Food with Friends      Meals in a Hurry      Cook's Corner      Good for You      Menus      Our Recipes

WHAT'S NEW

A crowd-pleasing buffet

Trusty recipes that offer something for everyone — perfect for gatherings with family and friends.

By Homemakers

This menu is excerpted from our Menu of the Month Cookbook
So often when family and friends gather for a meal, it is a challenge to serve foods that all your guests will enjoy. This menu has something for everyone, which makes it a surefire crowd-pleaser.

The full-flavoured vegetarian pasta dish is a lot more interesting and easier to make than old standbys such as lasagna. And this hearty main course is balanced with lighter appetizers, a colourful salad and a decadent dessert.

Menu
Antipasto Platter with Crusty Baguettes
An enticing array of Italian appetizers piques the appetite and stimulates conversation as guests help themselves. When you're short of time, you'll find a good antipasto selection at most supermarkets and in Italian-food shops; add home-made varieties as desired.

If your guest list includes vegetarians, it might be wise to serve this on two smaller plates, one that features meat and seafood and one with meat-free components. Choose two or three kinds of olives, marinated artichoke hearts, pickled mushrooms, pickled eggplant, roasted red-pepper strips, marinated vegetables and marinated seafood. If desired, add Italian cheese, salami and thinly sliced prosciutto to wrap around fresh fig quarters or melon slices. Garnish with large leaves of fresh basil and clusters of small tomatoes. Set out sliced crusty baguettes and individual plates.

Two-Cheese Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables
Green and Red Salad
Winter Fruit-Salad Bowl with Marsala
Ginger Brownies

Articles

Christmas Eve candelit dinner

Fast but fancy
More
Books

Menu of the Month Cookbook
Links

Buffet Style
Menus

French food pour vous

Come to the fair
More
 more articles
Related articles
Christmas Eve candelit dinner
Fast but fancy
A cabin-weekend feast
New in Food & Nutrition
All about onions
Andrew's ingredient of the month -- Chinese squash
Preserving food -- make summer's bounty last
New on this site
Andrew's ingredient of the month -- Lamb
Healthy ways to cook meat without a frying pan
October Insider Access contest
Enter our contests


October Issue
Next Issue

All rights reserved: © 2008 Transcontinental Medias inc.
A Transcontinental 3W web site
Updating of web site content: Homemakers.com
Optimized for Internet Explorer 5, 800x600