Party Menu

We recently hosted a party of about 40 friends and family members, and my niece has made a written request for the menu.  It was an interesting mix of folks that I work with at the church, people my husband has worked with (including Polish pilots), neighbors, and my parents and sister.

We served things we enjoy.  If there was a theme to the menu, it would be international – a Cuban drink; Polish, French and Greek pastries; Middle-Eastern, Spanish, and Southwestern appetizers.

We snapped a few food shots before our guests arrived, but we had such a good time visiting with everyone that we forgot to take any photos of the people!

Savory
Jalapeno Smoked Almonds
Zesty Sausage Squares
Pineapple Cheese Ball
Hummus with Pita
Chipotle Spread with Toasted Baguette Slices
Swedish Meatballs – the standard with grape jelly and chili sauce
Veggie Platter with Peppercorn Ranch Dip (Costco)
Pinchos Morunos – these were the hit of the party!  We used a package of pork loin from Costco – 5 x the recipe.  Grilling these during the party was our performance art for the evening.  They couldn’t come off the grill fast enough. 

Sweet
Petite Lemon Cakes (Costco)
Seedless Red Grapes (Costco)
Cream Puffs (Costco)
Chocolate Chip Cookies – just the recipe from the back of the chip bag  
Baklava
Kolachi (almond, apricot, poppy seed) – our Polish guests gave this recipe a thumbs up, although there was some discussion about the proper name; it seems to vary by region. 

Beverage
A variety of beers
Sodas and bottled water
Decaf Coffee
Mojito Punch – The last time we served mojitos at a party, it seemed as if I spent the whole time muddling mint.  The larger quantity is the way to go.   

Lois Britton

An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com,  she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.