stiff. Place the dough in a cookie press and use either the bar plate or the star tip to press out 3 to 4 inch strips on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees until very lightly brown around the edges. Do not brown! Start checking after 10 minutes, as this usually takes between 10 to 15 minutes. Makes several dozen cheese straws.
Cheese straws are a southern US thing. They must be served at wedding receptions or the wedding ain’t legal. Plus they’re just good eats.
Cheese Crisps
2 sticks of margarine (or butter)
1 eight ounce block of extra sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Cayenne pepper to taste, just like with the cheese straws. DO NOT LEAVE OUT THE CAYENNE PEPPER
2 cups of rice crispies (spelled this way because you can get all generic with the rice cereal, it doesn’t matter)
Allow cheese and margarine (butter) to soften. Grate the cheese and mix with the margarine (butter). Add the salt and pepper, then add the flour one cup at a time. Fold in the rice crispies. Form into little balls and place on a cookie sheet. Press down on the little balls with a fork dipped in flour. Bake at 350 degrees until done and golden but not brown. This takes 10 to 15 minutes. If they do get a little brown it’s ok. Makes anywhere from about four to eight dozen depending on how big or small you roll the little balls.
Cheese crisps are one of my favoirte snackie things. I make ‘em for myself sometimes just cause I get a hankerin’. They are great with beer or your cold beverage of choice.
Y’all enjoy! Neither of these are hard to make but can be a little time consuming because of the pressing out into little strips or rolling out into little balls and flattening.
