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Make-ahead menu for baby dedication reception - ideas?
Hi! I am Looking for any make-ahead lunch recipes or blogs for make-ahead hot or cold food. We are doing babies' (twins) dedication in church next Sunday morning with reception to follow at my house. So, I won't have a lot of time to cook other than heat,assemble, serve.
We are having about 25 adults...we are all heading back to my house in a caravan directly after the church ceremony. So, I only have enough time to assemble foor while ppl help/watch. I don't anticipate being able to do too much day-of cooking before the service, sine it's in the morning & I have twins to get ready & out the door. :P
I am sure I can put out easy make-ahead apps to hold everyone off while things heat.
I think these Ham & Cheese Sliders from Annie's Eats look awesome (thanks to other nestie suggestion):
http://annies-eats.com/2010/07/13/ham-and-cheese-sliders/
These are perfect...finger foods, filling and good. So, I will build my menu from there. I thought of also doing a spinach dip, since you can make it a day in advance, but need more recipes for make-ahead.
Do you have any suggestions for make-ahead stuff for this event?
Re: Make-ahead menu for baby dedication reception - ideas?
I'm just going to throw this out there. While these sandwiches look good, they seem more like superbowl or poker night sandwiches. If I recall you were also going to be doing cloth napkins and such? If so, I don't think this is quite special enough. A spiral sliced ham with rolls would still be nicer.
Anyway, other make ahead options:
pasta salad skewer- I skewer tortellini, olives, mozzarella chunks, and cherry tomatoes then marinate in your favorite dressing overnight.
deviled eggs- you can make these fancier by topping with smoked salmon
tossed salad- one of my favorites right now is spinach with feta, red onion, mandarin oranges, sugared almonds, you can keep things separate and toss with balsamic vinagrette just before serving.
Chicken salad cups would be easy. You can make the chicken salad ahead of time and then just spoon it into Phyllo cups before serving.
You could also do soup. If you have a good recipe that could be done in the crock pot, then it would be done when you get home.
what about putting pork in a crock pot and doing pulled pork sandwiches. you can serve with associated sides, etc..
or a taco bar? you can make really easy salsa chicken in the crock pot as well (and can do before and just heat up while you're at services) and have the sides - soft shells, sour cream, guac, etc...
pasta? lasagna is a good make a head and reheat kind of dish with a green salad and great bread.
this may not be fancy enough for what you're thinking but my friend did a sandwich bar for her kid's baptism lunch. Got a bunch of cold cuts, nice cheeses, breads, etc... and let people make their own sandwich. but that's pretty casual.
There are tons of great recipes and menu ideas here, lots that can be made ahead: http://goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/
I've made the mini sandwiches before, and they're definitely not the feel I'd want for a baptism luncheon. Ditto on things like taco bar or crockpot meals. Lasagna is a great idea though! You can assemble it all the night before and just bake it while people are having appetizers.