Need Party Food Ideas

[silvercrayon]

My daughter graduated recently with an advanced degree.  We are having a small, family celebration next Saturday night (everyone is vaccinated).  I need food help.  There will be 6 adults, and 2 children. 

I plan to have a large charcuterie spread and a cake, but feel like I need something more substantial as it will be a meal time.  Please give me your ideas. TIA

[lilac05]

Are you looking for a heavy app type food that you can serve with the charcuterie, or do you want a full sit down meal? Are you thinking you’d like to have something a little fancy/special or basic/easy/down-home type food? Budget or time limitations?

[sarahbear]

Chicken salad and rolls to make sandwiches. Sliced tomatoes and lettuce for toppings.

Pasta, salad and bread

[katfco]

Cocktail meatballs are often my go-to.
A veggie tray?

[mbcdefg]

Congratulations to her!

If you’re open to catering I’d order some pizza and a sandwich tray/a giant sub cut into pieces, and maybe assemble a green salad and a noodle or potato salad. Or a veggie tray.

Instead of a bowl of chips, you can buy an assorted box of the individual bags of chips.

[erbear]

Make your own taco bar is my go-to.

[cuadrado]

Shrimp cocktail

[silvercrayon]

Sept 12, 2021 20:31:40 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Are you looking for a heavy app type food that you can serve with the charcuterie, or do you want a full sit down meal? Are you thinking you’d like to have something a little fancy/special or basic/easy/down-home type food? Budget or time limitations?

Not really a sit down meal, but something to make people feel like they have had a meal.  I know that doesn't make sense! LOL. Heavy apps, would probably be great! Any ideas?

[sunnysally]

I love crock pots for this type of thing: spinach artichoke dip, shredded beef for sandwiches, meatballs or little smokies. I've been feeling 70s apps lately and have brought a cheese ball and deviled eggs to parties.

[mccallister84]

Sept 12, 2021 20:47:21 GMT -5 silvercrayon said:

Sept 12, 2021 20:31:40 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Are you looking for a heavy app type food that you can serve with the charcuterie, or do you want a full sit down meal? Are you thinking you’d like to have something a little fancy/special or basic/easy/down-home type food? Budget or time limitations?

Not really a sit down meal, but something to make people feel like they have had a meal.  I know that doesn't make sense! LOL. Heavy apps, would probably be great! Any ideas?

Bacon wrapped dates, meatballs, veggie pizza on crescent rolls, mini quiches

[af1212]

I would get a sandwich tray.

[nicanmatt]

Sept 12, 2021 20:47:21 GMT -5 silvercrayon said:

Sept 12, 2021 20:31:40 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Are you looking for a heavy app type food that you can serve with the charcuterie, or do you want a full sit down meal? Are you thinking you’d like to have something a little fancy/special or basic/easy/down-home type food? Budget or time limitations?

Not really a sit down meal, but something to make people feel like they have had a meal.  I know that doesn't make sense! LOL. Heavy apps, would probably be great! Any ideas?

Party meatballs in the crock pot with chili sauce and grape jelly are always a hit when we have people over! They are filling, warm, EASY, and you can even get little Hawaiian rolls for people to put them on.

Veggie tray sliced watermelon/cantaloupe are also a hit in summer too!

[jennistarr1]

Sept 12, 2021 20:45:38 GMT -5 cuadrado said:

Shrimp cocktail

I was going to say this, maybe mini crab cakes too

It's not a ton of people so some of the other ideas are more to feed a crowd

Sandwiches don't make sense with charcuterie board

[tacokick]

I’d do seafood if people like that. It’s fancy and festive but wouldn’t be too crazy expensive for that few people. I’d do shrimp cocktail or shrimp salad or mini crab cakes. Costco has lobster tails pretty affordably and I’ve used that to make mini lobster rolls before. I’d do a fun tomato salad since it’s still tomato season or maybe a corn salad? This is my favorite time of year for a party! Fancy picnic food is my favorite.

[lilac05]

I think having something warm to offer will make it feel more substantial. If it’s lunchtime, sandwiches are nice & easy and would feel sufficient for a meal, but for dinner time, I’d want something warm in the fall.

The crockpot party meatballs are always a big hit. You can throw little smokies in there, too, just to change it up a little.

I always have a veggie tray with the Hidden Valley packet dip. Sometimes I’ll make a second one of those dips and add sharp cheddar cheese and bacon pieces to it and serve it with crackers and pretzels...but with only 8 people, that would be a bit much!

The ham sliders are also always a big hit!

I’d love to serve fun/fancy/different foods, but our guests are often pretty picky eaters, so we stick to the very basics.

[isabel]

This dip is really tasty. Add crudites and crackers and serve alongside your charcuterie board.

pinchofyum.com/onion-dip

Ditto shrimp cocktail. That always feels festive to me. St. Elmo's cocktail sauce is the best and can be purchased on Amazon.

Grilled chicken skewers would be good warm or room temp and can be served on a platter. You could do something similar with a grilled flank steak and chimichurri sauce. I would add a nice herbed potato or pasta salad, something that is a little more sophisticated than the typical mayo-based picnic salad.

This pasta salad is really good: cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021095-macaroni-salad-with-lemon-and-herbs

I think that rounds out your offerings nicely:

Charcuterie board with crudites, crackers, and onion dip
Shrimp cocktail (you could take this further with mini crab cakes, oysters, etc.)
Grilled chicken or steak with sauce
Pasta or potato salad
Dessert

A lot of these suggestions are fine, but they aren't the kind of food I would want to serve for an event like this. Sandwiches and the like are a little too casual for me.