Party Planning for 8

#Menus #Calm #Greece-Turkey


It's Friday!
Tomorrow is the dinner and I haven't exactly started preparing anything except getting some of the groceries last evening.  But I'm very calm.  The more the situation calls for stress the calmer I get.  I like that about myself.  It scares the kaka out of those around me.  (I can say kaka, I'm a mom, it's normal.)   Oh, and good thing I asked if any of the guests had any allergies or food aversions etc... and turns out there will be a VEGETARIAN among us.  She seemed very nonchalant about it saying I didn't have to worry as she'll b fine eating just the sides.  It's clearly her first time to my house.  In my house all dishes served contain "man-gredient", or meat.  (Yes, men can also be vegetarian I'm just grossly stereotyping).

The theme will be "somewhere in between Greece and Turkey..."

Happy Hour  
We're starting at 6.30 pm with cocktails.  To ensure dining success I like to immediately get the guests to an advanced stage of inebriation.

• Welcome Cocktail - Kir Royale
• Cocktail 2 - Tequila...with something
• 32 bites (4 per person)- I was going to make sushi, then... I got real and decided to buy some instead.
• 8 sushi bites
• 8 pempernikle triangles with smoked salmon and sour cream
• 8 cucumber somethings....
• 8 something else....

Fun Dishes
Dishes to have on the table before the starters come out.  The starter's starter?

• Beetroot Hummus (Thanks for the inspiration Tiny Woolf!)
• Chickpea Hummus
• Pita Triangles (to go with all the Hummus overload)
• Black and Green Olives
• Bread aioli and herb butter

Main Course
• Peppers stuffed with wild rice, sausage and apples
• Lamb something... (I have not decided yet)

Side Dishes
• Little Gem, garlic olives and feta salad
• String bean salad

Dessert
• Cheesecake with Fresh Strawberries
• Grapes platter (you know for after dinner when we're reclining on our right side.)



Well, anyway, the picture is slightly less fuzzy... I'm very calm. ;)
And now JUST at this moment it struck me to consult people that know what they're talking about....

A quick search yielded the following advice from Michelle @Browneyedbaker:

What she suggest and what I actually did...

1 }  First choose your main course and work the rest of your menu around that - oops... I planned the cocktails first and worked my way up from that...
2 }  I always like to include a salad with a dinner- check!! Little Gem salad
3 }  Then add a vegetable- String bean salad, yey, so far so good
4 }  Depending on how many people you have, you may want another vegetable side dish- Caprese salad
5 }  Starchy side - Wild rice
6 }  Bread or rolls with butter - bread with aioli and herb butter7 }  Now choose your appetizers. For appetizers, the general rule of thumb is 5 servings per person per hour prior to serving a meal. - good deal! I got 4 bites per person plus humus "fun" plates

Piece of cake!