dips and sauces
my friend cory and i once had an epic conversation about how everything is better with dips and sauces.
it's like... oh ya, those are good fries. but add some curry mayo and now they're GREAT fries.
dips and sauces can elevate the normal into the exceptional.
so, today my project was to hammer out the details of the wedding reception food.
catering my own wedding reception is a lofty task. but frankly i am waaaaay too picky about my food vision to delegate things to friends, waaaaay too broke to pay a caterer and also a total control freak.
so i have delegated a couple things i don't care about to some people, and besides that, i'm having a few ladies help me out with the cooking and assembling on the day before the reception.
my challenges are:
it must be food that can sit at room temp for a decent amount of time, since chafing dishes are pricey to rent and i don't have buffet hot/cold plates.
also, the food must be totally prepped before, so it just needs to be arranged on platters on the day of.
i also want it to look like a slick cocktail party. so crudités instead of veggies and dip. ya know?
being that the husband and i are total foodies, it would be nice if this represented our lifestyle and eating habits.
anyways. back to the dips and sauces.
so today i came across the idea of a "dip buffet"
a whole spread of veggies, chips, bread etc and then like 10 different dips.
i kinda love it.
so. right now we have the following dips on deck.
i also considered doing a guacamole, since i make a killer one... but avocados are pricey... and it turns brown so fast, it will look like crap shortly after serving.
and i have like 20 recipes for other hot dips, but it's so hard to keep them warm. so i'm undecided.
i do have a mini crock pot that would be perfect to keep things warm... but ugh. cock pot?
is this a barn dance?
so maybe if i can find a way to disguise it with fabric or something... hmmm...
if i can make it look purdy, then i'll do a hot artichoke dip in the crock pot.
so, beyond dips and sauces, i am going to make some pine nut flatbread for dipping...
and also some kabobs (because shit on sticks rules for cocktail parties) i'm thinking of jerk tofu kabobs (lots of vegetarians coming) and chicken satays with peanut sauce.
i really want to do a deconstructed potato salad... like roasted baby potatoes on skewers with a mayo dip. i think i must have invented this because i searched for a recipe idea, but i can't find anything when i google. oh well. i know what i'm doing. i just like to read recipes for ideas.
and lastly i'm doing individual chocolate mousses in shot glasses (since i have 150 shot glasses with the reception date printed on them, lol)
beyond all this, i have some family making some other appies like mini quiches from scratch, a spanish chorizo tapas, chicken wings etc...
my problem now is trying to figure out how much i need.
so it looks like we'll have about 70 people.
but how many people does a dip serve? i don't know.
oh well... i'll guess and if there's leftovers... well... dip party at my house.
it's like... oh ya, those are good fries. but add some curry mayo and now they're GREAT fries.
dips and sauces can elevate the normal into the exceptional.
so, today my project was to hammer out the details of the wedding reception food.
catering my own wedding reception is a lofty task. but frankly i am waaaaay too picky about my food vision to delegate things to friends, waaaaay too broke to pay a caterer and also a total control freak.
so i have delegated a couple things i don't care about to some people, and besides that, i'm having a few ladies help me out with the cooking and assembling on the day before the reception.
my challenges are:
it must be food that can sit at room temp for a decent amount of time, since chafing dishes are pricey to rent and i don't have buffet hot/cold plates.
also, the food must be totally prepped before, so it just needs to be arranged on platters on the day of.
i also want it to look like a slick cocktail party. so crudités instead of veggies and dip. ya know?
being that the husband and i are total foodies, it would be nice if this represented our lifestyle and eating habits.
anyways. back to the dips and sauces.
so today i came across the idea of a "dip buffet"
a whole spread of veggies, chips, bread etc and then like 10 different dips.
i kinda love it.
so. right now we have the following dips on deck.
- chipotle hummus (i'm making it)
- spinach dip (the mother in law is making)
- lemon pesto goat cheese dip (i'm making)
- greek dip (i'm making)
- hot pizza dip (i'm making and it gets microwaved to heat... so it should be pretty easy)
- salsa (going with que pasa on this one, i think)
i also considered doing a guacamole, since i make a killer one... but avocados are pricey... and it turns brown so fast, it will look like crap shortly after serving.
and i have like 20 recipes for other hot dips, but it's so hard to keep them warm. so i'm undecided.
i do have a mini crock pot that would be perfect to keep things warm... but ugh. cock pot?
is this a barn dance?
so maybe if i can find a way to disguise it with fabric or something... hmmm...
if i can make it look purdy, then i'll do a hot artichoke dip in the crock pot.
so, beyond dips and sauces, i am going to make some pine nut flatbread for dipping...
and also some kabobs (because shit on sticks rules for cocktail parties) i'm thinking of jerk tofu kabobs (lots of vegetarians coming) and chicken satays with peanut sauce.
i really want to do a deconstructed potato salad... like roasted baby potatoes on skewers with a mayo dip. i think i must have invented this because i searched for a recipe idea, but i can't find anything when i google. oh well. i know what i'm doing. i just like to read recipes for ideas.
and lastly i'm doing individual chocolate mousses in shot glasses (since i have 150 shot glasses with the reception date printed on them, lol)
beyond all this, i have some family making some other appies like mini quiches from scratch, a spanish chorizo tapas, chicken wings etc...
my problem now is trying to figure out how much i need.
so it looks like we'll have about 70 people.
but how many people does a dip serve? i don't know.
oh well... i'll guess and if there's leftovers... well... dip party at my house.
whoa... that.sounds.amazing.
I saw this cooking show on Food Network the other day where they had a "dip station." and I was like... "choice!"
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what show was that on?
how did i miss it?
i live for the food network.
in fact i'm watching it right now
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This is the BEST idea I've heard of since my non-wedding of 2000 - a candle lit dessert buffet followed by a midnight ceremony.
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um hello. i work in a grocery store
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Yummy! That sounds great!
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