Baby Shower Buffet

The baby shower was a blast. Thank you to co-hosts Toni for planning the party games and prizes, and Keiko for the bevy of scrumptious desserts. The mom-to-be was radiant and our dear son-in-law joined the festivities so they could open gifts together. 

I also enjoyed feeding folks. A month ago, Emily and I looked at several potential recipes and decided this was perfect for center stage. The nice thing about this menu is that most of the prep can be done in advance. (I cheated a little -- the pesto,  hummus, and turkey wraps were storebought.) I did the shopping on Thursday and prepped the salad components on Friday. Saturday morning, I made the fruit skewers/salad, brined the cukes and radishes, and made the dump cake.

My son helped plate the savory part of the menu. I love sharing a kitchen with him.

Thanks for Keiko, Toni and Emily, the dessert bar overflowed with delights: the shortcake cupcakes you see below, as well as brownies, coffee cake, cake pops, cookies, chocolate candies, and toffee popcorn.

And Emily made baby rattle cake pops for the wedding favors. Seriously addicting.

The Menu
Skewered Fruit / Fruit Salad - info below
Chicken and Veggie Salad Platters - details below
Turkey Wraps
Hummus and Pita Chips
Giardiniera
Apple Dump Cake - use spice cake mix instead of yellow cake

Fruit Skewers

I googled fruit skewers and found this idea online. Use part of the melon as the base for the centerpiece. If you put the flatside on the platter, you'll have more surface area to work with, but you'll need to score the rind where you want to stick the skewers in. Time was running out for me, so I chose to slice the end off the melon and stick the skewers in the flesh. Extra fruit including bits which were too ripe to stay on the skewer were combined in a simple fruit salad.

Chicken and Veggie Salad Platters

• Mustard Viniagrette: Whisk 3/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup vinegar (I like rice/basalmic), 2 T lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of Dijon. Optional: fresh herbs; for this, chives and roasted garlic.
• Green Beans: Blanch the beans, toss with the vinaigrette, top with sliced almonds.
• Grilled Chicken and Mushrooms: Toss with pesto and let marinate overnight
• Pickled Cucumber and Radishes: Pickle in light brine and peppercorns (how long? how much time do you have? 10 minutes is okay; overnight works, too.) Rinse to remove excess salt, toss with chopped parsley and chives.
• Garbanzo Bean Salad: Toss with chopped parsley (about half a bunch), minced red onion and vinaigrette. Marinate overnight.
• Campari Tomato Caprese: Halve ripe tomatoes, toss with marinated boccocini and basil.
• Roasted Red Peppers: Oven-roast until they start to soften.