by Victoria Tiegert

Created on: April 04, 2009

Planning your wedding reception can be not only stressful, but extremely costly. Many brides and grooms-to-be are astonished as they watch the costs of sharing their wedding day with friends and family mounting higher and higher, usually much higher than they had budgeted for. One of the ways that you can cut costs and still enjoy a beautiful dream day is to skip the caterer and going with a spread of finger foods. Your girlfriends and family can help you prepare them the day before and share a fun day with you.

There are many finger foods that are gorgeous on the banquet tables, adding color, texture and depth to the whole room. Some of my favorites are explained below and aren't really as hard to prepare as they may appear. This will give you not only a great last day with the girls as a single woman, but it will make a wonderful impression on your future husband as well, as he sees your resourcefulness and creativity.

*Vegetable Bouquet
Approximately 300 bamboo skewers
1 box round toothpicks
1 cabbage
1 cauliflower head
1 bunch broccoli
Approx. 20 snow peas
1 lg. green pepper
1 lg. red pepper
1/2 lb. mushrooms
2 to 3 lg. carrots
2 bunches radishes
2 to 3 bunches green onions
1 turnip, approx. 3 inch diameter
12 to 15 fresh cranberries or red grapes
1 pkg. bread sticks
20 slices salami
20 green olives with pimento
1 pkg. smokie sausages
1 sm. can black olives
1 basket cherry tomatoes

Prepare vegetables as follows and keep cold, bundled together until assembly time, 1 to 2 hours before serving. (Some may be prepared a day or two in advance.) Make radish roses by cutting off the greens, slicing off a thin slice off each end, then making 4 cups halfway down in a square design. Make green onion flowers by cutting all but 1 inch of green off. Cut off the root end and then make 4 cuts lengthwise about 2 inches long. When placed in an ice water bath they should feather and curl. Make turnip flowers by slicing a peeled turnip horizontally 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Use a flower shaped cookie cutter or a knife to shape into a flower. Insert skewers into the following vegetables: broccoli and cauliflower flowerettes; snow peas (thread lengthwise), long strips of red and green peppers; carrot sticks cut same size as peppers (if cut at room temperature, slightly limp, the skewers won't break the carrots). Make calla lily flowers out of salami rolled into cone shape, secured with toothpick, green olive in the center. Insert skewers through: black olives (3 skewer crosswise), sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes. Break breadsticks in half and insert skewer into cut end. You will need a semi-flat, open basket. Cut the cabbage in half and secure it to the center of the basket so that is cannot move. Insert skewers of the back ground veggies first: broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, snow peas. The radish roses, green onions and turnips go in last. Insert skewer through turnip slice and place cranberry or grape on end. It helps to have someone helping you, or plan plenty of time. Serve with your favorite dip for vegetables.

*Melon Basket

1 sm. oval watermelon
2 c. cantaloupe balls
2 c. honeydew melon balls
2 c. pineapple chunks
2 c. fresh strawberries or fresh raspberries
1 c. plain yogurt
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

Carve watermelon into basket, leaving handle. Scoop out 4 cups watermelon balls. Remove remaining watermelon pulp; drain basket shell. Combine watermelon balls and remaining fruit in bowl. Mix yogurt, lemon juice and poppy seeds in small serving bowl. Chill basket, fruit and dressing until serving time. Spoon fruit into basket. Serve with poppy seed dressing.

Sources: Cooks.com

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