<p>Although it might not be a “sit down” luncheon, there might be small tables, trays, etc. that Consolation mentioned. I have a small home and when I say I am not having a “sit down” meal, I just mean that all will not be seated and served at a table at one time. Not sure what Masslou meant. </p>
<p>Along the lines of what Consolation suggested, I set up small tables, trays, and use every available horizontal space. I have purchased large pieces of felt in a color theme - yellow for spring, green for xmas, blue for tailgating, etc. and have cut and placed on good wood table tops. Now - that might sound a little tacky at first - reminds me a little of “marie” on Everybody Loves Raymond" but I have flowers, beautiful plates, etc., on the felt and it becomes part of the color scheme for the party. People feel free to put down glasses, plates, etc. without worry.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the very helpful feedback! To clarify, if we decide to do the soup thing, we’d have them in crock pots on the sideboard–soup would stay warm. Also think crock pots lend themselves to self-service and informality which are important to us. </p>
<p>There will be plenty of places–chairs, sofas, breakfast bar stools, etc—for people to sit; just not enough places to sit down at a table as one would do at a dinner party. Coffee tables, side tables, etc are all user-friendly so there will also be horizontal space for plates, glasses, etc…
Co-hostess has suggested using the soup as a casual, “roaming” first course–fill your mug with soup and chat with friends. Might be a good idea…</p>
<p>OP - you also asked how to handle offers for food contributions. You could specify something generic like ‘dessert’ or if you do a salad bar, specify a certain topping, like ‘chopped tomatoes’ or ‘croutons.’ While it’s true that some people don’t like being told what to bring, others welcome being asked to bring a specific item.</p>
<p>Also - COSTCO makes a really good rotisserie chicken salad. It’s my standard contribution for luncheons.</p>
<p>I don’t usually like prepared food items but I agree that the chicken salad at Costco is pretty decent.
Also please watch out for the salt content in the foods. I went to a party recently where all the non-sweet items were heavy in sodium. I woke up the next morning with puffy eyes. (it was one of those parties where everyone brought something, I think that made a difference. Lots of salty items but somehow fresh vegetables were missing.)</p>
<p>Masslou - I bought these really cute plastic coffee cups at a Party Store the last time I had people over for a “soup bar.” They were a “squared” design and I had a ton of them next to each of the Crockpots. I had different toppings - non-fat sour cream & yogurt, croutons, chives, etc. to put on top of the soup. Because it wasn’t a huge serving, everyone tried more than one soup. The choices were butternut squash, a Moroccan lentil soup, and a minestrone. It worked out really well and I think all the choices did encourage chatter!</p>
<p>If somebody wants to bring something, but you fear things store-bought instead of home cooked… suggest shrimp. I often bring shrimp and cocktail sauce to a party. It’s usually get completely eaten, unless somebody else often also had the same idea. </p>
<p>Meatballs (with no sauce or very little) in a crockpot can be nice.</p>
<p>OK–some decisions have been made but still need some suggestions. We’re planning a soup and salad bar. A selection of 3 or 4 soups served in slow cookers–perhaps butternut, tomato, chicken w/wild rice, minestrone and greens with a selection of toppings, along with 2-3 dressings. We’ll offer a couple of choices of bread/rolls and, of course, desserts. </p>
<p>Thoughts/suggestions?</p>
<p>What salad toppings should we offer for the greens (probably be a spring mix)? Which 2 or 3 dressings should we offer? Or should we just dress the greens with a light vinegarette?</p>
<p>Don’t dress the lettuce in advance - it will wilt. Kraft makes some nice spray dressings in different flavors (ranch, Italian, balsamic, raspberry, etc). The nice thing is that they are only 10 calories & can be sprayed as light - or as heavy - as a person wants. </p>
<p>Salad toppings: think of the toppings you like at a salad bar - croutons, shredded carrots, shredded cheese, feta cheese, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, walnuts or almonds, raisins, etc. If you provide a variety of toppings & dressings, people can customize.</p>
<p>Sounds like things are coming together for a very nice luncheon. May I join you? :D</p>
<p>A salad of frisee hold up well even dressed in advance. I make mine with crispy bacon and a mustard vinaigrette. I also make sweet potato soup for crowds fairly often, Lots of flavor. I make it with orange juice, leeks, fresh ginger. You can even add chunks of lobster. I make a creme fraiche to swirl on top.</p>
<p>one of my girlfriends taught me to put salad dressing on the bottom of the bowl…put in the salad and then you just mix it when ready to eat…doesn’t wilt beforehand with this approach…</p>
<p>in terms of soups, I have gone to a couples dinner party, and mugs were used for soups, they had a lot of mugs, so you could try each and every soup if you wanted. There were several glasses of dipping items for the soups… peppers, pea pods, breadsticks, cornbread, croutons…cheese… the mugs all have handles so it makes it easy to hold if you are standing up…</p>
<p>I think dessert is where you get folks to contribute items… assign a category if you want, 3 assigned brownies, 3 assigned cookies, 3 others assigned fruit kabobs… that way you can control the menu for most of the party… by the time they get to dessert you have already set the tone and all that is left to do is indulge in the sweets…</p>
<p>not sure if everyone truly knows everyone else, but name tags can be a helpful thing when there are so many folks… and if you do parting gifts, a bag of sunflower seeds or carrot seeds etc etc could be neat to give out as they leave…</p>
<p>enjoy your event… it is nice of you to pull it together…</p>
<p>4 bunches of leeks - cleaned thoroughly, sliced white part only
2 celery ribs - chopped
8 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 butternut squash
4 cartons low sodium vegetable broth (I like Pacific brand)
thyme, sage, pepper to taste
non-fat sour cream, chives for garnish</p>
<p>Saute sliced leeks and celery until softened in small amount of oil. I use canola. Add remaining ingredients, cook until all vegetables are softened, about two hours. You can cook longer at low heat. Using immersion blender whir until blended thoroughly.</p>
<p>Or use can change the spices and use lime, coriander & cumin</p>
<p>I also make a Lentil Chowder which features butternut squash</p>
<p>1 Squash, peeled and cut into cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1 large potato, cut into small cubes
1 celery stalk, chopped ( I usually use more)
1 carrot, chopped (ditto)
1 cup red lentils
1 1/2 tab. tomato paste
4 cups of water
2 tsp. thyme
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish</p>
<p>I usually saute the onions first - but otherwise put all ingredients in large pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour and half.</p>
<p>Luncheon was a roaring success! Decided to go with a soup and salad bar. Used big soup mugs and regular sized dinner plates. Also provided smaller salad plates. Some just took a mug for soup, made a couple of trips and went back for salad on a small plate. Others used the big plate almost like a tray for the mug, got soup and placed salad on the plate, sat and ate without needing to go back. Rolled up cutlery in large dinner napkin to make it easier. Also mad beverages self-serve–had soft drinks in kitchen and vino in the living room. Coffee pot was at the dessert station, also in the kitchen…Used Evite for invitations which is very user-friendly BTW–used it for directions and master list of suggested items for those who wanted to contribute a food item. </p>
<p>Guests brought salad greens, toppings for salad, bread and desserts. Everybody had a great time! The casual setting was perfect for chit-chat. </p>
<p>Served homemade tomato soup, butternut bisque, pasta fagoli, and chicken with wild rice. Salad greens and various toppings allowed guests to customize their salads. (Offered 3 different dressings.)</p>
<p>Thanks to all who contributed ideas for my little party. Your help is much appreciated!</p>
</p>
:D</p>