by Dorothy Cooper

Created on: September 24, 2009

Preparing a presentable food tray

Ok so you are having a party and you have a ton of things going through your mind, the most pressing seems to be what you intend on serving your guests. There are things you should think about before making your decision. Think to yourself or write some things down on paper. What type of party are you having? What do my guests enjoy? What are their cultures? Is it a formal party or a pot luck family style gathering? Now if you are preparing for a family gathering or a cookout with a few friends the answers to these questions should be simple. But what do you do if this is a business gathering and there are going to be a vast amount of people you don't know? My option is usually to go with variety and colorful but appetizing assortment of foods. Here are a few tips and tricks that may help you along the way to planning a successful party.

The casual cookout or family gathering

Cookouts and family gatherings often times seem to be the easiest to plan as you often know your guests and what they enjoy. Trays that are very popular at these events are deviled eggs, bread bowls, pickle and olive trays, vegetable trays, finger sandwiches, cheese trays and deli lunch meat trays both usually served with crackers, chips and dip, pigs in a blanket (every kids favorite), shrimp and cocktail sauce, and sometimes people will have their favorite restaurant cater to their specific needs. The trick to impressing your guests is not only presentation but tempting variety. Here are a few tips for creating these trays to create an enjoyable party experience for your guests.

When making a deviled egg tray use your favorite recipe or research one online or in a cookbook. By adding a couple simple ingredients to the egg mixture you can make them both flavorful and eye catching. Try mixing in some green olives, pimentos, black olives, or finely diced green or red bell pepper depending on your personal preference. If you omitting on the paprika topping this will still add color to your eggs. Also when placing your eggs on a tray lay the eggs on a nice dark green bed of lettuce that you choose.

Bread bowls can be appetizing just to look at. If you are making a few bread bowls try making a few different kinds. By choosing a couple of different style breads your are giving variety. My personal favorite is Hawaiian sweet bread to go along with a spinach dip in the center. Another good choice is a seafood salad bread bowl on a type of Italian or sweet

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