Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Menu Advice - Taco Bar & Cake
My neice's first birthday party is next month, and since my sister is single-mom'n it right now (BIL is deployed) I offered up MH and I as catering assistance.
So...after throwing out a bunch of ideas, my sister pounced on Taco Bar.
So we're gonna have hard shells, soft flour tortillas, and chips for those who are taco salad inclined.
for meat we'll have a choice of the typical ground beef, a chili-rubbed pulled pork that MH will do on the smoker, and then some sort of marinated chicken cooked on the bbq and then sliced/chunked and sauced (maybe a non-spicy chili-lime marinade? something with lime for sure).
the toppings list is pretty extensive so far:
seasoned black beans (enough to be eaten as a side or topping)
refried beans (ditto side/topping)
guac
cheese (typical shredded mexican blend and queso fesco or cojita and maybe also a cheese dip/sauce kinda thing in our fondue pot.)
normal salsa
fun salsa! salsa verde, pineapple, and/or chipotle peach or something crazy
slaw (not typical coleslaw - a light crunchy kind of thing. with jicama or radishes maybe. again with making enough for a side or a topping)
green onions
lettuce (lots for those who want taco salad)
chopped maters
chopped pickled jalepenos
sliced roasted red peppers
corn is alive (side/topping) - (this is a family joke name for a corn salad thing my mom makes. fresh corn off the cob w/ cumin and some other stuff. it's yummy.
)sour cream
cilantro
lime wedges
assorted hot sauces
Can you think of anything else? I'm trying to have a mix of more authentic/fun toppings for the foodies and typical gringo toppings for the pickier eaters. I know the list looks crazy, but most of that stuff requries little to no prep work, or can be done a few days in advance (like the salsas) and there's gonna be 4 of us doing the prep work.
Drinks will be a virgin sangria-ish punch in one of those big pretty dispensers, probably with some booze on the side to punch it up for those so inclined, and some beer/soda/etc.
And then there's cake! Is there anything that actually goes with this menu? Or should I just make whatever sounds good to my sister? Tres Leches is awesome and all...but it doesn't make for a very good birthday cake with a candle and everything. though i could just make a little smash cake for that...thoughts?
Re: Menu Advice - Taco Bar & Cake
When I make tacos, I have rice as a side dish/topping. Spanish rice out of a box but it's yum. Also I don't like beans so I'm more rice inclined.
I made margarita cupcakes recently - they seem Mexican-themed but they are basically just yellow cake flavored with lime (the icing had tequila but you could barely taste it so I could have done without it). You could do that, a lime flavored cake.
BFP#1: 01/10, M/C 6w -- BFP#2: 06/10, M/C 5w -- BFP#3: 09/10, DS born June 1, 2011
BFP#4: 07/12, M/C 5w3d -- BFP#5: 12/12, EDD 08/18/13
Decorate This
beats me. there are ~40 invited, but ~15 of those are wishful thinking invites (OOTers) and I'm sure some of the others have plans, etc.
I love leftovers, so I'm not terribly concerned with having too much food.
My Goodness...another food blog. Featuring: Macarons from a old post with a photo taken by my mom for a break from my crappy food photos!
It's a shame you couldn't do fried ice cream...that would be perfect! But too messy and too many people to be able to cater to that. I'd have those cinnamon twists if possible too.
For cake...hmmm...I feel like in Mexican restaurants, chocolate cake is served. I have no rhyme or reason for thinking this other than seeing it on the menu.
I love the idea of _____ Bars for parties! Taco Bar, Burger Bar, Chili Bar - whatever. Sounds yummy. What time should I be there?
The spread sounds awesome. I agree with Sarah's suggestion of some rice - either a cilantro-lime version or some yellow rice. I love beans, but I like rice, too, and I think it tends to be popular with littles (don't know how many you're expecting).
Maybe some fajita veggies?
I don't care for tres leches cake personally, but I know it's popular and would mesh well with the rest of the menu. You could definitely do that and then a small smash cake, a trend I really like. Or cupcakes! SK's margarita cakes sound good, and you could also do a Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake.
BFP#1: 01/10, M/C 6w -- BFP#2: 06/10, M/C 5w -- BFP#3: 09/10, DS born June 1, 2011
BFP#4: 07/12, M/C 5w3d -- BFP#5: 12/12, EDD 08/18/13
Decorate This
BFP#1: 01/10, M/C 6w -- BFP#2: 06/10, M/C 5w -- BFP#3: 09/10, DS born June 1, 2011
BFP#4: 07/12, M/C 5w3d -- BFP#5: 12/12, EDD 08/18/13
Decorate This
SK - one thanks for the margarita cupcake idea. I think I might have bookmarked those when you blogged 'em.
and two - OMG that sig pic is killing me. He is so cute!!
My Goodness...another food blog. Featuring: Macarons from a old post with a photo taken by my mom for a break from my crappy food photos!
Oh, and adding rice to the menu based on all the suggestions. I'm thinking yellow rice.
there aren't going to be many littles at the party (my neice's only cousins live in pittsburgh, and sis's friends don't have kids. I think a 2nd cousin around the same age as her might be there), but BIL's family is a bunch of picky eaters so I'm thinking yellow rice is a safe bet.
My Goodness...another food blog. Featuring: Macarons from a old post with a photo taken by my mom for a break from my crappy food photos!
MH's aunt brought something very similar to a BBQ we had at our house a while ago. It was delish. Even if I don't use it for this party, I'd love the recipe.
My Goodness...another food blog. Featuring: Macarons from a old post with a photo taken by my mom for a break from my crappy food photos!
This has me drooling.
Definitely agree w/ PPs' idea of some kind of Mexican/Spanish rice, and I was going to suggest a margarita-esque cake, too (although I do LOVE tres leches cake). Maybe do a small smash cake for your niece that's just basic and leave the fancy cake flavors for the grownups? The other suggestion of a Mexican hot chocolate cake sounds fantastic, too.
As a side note, a lot of places will do a little smash cake for free for first birthdays; you just have to ask the bakery (WalMart is one of these). That may help to give you one less thing to take care of!
Finally, I have a recipe for a lime chicken taco filling that's really yummy if you're interested!
... every single day of forever.
Egg hunting is serious work.
Pinterest
yes please!
And Mary...it's in New Jersey. Feel free to drop by.
My Goodness...another food blog. Featuring: Macarons from a old post with a photo taken by my mom for a break from my crappy food photos!
Here you go!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lime-chicken-soft-tacos/detail.aspx
... every single day of forever.