My 20th (okay 30th) Birthday in May InshAllah. I’ve got friends visiting me who will be staying over to help me celebrate as well as having a medium sized gathering of friends for a lunch.
I know I’m going to be busy leading up to the big event so I want to do something that is a crowd pleaser, fun and doesn’t need much last minute cooking and the idea I’ve come up with is a Burger Station.
My theory is I can part cook the burgers in the oven and finish them off on a griddle pan on the day which will take less time than cooking them all there and then.
The burgers I’m thinking of are:
Hamburgers
Chicken fillet burgers
fish burgers
a veggie burger or some variety
People can then pick up a bun and add their own toppings.
To go with the Burgers:
curly fries
french fries
'slaw
a pasta salad of some variety
a leafy salad
onion rings
Then there’s the sauces/similar:
ketchup
mustard
chili sauce
cheese slices
gerkins
fried onions
I’ve thought about adding hotdogs to the menu as there will be children. Or maybe corndogs? They sound cool and could be made in advance and warmed up in the oven.
Drinks:
Thick milkshakes
Lemonade
What do you guys think? Does the above work? Am I missing something? I bet I have. I’m raking my brain now and can’t think of anything.
I’d love to get hold of those cool hamburger/hotdog baskets they have in America but I’ve yet to find them in England and postage from the States for the items ain’t reasonable so if anyone has any serving plate suggestions for the food?
Re: My 30th Birthday party-food will be a Burger Station ideas please?
I think you could get creative and mix different kinds of cheese and peppers into the actual patty… like cheddar and jalapeno, pepper jack cheese, etc.
I would look into doing sliders rather than regular sized burgers so that everyone can try different varieties and not get stuffed on just one kind.
The sides look good but I think you could take out the spirals and do homemade potato chips drizzled with vinegar instead. Corn could be a nice addition.
In addition to the condiments you listed above… dont forget:
red onion
avocado/guacamole
blue cheese crumbles
roasted red bell pepper
garlic aioli
mayo
sauteed mushrooms
hot sauce
dijon mustard
relish
mozzarella
fresh basil
thousand island dressing (this plus a little mayo and ketchup mimics the flavor of the sauce used in Big Macs)
hot sauce
Re: My 30th Birthday party-food will be a Burger Station ideas please?
That is lot of work...making all these different kinds of burgers. I am not sure if you should half cook them the day before, that might just ruin your burgers.
Maybe go with something which doesn't need to be cooked at that time, instead can be cooked before hand and heated in the oven. I would suggest Lasagna, garlic/cheese bread sticks, nice salad with a vinaigrette or maybe go with an assortment of tacos like chicken, ground beef, or veggie.
Re: My 30th Birthday party-food will be a Burger Station ideas please?
Yeah I agree with Lusi. You can make (form them) the patties ahead of time but I don't think they would taste the same if you cooked them a day ahead. Nevertheless love the idea!
Re: My 30th Birthday party-food will be a Burger Station ideas please?
Thank you everyone for the input.
Will take on board comments; prep'ing in advance but not cooking the burgers until the day.
@Hadeel-my friends who live far away always visit me on my Birthday and as it's my 30th and I'm due (InshAllah) baby number 2 we thought it would be nice to have a get together with food.
@Lusi-I'll InshAllah be preparing the burgers in advance staggering my workload. On the actual day others will be flipping burgers (I've managed to rope a friend or three into the role of chef for the day).
Thanks again guys.
PS: What are sliders? Are they like an Amreekan thing?Sorry us Brits are quite behind the times in food trends :)
Re: My 30th Birthday party-food will be a Burger Station ideas please?
Sliders are a small sized burgers. like not the bite sized, but still relatively small than the standard burger size.
keeping sliders in a party is always a good idea so guests can try out different ones without getting stuffed on just one.
burger station is a good idea but for drinks i think milkshakes might not go well with the burgers as both burgers and milkshakes are the heavy stuff. may be you can go with light cocktails etc.
keep tarter sauce too if you are keeping fish burger.
and you didnt mention desserts?
happy birthday to u in advance and hope your party trun out to be fabulous.
Re: My 30th Birthday party-food will be a Burger Station ideas please?
OMG, you’re pregnant & it’s your special day and you’re celebrating by cooking up a storm for your guests! It’s your day to get pampered. Just go out and have fun!
But if you prefer to do all the cooking, then it certainly sounds like a super delicious feast. I hope you have a fabulous birthday!
I am pregnant and will be celebrating my 30th birthday in June. To be honest last thing I want to do on my birthday is cook… lol. But everyone is different. Hope you enjoy it
Re: My 30th Birthday party-food will be a Burger Station ideas please?
Planned cooking is actually a stress relief for me; so no stress unless it’s unplanned.
Plus, it’s the weekend before my Birthday as it falls midweek; so this will be the celebrations with friends etc. Might go out on my actual Birthday with family for a meal.