| I think it is great you are doing this. The prom is always so expensive and eating out is expensive. Plus prom night all the places are packed and loud and you can't really enjoy it.
One year my oldest went to one home where the parents had set the table with all their china and crystal. It set the tone for the behavior. The kids loved it. The cider looks great in wine glasses. In this case the parents had picked up food from a local italian place, chicken piccata, salad, pasta with alfredo sauce. No red food. Lemon bars for dessert. They tried hard to make the menu attire friendly.
I think chicken is the safest bet. No salmon (my friend did a prom dinner with a beautiful grilled salmon and 3/4 of the kids didn't eat salmon).
A couple of good salad suggestions, mixed greens with carmelized walnuts and blue cheese with a sweet vinegarette dressing. Or a Caesar salad. What my kids and their friends love is a ceasar style salad but instead of caesar dressing I use homemade Ranch dressing from the packet made with Buttermilk with fresh grated parmesan and croutons. It looks pretty and some kids don't like the anchovy paste in caesar dressing.
Appetizer ideas- some sort of chicken on a stick- satay or teriyaki. Bruchetta. Wontons. Lettuce wraps. hummus on pita squares. Depending on your crowd- mini quiches. Also a simple but really pretty appetizer is you roll out puff pastry and cut it into squares- top with a sprig of thyme, goat cheese and then with thin slices of pear. Bake till brown. It is simple, easy and pretty and yummy.
If you have any of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks glance through them. Her recipes are good and the photos of ways of decorating the table are beautiful. |