I am planning a baby shower for the end of the month. The theme is the baby's unique heritage, a combo of New Mexican and Irish. The party is from 1-4pm and I will be serving heavy hors d'oeurves and a cake or cupcakes of some kind. So far I have 12 confirmed guests and I am guessing the end total will be 15-20.
My original concept was to try to blend the two cuisines but that has not come up with too many good and easily executed ideas. So I am thinking now to just do a combo of Irish and New Mexican items. My constraints is that the majority of the food is coming from myself (I sent out an email for assistance and only got one response) and the party is on a Saturday afternoon so my prep time is somewhat limited. What this means is that I don't want to overburden myself with handmade items, yet at the same time I don't want a table laden with purchased (possibly expensive) pre-made items. I also don't own any chafing dishes so that kind of keeps out items that need to be kept warm. (warm items will have to be passed, or be items that are edible at room temperature. i.e. nothing covered in melted cheese that will congeal)
So I thought I'd throw it out to you internets foodie readers of mine to see if you have any good suggestions. Here are some of my ideas so far:
IRISH
- Irish Cheddar and Stout Fondue (I DO have a fondue pot and I like the idea of this, served with steamed potatoes and veggies. Probably quick and easy to execute but could be messy)
UPDATED: BCD Girl #1 Commented that this fondue will not work for the kind of party I'm planning. Need another Irish dish recommendation!
- Irish brown bread w/Smoked Salmon, chives and soft butter Canapes (provided I can purchase brown bread somewhere, will only require assembly day of)
NEW MEXICAN
- Chips and salsa and guac (dur)
- Pre-packaged "taquitos" (Costco) served w/homemade red and green chile sauce
I really need a spectacular cake idea. Actually, I really need someone else to bring the cake. ha ha! Anything you see on this list I should or shouldn't do? Something else to round it out? Looking at it here. I'm thinking this may be enough for the amount of guests I have (including at least one other dish being brought)
3 Things:
- I truly do love living in Chicago in the summertime. I'll leave it at that.
- The ability to communicate with my partner when something is troubling one of us
- Feeling like I have some job security (today)
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11 comments:
I think the menu sounds good.
If you are looking for other ways to keep food hot, consider the crockpot. They are dirt cheap (at big box stores or at thrift stores) or you probably know someone who can loan you one if you don't have one. They are very 70's, but quite practical in at a party like this.
SRM- I do have one. But never use it. Any dishes in mind you are thinking of?
stef-- have to comment about the Irish Cheddar and Stout fondue. I made this for NYE party (you may have seen the RIDICULOUS pictures on facebook) and while it was very tasty, it got clumpy and weird quickly... not ideal for the kind of party where people nibble for several hours. just a heads up!
Oooo. Thanks Xan. Damn now I need to come up with another Irish dish dammit.
I guess for the Irish theme it would be inappropriate to serve beer?
and I'd do a soup or meatballs to go in that crockpot.
If you have a crock pot, some sort of green or red chile stew would be ideal. Easy to make, keeps perfectly fine over time, and you could do either a meat or meatless version.
Consider looking up a recipe for biscochitos - a quintessential New Mexican cookie. Can't get better keeping on the buffet the cookies.
I hate to ask but - Is New Mexican a heritage? Irish I'll give ya, but to ascribe "heritage" to a state. Let alone one filled with mostly recent transplants from other states? Hey wait I've got one for you I'm Polish, Danish, Czech, Illinoisian, Iowan with a little bit of Missourian. You can't even break it down into percentages.
Sorry girl, the topic is beyond my sphere of knowledge. Good luck though!!!
Irish stew would be a good crock pot dish. Although, personally, I like bangers and mash (probably not the best thing to serve at a shower, though). Lisa
Delurking for the sake of culinary commenting.
Looking at the menu my first thought was Taos Salad Toss. Super easy, can be assemble ahead of time.
In a large bowl, preferably glass because this is so pretty, layer shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, crushed tortilla chips, sliced black olives, browned ground beef (or shredded chicken) , chopped green chili, chopped onions (might want to omit this for this bunch). Make layers fairly thin and repeat one time, serve with Green Goddess dressing (yes, they still make it and it is perfect for this salad).
Returning to lurk mode.
thanks everyone!
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