Starting With The Grand Finale

Starting With The Grand Finale originally published on Food and Fond Memories on July 19, 2011 by sandyaxelrod Leave a Comment (Edit)

Starting With The Grand Finale

I know. I know. The grand finale is supposed to be at the end and in reality it is in this case too. Let me explain. I mentioned to you a week or so ago that Steve and I were hosting a party for my fellow Board of Directors of the Wellington Art Society. The party was Saturday evening. I spent the previous week preparing the food so that there would be very little to do on the day of the party enabling me to enjoy my guests. I took lots of pictures of the dishes that I prepared and I will write about them beginning with my next post, but I thought I would tell you about the party and menu to start with. Ergo my title “Starting with the Grand Finale”.

I decided to go with a Southwest theme, big surprise there. I wanted to keep the atmosphere very casual and tacos seemed perfect so for the entree I chose beef, chicken and fish giving everyone a good variety. Almost a month ago I wrote out my menu with the location of each recipe. Then I made my first shopping list. Next I re-organized my shopping list so it followed my Supermarket’s footprint which made it vastly easier to shop. I began preparing by getting almost all of my shopping out of the way by Saturday, a week ago. So Sunday I made the first of my entree dishes. Each day after that I minced, chopped, measured, beat, baked and cooked so that 99 % of the work was done by Friday night. Friday evening Steve and I made the wise decision to set the buffet table under roof because our steamy Florida days promised late afternoon and evening thunderstorms. From our catering days I had a large white banquet cloth that we draped a 6 foot table with. In one corner I placed 2 stacked upside down coke crates on an angle and then covered the entire table top with a colorful wool Mexican blanket. Next I planned the placement of each dish and put little place cards with the menu description in front of where each item would be. All of my serving pieces were at the ready just waiting for food. Steve set up the bar and cleverly used the base of my fish poacher filled with ice for the Coronas. With only 22 of us the size was perfect because it held 12 bottles with plenty of room to chill. On my trip to Party City I picked up aqua plastic plates in two sizes, silver plastic forks, tropical print cocktail napkins, multicolored plastic cups and a strand of lacy colorful plastic flags. We had lit candles everywhere as well as tiki torches burning to keep the mosquitos away. Music was playing on shuffle from our IPod and our lights were dimmed to create a party mood. We were relaxed and ready to greet our guests and then party to the wee hours of the night.

Menu for Wellington Art Society Party

Hors d’oeuvre

Queso Fundido with Roasted Poblano Vinaigrette
Served with Blue and White Tortilla Chips

Spicy Hummus and Zucchini Quesdadillas with White Bean Relish

Petite Yellow Corn Pancakes with Smoked Salmon and Mango Serrano Crema

Bar

Rose Sangria

Mesa Grill Cranberry Margaritas

Coronas with Lime

Entrée

Yucatan Chicken Skewers
Served with Mixed Cabbage Slaw and Peanut Red Chile BBQ Sauce

Shredded Red Chile Short Ribs
Served with Pickled Red Onions, Queso Sauce and Green Chile Relish

Sweet and Spicy Salmon Served with Mango Pico de Gallo

Soft Flour Tortillas, Soft Corn Tortillas and Hard Corn Tacos

Dessert

Lemon and Orange Jello Shots

Pina Colada Cake

Peach and Blackberry Pie

Peanut Butter Caramel Swirl Fudge Brownies