Party food question... partly budget/partly diet related.

[wenrob]

My cousin had a wedding where they had the caterer label all the food and noted what was gluten free, peanut free, etc. they even had some gluten free cheesecake. That was a nice gesture since it was a big crowd. But what happened was this: a cousin who has a child with peanut/tree nut allergies stopped on the way to the reception to get him something to eat because they simoky don't trust those sorts of situations. My sister and brother have celiacs and found plenty to eat but didn't get any cake because lots of people just wanted the cheesecake. So you see, you can't accommodate everyone. You are making an effort and that is nice.

My biggest concern this last time was that people would dive into the veggie pizza because they never order veggie pizza but when seeing/smelling it, it looks pretty darn good! The vegetarians were late so that didn't happen but my nephew didn't have a problem sneaking the thin crust intended for us calorie/point counters. At my wedding a very large portion of family were non drinkers so we set up a punch fountain for them. These were people that any event they threw, punch was the main beverage but what did they do? Ran up the bar tab ordering sodas! Fortunately the bartender was a good friend of my dad's and the money for booze never "ran out." (his tip doubled though!) But yeah, you can do the best you can but it won't ever be perfect.

 

[TwoMisfits]

My "go-to" allergy/dietary preference dish to cover a lot of needs is roasted veggies with "toppings" on the side. So, I'll roast peppers, onions, zucchini, yellow squash (and mushrooms if I know there's no allergy or carrots if I know someone hates squashes) and then I'll put out protein and sauce options to top it with or people can eat it plain. It's great hot or room temp and it tastes good. I roast them with just olive oil, salt and pepper (but drop the salt again if people have needs and add it to the "topping" area). You can make a ton of veg for very little cost and effort.

Feta cheese, mozza cheese, parm cheese, blue cheese, marinara sauce, balsamic dressing, pesto, toasted pecans, toasted pine nuts, fresh basil, etc are all great toppings to add - I pick a few of these (NOT all of them) and go with them depending on what I'm already making (aka whatever's easiest for me and "matches" the event and the guests)...

 

[pjlla]

Wow.... so MANY great responses!! Thank you all for taking the time to offer feedback!

So in addition to what I previously mentioned (two salads) that I would provide, I've also decided to add a few WW friendly pizza options and snack chip options and a huge fruit salad at dessert time. Yes, I know that won't help everyone but as a WW I have to go with what I know. The salads will help those who don't eat carbs, the fruit will help those trying to eat healthier overall, and since I don't have a gluten-free kitchen, I cannot help anyone with that (I'm making my own pizzas and our local place doesn't offer a gluten-free option).

Every dish will have a very specific label so as to avoid allergens as much as possible and the WW stuff will be specifically labeled, so as to be left for those who really "need" it.

Again, thanks for all of the terrific suggestions, ideas, and all.... so much appreciated!.............P

 

[donac]

Have a great party no matter what you serve.

 

[pjlla]

Just wanted to report back..... the party was a great success! As it turned out, we served just a modest amount of salad and fruit and even the hummus/veggie tray and olive tray were pretty much ignored. But the pizza kept disappearing! I actually lost track of how many pizzas I cooked/served, but I think it was about 10... and by the end we had just a few slices left behind. The entire salted caramel brownie pizza was gone and folks were asking if there was more. Two of the three fruit pizzas (the kind with cookie crust) were put out and three slices were left. But we only served about half of the fruit salad. The lemonade (made with sugar) had to be refilled twice, but the unsweetened iced tea was never refilled. Clearly people weren't there to eat healthy! My basket of WW snacks went untouched and I only made one WW pizza and it was eaten by DD and myself only.

Anyhow.... thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond and give you opinions and suggestions. They were all appreciated!..................P

 

[TwoMisfits]

If you have a ton of fruit salad left, you can turn it into a nice crumble or fruit sauce so it doesn't go to waste (I like to cook anything people may have touched but I'm a bit crazy that way...or if you don't mind, nice fruit smoothies could work, too...

It's why I don't mind putting that kind of stuff (fresh fruit, roasted veg) out - it's the easiest to reuse...

 

[pjlla]

If you have a ton of fruit salad left, you can turn it into a nice crumble or fruit sauce so it doesn't go to waste (I like to cook anything people may have touched but I'm a bit crazy that way...or if you don't mind, nice fruit smoothies could work, too...

It's why I don't mind putting that kind of stuff (fresh fruit, roasted veg) out - it's the easiest to reuse...

Thanks for the suggestion, but we had NO trouble eating the fruit salad the next day. We are BIG fruit and veggie eaters here. I didn't worry about it being touched because I had made two batches and the second batch never even left the fridge. We also had managed to polish off the remaining ribbon salad and part of the tossed green salad, plus all of the chopped veggies that we had ready for more salad and for more cold veggie pizza (that we didn't need). The only cooked pizza we had left was a few slices of caramelized onion and bacon... DS's favorite! So he took those for lunch yesterday. The last slice of salted caramel brownie pizza (that I had saved for DS) was consumed by DS tonight and the remaining hunk of cake is in the fridge... he will probably eat it over the next few days. The only leftovers that I will need to work on eating soon is the large amount of hummus..... but we had grilled veggie hummus wraps last night for dinner and we will eat it in lunches and snacks this week.................P

 

[kidshop]

Just wanted to report back..... the party was a great success! As it turned out, we served just a modest amount of salad and fruit and even the hummus/veggie tray and olive tray were pretty much ignored. But the pizza kept disappearing! I actually lost track of how many pizzas I cooked/served, but I think it was about 10... and by the end we had just a few slices left behind. The entire salted caramel brownie pizza was gone and folks were asking if there was more. Two of the three fruit pizzas (the kind with cookie crust) were put out and three slices were left. But we only served about half of the fruit salad. The lemonade (made with sugar) had to be refilled twice, but the unsweetened iced tea was never refilled. Clearly people weren't there to eat healthy! My basket of WW snacks went untouched and I only made one WW pizza and it was eaten by DD and myself only.

Anyhow.... thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond and give you opinions and suggestions. They were all appreciated!..................P

I think I need the brownie pizza recipe. Please share, thanks!

 

[pjlla]

I think I need the brownie pizza recipe. Please share, thanks!

I'm almost embarrassed to admit how easy it was! I made a boxed Ghiradelli double chocolate brownie mix in a 12" round cake pan. When it cooled I topped it with jarred caramel sauce (NOT ice cream topping, as that is too thin). Then top that with coarse sea salt. DONE! I found the original idea on Pinterest, but it included homemade brownies (not happening here) and a specific caramel sauce from Target that I couldn't find. I'll try to post a picture.... hold on

got it.... And forgive the sticky caramel on the counter..... I wanted to get a picture quickly!...............P

 

[kidshop]

looks great! thanks!