Hosting a luncheon on Saturday - help!

[Giovanna1]

Hello - I am hosting a bridal shower (luncheon) on Saturday for about 15 people, and was wondering if anyone had any input on menu. I want variety, but don't know if these items are too unrelated. Menu so far looks like this:

Quiche (veggie, and meat)
Poached salmon with yogurt/dill sauce
Curried chicken salad
Tossed Salad
Green bean salad
croissants
focaccia

wine - red and white
for a "punch" - sangria? bride-to-be loves it, but is it too much of a summer drink?

Cake, fruit platter, choc. covered strawberries, coffee, tea

for hors d'eouvres - cheese platter (baked brie - yum!), vegetable crudite, and the basic hummus/baba ghanouj and pita.

Is this way too much all over the place? (indian, middle eastern, spanish, etc!)

A friend had suggested also making penne with sauteed cherry tomatos - so add italian to the mix!

Sounds lovely to me and variety should cater for various tastes so probably a good idea. If the bride-to-be loves sangria why not go with it.

Can I come please?

Giovanna1

This all sounds pretty good to me ... I think the variety is a good thing!
You don't say how many you have coming, but don't forget that the more people you have, the less they actually eat - believe me, I never take this advice, and end up eating leftovers for weeks!

My only comment is that instead of sangria, why not have some mulled wine instead? It's basically a hot sangria! - Be careful - you can drink loads of it before you suddely feel REALLY drunk... Post here again if you need the recipe. I'm sure I have one somewhere.

Tell me - what is baba ghanouj? Never heard of it!

Agree with fms - try mulled wine (gluhwein/glogg, all sorts of national variations on hot spiced wine punch and all quite sangria-like).
Have a great time, Giovanna.

Sounds fantastic, Giovanna. What a lucky bride to have a friend like you!

Perhaps you might be able to give me a tip or two for some simple "nibbles" to offer with an early evening drink. We've invited our new neighbours round with their two-year-old and don't want to do anything formal, but crisps out of a packet doesn't look very imaginative.

Giovanna - sounds wonderful - It's not "all over the place" it's eclectic fusion!

fms - baba ghanouj is an aubergine dip thing IIRC

Rosie T - try crostini, Buy a baguette or ficelle, and when it's one day old (slight staleness is good here) cut it into 1/2 inch circles, rub with oil and bake in oven until slightly brown. Top with anything. Goats cheese and roasted red pepper is particularly good (Buy the jars of roasted peppers) Or potato wedges, just cut potato into wedges, toss in olive oil and seasoning and roast until nicely brown. Serve with bowl of sour cream to dip into.

Thanks for the input! Always start doubting these things when it is time to prepare...!

FMS - I don't know how to make mulled wine! Can you let me know? thank you!

Nibbles for Rosie T - I love baked brie - I get a small wheel of it, put it in a small baking dish, cover it with honey and pignoli nuts and bake it until it is all warm and gooey. Serve with whatever crackers you like, or crusty bread. Also, stuffed mushrooms - I usually break up sausage, fry it with crushed garlic, mix it with some bread crumbs, egg and parmesan, stuff it in mushroom caps (I also break up the mushroom stems and cook them with the sausage) and bake.

Baba Ghanouj - is aubergine the same as eggplant? I make it with eggplant, tahini sauce, olive oil, garlic and lemon. And make hummus the same way, only use chickpeas instead of eggplant.

Soup Dragon - come on over! You can fly right into New York, and take the train up!'

I am expecting about 15 people - I will make a lot, because I can always send people home with food - I am doing weight watchers in a desperate attempt to lose weight before the wedding (I have a beautiful bridesmaid gown I need to squeeze into) so I can't have the leftovers here!

I've also just learned that the bride's mother is bringing spanish rice and beans and fried plantains (bride is columbian, so she will love it!). Talk about fusion!

Now I just have to go liquor and food shopping, make the favors, prepare the food, take down all the christmas decorations, get rid of the tree, clean and decorate. Me thinks I need that mulled wine NOW!

I will let you all know how it goes...thanks again!

Thanks for your suggestions, Giovanna and Prufrock. I think we should all have a mumsnet get-together at Giovanna's place ? you sound a brilliant hostess!
And yes, eggplant and aubergine are one and the same.

What a fabulous sounding menu - I have copied out your appetizer ideas to impress my bookclub friends on Monday night!!

Out of interest, what part of the States are you in? We spent a year in Colorado & travelled widely throughout the US & I am desperate to go back!

This all sounds fantastic. Please can someone tell me what pignoli nuts are though; I've recently discovered brie after hating it as a child so would love any recipes using it.

OK, here's Mrs Beetons recipe for Mulled Wine. (Mrs B was the Martha Stewart of the early 1900's - they reprint her recipes even today!)

Serves 8 - 10 (depending on how much you drink before the guests arrive )

4 oz castor sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
1 nutmeg
2 oranges thinly sliced
1 bottle of red wine

Boil 1 pint of water with the sugar and spices in a saucepan for 5 mins. Add the oranges, remove from heat and set aside for 15 mins. Stir in the wine. Heat slowly without boiling. Serve very hot in heated glasses.

Hope you can "translate" the ingredients into American.

Post back if you need help.

Thanks fms! I think I will do that instead as it supposed to be very cold here on Saturday.

Candy - they are pine nuts. I have also used slivered almonds that I toast first in the oven. They work great also.

Giovanna1, much as I'd love to, DS1 has chicken pox and is rather clingy and I don't think I'd get past New York anyway. All those shops! I can hear them calling me now!

brunch bashes are very trendy now, and very easy to do

buck fizz
fruit juices
coffee
bread products (croissant, bagles, muffins, rolls)
fillings (cream cheese, sliced cheese (jarlsberg), smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, posh meats (proscuto ?sp))
waffles
fruit (strawberies, melon, hot fruit compote)
cream & yogurt
spanish omelette
sweet stuff (chocolate brownies)

Practically all can be done well in advance and people just graze what they fancy.

Hope you have a great time and the stress of hosting doesn't outweigh the fun of the party.

Lindy, I am in Connecticut. I've never been to Colorado - was supposed to go last year to the Telluride Film Fest but had to cancel. I hope to make it out there at some point!

Giovanna ? do you have to toast your pine nuts first, too?
Do report back on your bridal shower ? leave no details out!!! I'm imagining one of those ultra-glamorous girly-bonding type scenes from Sex And The City!

giovanna, it all sounds wonderful to me. I am imagining glamour etc too. Hope you have a great time.

How did it all go Giovanna? Hope the mulled wine was a success.

Is Noank in Conneticut? We stayed there and visited Mystic Seaport many moons ago BC (before children!).

Hello...

The luncheon went well - the bride loved it, and that was the most important thing! I did some last minute menu changes - it was very cold here, so I switched the poached salmon for a really yummy chicken with shitake mushrooms, scallions, shallots and tomato dish - I took it off of epicurious.com, served with rice. It was a big hit! Fried plantains were quite popular as well, which I didn't make.

The only bummer - one woman that was there kept making everybody pose for photos - I mean constantly! Very controlling, very annoying. I don't like posed pictures, anyway. The funny thing was, she kept making people pose like it was natural "okay, now you two turn to each other like you are having a conversation, and make pretend you're taking a bite of food..." Yikes! Just wait until they do it, and take the *!@&% picture!

As I said, the bride was very touched, and that is what mattered. She got wonderful gifts and was surrounded by people who love her.

Mulled wine - didn't do it! Went with hot spiced cider with rum, and had coffee with kahlua or irish creme for those who wanted warm drinks. I will try the mulled wine for our football gathering next weekend, though!

Rosie T - yes! I forgot to mention that - definitely roast/toast the pine nuts.

FMS - Noank is in CT - although I am not very familiar with it. I live right outside of New Haven. I went to mystic seaport a few times last summer when I wasn't working - it is about an hour away, great day trip. Love the little shops!

Thanks everyone for your input...I got a kick out of the imaginings of "sex and the city" - not so much! (but I did wear my Manolo Blahniks! NOT!).

lol at your party "photographer" Giovanna!