Build a buffet around a 75th Birthday baked potato bar to incorporate foods that entice everyone on the guest list. A menu that includes soups, salad and baked potatoes can be a real crowd pleaser. Variety and options are the key elements of this easy yet opulent birthday menu.
Use large metal baking pans to prepare plenty of spuds a few hours early. There's not much work involved. Just scrub and wrap large Idaho potatoes in aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and one-half. Test for doneness before placing in warmers on the buffet table.
Use crock pots to keep a couple of varieties of soup hot. Usually a clear broth soup like onion, vegetable or minestrone can take one side of the selection. The other opposing soup should be a cream based one like cheese, chowder or broccoli. Any of these can be easily made from purchased crème soup base. Follow package directions and add favorite ingredients. Cooked bacon and potatoes with a little cheese to taste makes a wonderful and easy soup. Finely chopped raw broccoli tops take the crème soup base another direction. A simple chowder can be made from diced canned clams and onions sautéed in butter added to soup base. Add the liquid for additional flavor.
A large salad bowl full of salad base should be surrounded by raw vegetable choices. Placed somewhere between the spuds and the salad bowl should be a plate each of cooked julienne ham, chicken and steak slices. Other bowls of assorted julienne cheeses--say cheddar and Swiss--should also be placed for easy toppings to potatoes and salads. These dishes all make for an excellent Brunch party at that birthday event.
Keep a separate area for the best item of all: desert. Use a themed 75th birthday paper table cloth and coordinated paper plates, napkins, and cups. By just adding even one simple food item to the menu will help create
a complete 75th Birthday theme party feeling. |
