Open House for the Cooper Palms Sports Complex
May 11, 6:00 - 9:00pm
This Open House was organized by the different businesses in the Cooper Palms Sports Complex: baseball, basketball, gymnastics, karate, soccer and volley ball. I was preparing the food to advertise my catering business and the businesses are splitting the cost.
Refreshments: Finger sandwiches : eggs salad and chicken salad
ham and swiss cheese roll ups
vegetables and dips
fruit and dip
crackers and cheese
chips
cookie platter
miniature cheesecakes
lemonade
iced tea
Finger Sandwiches
There are different ways to make finger sandwiches using different kinds of breads and fillings. You can fill the sandwiches with chicken salad, egg or tuna salad, ham salad or cream cheese and olives. When you make your salad, make sure the chicken or eggs pieces are cut up finely and add enough mayonnaise to hold the ingredients together. A suggestion for ham salad: Use a turkey ham. It is less expensive than a regular ham, and it is fully cooked and ready to slice and cut up.
You can use regular bread, cocktail bread or french bread. When you use white or wheat bread, cut off the crusts and lightly spread with butter to prevent the bread from getting sagging from the salad. You can cut the sandwiches on the diagonal or up and down to create different shapes. You can also use cocktail rye or pumpernickel bread. Those breads are normally firm enough not to have to spread with butter.
I like to use French Bread for my finger sandwiches. Buy a loaf that can be baked. While hot, scoop out the center with a fork, leaving some bread around the edges. Firmly stuff the bread with salad, making sure there are no air pockets. Wrap the entire loaf in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to set. On the day of the party, unwrap and slice the loaf in one inch slices. Place the sliced loaf directly onto the platter.
You can arrange your sandwiches attractively on your platter, alternating kinds of bread, shapes and salad types. Garnish your platter with parsley and cover with plastic wrap until just ready to serve, to avoid letting the bread get stale.
Fruit and Dip Platter
This is a nice way to serve fruit that is a little different and delicious.
Dip: Whip together: 8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 jar marshmallow fluff
1 container lemon yogurt
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
Fruit: small bunches of grapes
melons: cantaloupe, honeydew
pineapple chunks
apple slices (Hint: To prevent apples from turning brown, pour orange juice
over slices until ready to put on platter.)
bananas
Ham and Swiss cheese roll ups
Cheese and crackers
Vegetables and Dip
Finger Sandwiches