guys, help me!!!!

So, we wanted to get to know our new neighbours and we invited all of them (15 or so couples) to our place for snacks and stuff. They are ALL goray. Please please please, help me with the menu. Its an informal and casual thing but most likely they have never met desis or muslims before so i need to impress them.

So far i have thought of

chips and the 7 layer dip (homemade)
some sort of mini muffins
maybe madaleine cookies? or other kind of cookies/brownies
mini samosas

Please give me some suggestions for things i can make in advance since we have a small baby and i dont want to take too much time away from her. Also what should i serve for drinks/beverages?

if it matters, its getting to be chilly where we are at.

They All Love Biryani…:k:

Re: guys, help me!!!!

Obama, as i mentioned, we are not hosting a dinner. Its just all snacks/appetizer kinda thing.

Re: guys, help me!!!!

Whatever menu you come up with, make sure you have one veg and one chicken item.

You may want to put the name / main ingredients card in front of the dish. I once attended such an event at an Iranian/French couple's house. She had a white easel board at the entrance and had written Welcome in Farsi and French. She asked each guest to write it in any language they can. It turned out to a nice ice-breaker.

Re: guys, help me!!!!

maybe some mini chicken sandwiches? you can do filling with boiled chicken with mayo and some veggies.

Re: guys, help me!!!!

tandoori boneless chicken pieces.
Chickpeas salad
pakoray

I would mix desi and non-desi items. Also, the desi items can be modified to suit the palette of your guests.

Things I've done that have gone over well in a mixed crowd:

Mini seekh kebabs (it's easy to to cut up the seekh kebabs into about two inch pieces). Serve this with a mild (not too spicy chutney) and place cocktail toothpicks with it.

Chicken satay on skewers.

Coconut shrimp.

Mini pizzas.

Quesadillas.

Because it's a casual get together - you want your guests to enjoy the food - it needn't be "fancy" - just yummy!

There's an earlier thread on mocktails. If you search for it, it's got some ideas on drinks.

Ira honestly thats SUCH a nice and wonderful thing to do!! :biggthumb:

I agree with mixing up desi & non desi food, so that there are some things are they are familiar and comfortable with and some new things for them to try.

For desi things, samosas and pakorays are usually always a hit with non-desis. Other finger food types, like shami kababs, aloo kabaabs, spring rolls etc are yummy and can be prepared in advance. You can also do a hummus dip with veggies (yes thats not desi :cb:but its still “ethnic” and yummy). For nondesi, here is a recipe for stuffed mushrooms that are so delicious
Mouth-Watering Stuffed Mushrooms - All Recipes
Here are two very easy desserts:
Banana Pudding IV - All Recipes
Death By Chocolate III - All Recipes
You mentioned muffins, here are two recipes I make often, they are so good
Banana Crumb Muffins - All Recipes
To Die For Blueberry Muffins - All Recipes

Here are some recipes I havent tried as yet, but plan to try them soon, they have great reviews
Party Pinwheels - All Recipes
Cucumber Sandwiches III - All Recipes
Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread - All Recipes

Hope this helps and that everything goes smoothly! Let us know how it goes

BTW how do you have 15 neighbours, is it every on your street

drinks/beverages: Have a variety. Put some bottles of soda out. You can set coffee as well. To make things more festive, you can even include punch. For punch, you can combine soda such as sprite/gingerale with juice such as pineapple.....and then add some scoops of sherbert ice cream in it. If you don't want to make punch....then just soda, juice, and coffee would be good. You can even include hot chocolate. You'll have a mix of warm and cold.

Snacks: Have a mix of sweet and savoury. Cookies and brownies and minni muffins are a good ideas to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Other simple suggestions for **sweet **snacks:

1) fruit. You can either cut up fruit and put it on a platter or make fruit salad

2) Mixed nuts. You can buy a can/jar of mixed nuts.....which make a good snack. Or even a trail mix packet which contains a mix of nuts, pretzels, candy, etc.

3) If you find that getting enough minni muffins might be expensive......then you can consider getting a simple cake (cheese cake, carrot cake, lemon cake, etc)....and the guests can cut slices.

Ideas for savory snack items:

1) Minni samosay are a great idea, as you've already mentioned in your thread. Since you're busy with your baby, you can get the premade frozen variety. Another alternative is to buy the premade Pepperidge Farm pastry sheets....and stuff them with keema/chicken and bake according to instructions (stuffed pastries).

2) **Vegetable platter: **You can easily buy a pre-made vegetable platter from the grocery store. You will have to do absolutely NO choping, arranging, displaying. And it already comes with the dip. Simply, uncover the plastic cover and serve. This will save you time.

3) Hummus with wedges of pita bread. You can buy hummus and pita chips/crackers from the store. OR you can buy pita bread.....cut them in wedges....and toast them in the oven. That would make a nice companion to the seven layer dip and chips.....because it will provide a different texture and flavor.

4) **Finger sandwiches. **Get some bread of your choice. And make a simple filling. For example, you can make cucumber sandwiches.....egg salad sandwiches......chicken sandwiches (shred cooked chicken and mix it with mayo, finely chopped onion, finely chopped lettuce, salt/pepper to taste, dash of hot sauce).

Many of these things........you can buy premade from the grocery store to save you time as you're busy with your baby. Just keep it simple. You can choose to have 3-4 sweet items and 3-4 savory items.....make it equal if it makes things easier for you.

Re: guys, help me!!!!

Thank you sooo very m uch for the wonderful suggestions. I think i have a fairly good idea of what i can do. I think i am going to ditch the dip/chips and make some of the other stuff you guys have mentioned. I will update soon on what i decide on doing.

midnight eyes, yes, its everyone on our street. We live in the middle of one of those circular streets and we thought it would be a good idea to meet everyone this way. We live in a small metro town where most of the population is goray so we wanted to kinda show how "normal" we are :D

Aren't all sandwiches finger sandwiches? Never seen someone slicing a cucumber sandwich with a fork and knife.

I think the term that you're looking for is "finger food"......which refers to snacks one can eat with their fingers (sandwiches, chips, deviled eggs, samosay, etc).

Generally speaking, the word** "sandwich"** is used for a meal-sized sandwich....whereas the term **"finger sandwich" **refers to mini or finger-sized sandwiches served as as a snack/appetizer. They're also called tea/petite/mini sandwiches. In the British culture especially....finger sandwiches are often served with tea.

I used the term, "finger-sandwiches" in my previous post to make a distinction between the **size **of the food............not the manner in which it is consumed.

Other ideas......potato skins, jalapeno poppers, cheese sticks, mini pizzas, mini quiches, chicken wings

I didn't get it. Would you please elaborate in more detail? If the sandwich is really small would it be pinky finger sandwich? What if it is a bit sour, can I call it the middle finger sandwich?

Thanks for your help.

Don’t trouble your mind so much, funnyboy. In your case…don’t bother using any of your sour fingers…or even utensils for that matter to pick up your food. Just use your mouth okay. The way animals do. It seems to work for them. It just might work for you too.

Starting pangas yourself…and then getting upset when one seriously answers your post? Tut tut tut. What were you trying to prove any way by quoting my post and asking about “finger sandwiches”. Let’s be honest here…your intentions were to mock. And then when I answered your question respectfully…out comes the attitude/middle finger?. Real mature. :k: Apni baizzati kartay jaao!

Re: guys, help me!!!!

Ira, you could also serve shami kebabs or alloo ki tikkiyan... they would be so yummy

Re: guys, help me!!!!

Ok guys, the party was today and soo much fun. This is what i made:

three layered carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
chocolate chip cookies with walnuts (yummy)
cheese and crackers
chicken salad sandwich
mini spinach and paneer samosas (store bought)
grapes
drinks were coke, fruit juice, water and different choices of tea and instant hot chocolate

The guests loved everything. Hteycouldnt believe i made the cake myself. Everyone went back for thirds and fourths. And they couldnt get enough of the samosas.

Thank you for the tips guys. Everything worked out beautifully.

Re: guys, help me!!!!

omg I want that carrot cake recipe!

Re: guys, help me!!!

Skittelz, here is the recipe i used ( i have the book by Dorie Greenspan, i found the same thing online). Scroll down for the recipe on this page.

http://spatulascorkscrews.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/04/homemade-carrot.html

Recently I made aloo tea/finger sandwiches. They were a hit!

I know that finger sandwiches are typically made with shredded chicken, or egg, or cream cheese and cucumber. But on days, when you don't have any of the above ingredients or when you feel like trying a different sandwich, potato filling could be something to consider. And it's so yummy.

It's the same procedure. I toast my bread slices because I personally like it to have that slightly crunchy outer texture. Then on one slice of bread, I spread a thin layer of butter first.......followed by the potato filling. I spread a thin layer of mayo on the other slice of bread and then place it on top.

Potato filling: For the potato filing, I just use the mashed potatoes that you use to make aloo ka paratha. I boil the potatoes. Then i mash the potatoes with 1 small finely chopped onion, a few chopped green chillies, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1-2 teaspoons salt, a few coriander seeds, some zeera, a bit of pepper to taste, some fresh finely chopped dhania.......and mix well. It'll spread easily on to the bread. It's yummy.....and something a bit different.