Help for small last minute wedding reception!?!
Help for small last minute wedding reception!?
The kids decided to get married last minute since the groom is in the army.....caterers are not available this time of year.....any suggestions for small reception / menu items / favorite recipies???
Thanks!
Answers:
If it's a last minute thing like he's going to be deployed soon, how about a pot luck? This way the both sides of this newly formed family get to know each other.
Make veggie platters. carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery and Cheeses.
Make BBQ meatballs
Fresh fruit in season
Punch
Scalloped potatoes (box kind is good too)
Your local grocery may also have platters ... meat or shrimp
Good luck
Try a local favorite restaurant. They may have a small area for a reception or be willing to cater a small affair.
If all else fails, maybe an assortment of desserts and fruits would be the easiest. Both are readily available. Good Luck.
ABSOLUTELY! This is an incredible meal. Wish I knew how many guests. I've made this meal for 60, of coarse increasing the amounts of each ingredient. This recipe supplies a meal for six but can be doubled, tripled, whatever you need.
WINE-BRAISED PORK LOIN
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch of ground allspice
1 2-pound boned center-cut pork loin roast, rolled, tied
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 red bell peppers, cut lengthwise into strips, halved crosswise
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes with added puree
1 cup canned beef broth
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried marjoram, crumbled
Combine first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Pat pork dry; rub with salt mixture. Cover and chill 6 to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Wipe pork dry. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy Dutch oven or casserole over high heat. Add pork; brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer to plate. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to Dutch oven. Add onions and sauté until very tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and peppers and sauté until peppers begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add wine, tomatoes, broth, bay leaves and marjoram. Add pork, fat side up, and drippings on plate. Bring to boil. Cover; bake until tender, 45 minutes.
Transfer pork to platter and let stand 15 minutes. If necessary, boil sauce until reduced to 4 cups. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Place half of sauce in baking dish. Top with pork slices, then remaining sauce. Cover and chill. Rewarm in covered dish in 350°F. oven until heated through, about 30 minutes.) Serve pork with sauce.
Serve with mashed potatoes, it has a wonderful reduction sauce to spoon over them. Steamed green beans with garlic butter poured over them is also a nice addition.
it depends on whether you are doing a sit down, or buffet, and day or night reception.
If day and casual, informal, buffet, cold cuts are always easy, crock pot meatballs (frozen from costco, then mix equal portions of grape jelly and chili sauce for marinade) amazing! veggie platters, cheese/pepperoni/crackers platter, fruit platter, and cake!
If sit down, more formal, heavier meal needed, I would do a lasagna or pasta dish, filling, and easy to make, some lasagna you can make the night before and place in fridge until ready to cook. Serve with a tomato and mozzerlla/basil salad with vinegarette dressing, different types of breads or bruchetta, maybe crab stuffed mushrooms for appetizer?
Good luck to the happy couple!
I think if you want to be budget conscious time effective and easy you cant beat a roast such as a side of beef with gravy crusty rolls and and a few different salads like garden salad and coleslaw
Easy Wedding Cookies
1 stick of margarine
7 tablespoons of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup plain flour
1 cup of nuts, finely chopped (optional)
Cream margarine and powdered sugar and vanilla. Work in flour gradually, add nuts. Roll into small balls. Bake at 300 degrees until lightly brown. Roll in Powdered Sugar.
Cheese Ball
2 (8oz.) Cream Cheese
10 oz. Sharp Cheese (grated)
1 small onion, grated
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp. Red Pepper
Crushed Pecans
Combine all ingredients. Make 1 large ball or 2 small roll in crushed pecans. serve with Town House Crackers.
Spinach Dip
1 - 10 oz. Package of chopped spinach
1- Envelope of Knorr's Vegetable soup mix
1- cup of sour cream
1- small can water chesnuts
1- small onion
Mix and chill serve with wheat thins or town house crackers
Crab Dip
16 oz. chopped crab meat
1 cup shredded sharp cheese
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
Enough HELMAN'S MAYO to reach consistency
Mix and Chill Serve with Crackers of Choice
Pineapple Dip
1 - 15 oz. can crushed pineapple
1 box of instant vanilla pudding
1 - 8 oz. cream cheese
Mix and serve with graham cracker sticks.
Finger food trays such as a meat and cheese tray,veggie tray with some dip, small croissants or rolls to make sandwiches on, anything along these lines should work for a last min wedding. Stuffed mushrooms are great just take large mushrooms (centers big enough to stuff) cook some mild or spicy up to you Italian sausage when fully cooked add one pack of cream cheese until combined stuff into mushrooms and bake at 350 for about 15 mins usually feeds 6-8 people so adjust as needed!
Minidoc's hash brown potato casserole
1/2 cup (one stick) butter
? cup of panko bread crumbs or more if you like crumb topping
2 lbs. frozen hash browns, country or chunk style rather than shredded, thawed
1 medium onion, coarsely diced
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. salt (more or less depending on your taste)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup or cream of onion soup (I use Campbell’s)
1 ? cups sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and set aside. Line a small baking dish with foil. Place bread crumbs into pan and drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of butter. Mix well and spread mixture into pan, place into oven for 5-10 minutes until lightly toasted, do not burn. Remove from oven when browned and set aside.
Get a large 4 quart bowl and mix hash browns with all ingredients, then pour into a greased 9x13 inch casserole dish. Spread mixture into pan evenly. Top with bread crumbs. Bake one hour at 350 degrees F.
Great for entertaining.
Run, do not walk, to your nearest Sam's Club or Costco. They have a wonderful selection of delicious finger foods at very reasonable prices.
If you go to the bakery section at Sam's, you can buy frozen bread dough by the case very inexpensively. Just ask them for baking instructions. Breads available: any bread they sell at Sam's. Croissants, both the large and cocktail size, 12 inch hoagie rolls, Kaiser rolls, french bread, etc.
I buy the frozen bread dough all the time and it's a huge hit. You can get a case of 344 cocktail croissants for about $32.00. Just thaw, let rise a little and bake. Serve with whipped butter or flavored cream cheese. You can also unroll them when they've thawed, spread a filling in them (like cheese), re-roll and bake.
Kaiser rolls are only about $14.00 per case of 144, if you want something for sandwiches.
I'm sure these amounts are WAAY more than you need, but I promise you and your family will enjoy having the breads! I try to keep the frozen dough on hand for unexpected guests and parties throughout the year. Handy to have and you're never caught without something that can be whipped together easily.
Oh, and you need something pretty for the table! How about an ice bowl? Go here for a pic and the recipe:
http://recipes.tasteofhome.com/erms/recp...
If the whole address doesn't show up, do a search under floral ice bowl recipe or ice bowl recipe. These are really pretty and really easy. Good thing to put fresh fruit or shrimp in!
Good luck!