I am in need of a menu for a housewarming party.

Where are you? What are some fresh local fruits and vegetables?

Is it too chilly for salads? I have a magic expandable recipe for black bean, corn, red pepper, cilantro and lime salad. And also a new potato, chives,capers, andraspberry vinaigrette salad.

You may want to balance out the pork, bread, rice dishes with raw vegetables and hummus, and chips/ cauliflower puree dip.

@gailcalled: I’m in New Jersey, but the stands near me haven’t had the best stuff. I guess I can’t blame them, since it is butt-cold after all.

I’m fine with salads, but I do know that there will be some rather inebriated folks by the end of this, and I’m trying to avoid messes such as greasy spills on our new couch, etc. That’s why I’m so stumped.

I should’ve also noted that including us, we’ve got about 13–14 people.

Tapas….Can’t go wrong. Can make a meal or be just apps. It’s fun making them, great presentation, and awesome tastes.

I’m a big cheese fan.

It’s hard to go wrong with a nice brie along with a well stocked cheese tray and some fruit to balance it out.

I would put out a cheese tasting platter with about 4 different kinds of cheeses in different colors and textures with a basket of sliced bagettes.

Then you could have a big Greek Salad with chopped romaine, kalamata olives,sliced banana peppers, grape tomatoes and crumbled feta with either bottled Greek vinaigrette or this home made dressing

Or this Cold Noodle Salad with Peanutbutter Dressing is really easy and versatile. You can use chicken instead of tofu, or use baked tofu instead of regular and you can use whichever veggies you like. I used broccoli instead of asparagus. This is a great salad because you can serve it cold or at almost room temperature (just pay more attention if you use chicken). I would double this recipe.

Another favorite and easy salad is Cheese Tortellini Salad with Pesto. Just get one of those double sized containers of cheese tortellini from Costco or Sam’s Club (in the deli, not dried or frozen) cook according to directions, drain, cool in an ice water bath, drain again. Add all or part of a container of Costco or Sam’s Club Pesto Sauce, about a cup of cubed mozzarella cheese, a pint of grape tomatoes (halved is better) a cup of small broccoli florets and about a half a cup of diced celery. Mix well.

Another easy salad is Tabouli. Just use a boxed mix such as Casbah, follow the instructions, then add your own diced tomatoes, and chopped parsley. Use 2 boxes if you think you need a bigger amount.

And here’s an easy Mexican Pasta Salad recipe.

Of course there’s always the big sandwich which you can make yourself or buy at Costco or Sam’s or any place that sells Subs. Just make sure you have at least one that is vegetarian just in case you have any veggie guests. If you make it yourself, Costco and Sam’s have big re-sealable containers of thinly sliced meats (ham, roast beef, turkey) and sliced cheese, throw on some sliced tomatoes and some shredded lettuce. Put out squeeze bottle containers of mustard and mayo (or put it into bowls with spreaders) You should slice the sandwich ahead of time and arrange it on a platter.

@Kardamom: I have just bookmarked the noodle salad recipe. Thanks

@gailcalled: I think I’d be interested in the bean recipe you mentioned above. Beans seem to be a big thing with my friends. Not sure why… I hate them, lol, but that sounds like it would go over very well.

This is a very special kind of layered bean dip made with sour cream, grated cheese, and refried beans. Make your own tortilla chips (by deep-frying some tortillas) so they’re hot and fresh and I guarantee you there won’t be any left over. Fair warning that the number of calories in this has to be measured in scientific notation.

The magic salad: (This can be shrunk or expanded; you can fiddle with amount and kinds of ingredients also.)

Black and White Bean Salad (Yield: 8–10 servings)

2 cans drained black beans (you can be pure and start with dried beans)
2 cans drained small white beans ( ditto)
1 can drained corn (or cook fresh corn and scrape, scrape, scrape)
1 C chopped red onion
1 C chopped red pepper
¼ C chopped fresh cilantro (vital)

2 C. Cumin Vinaigrette (I use 1½) Use whisk for all mixing. Add EVOO last.

¼ C cider vinegar and ¼ C fresh lime juice
1 T dijon mustard
1 t freshly minced garic
1½ C EVOO
Salt and pepper to taste. (Kosher and ground).

^^ Add cumin to taste. (Start with 2 t.)

Grilled chicken drum sticks or chicken halves, baked potato halves & garlic dip & a nice salad bowl. Also do a mixed pasta, say cabbage & bacon ? I usually just order in pizza too Lol…. :-/
you can’t go wrong with a cheese cake…...

These are so good, unusual and very pretty. (I prefer them without the chicken.)

Italian Chopped Salad in Shells

* 1 (16 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
* 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
* ½ cup chopped fresh basil
* 1 cup coarsely chopped cooked chicken
* 1 cup coarsely chopped tomatoes
* ¾ cup coarsely chopped cucumbers
* 1 (3 ounce) italian hard salami, chopped
* ½ cup roasted garlic vinaigrette dressing

1. Cook pasta shells as directed on the package.
2. Drain and cool.
3. Place remaining ingredients except vinaigrette in a medium bowl.
4. Pour vinaigrette over the salad, toss to coat.
5. Stuff the shells with the salad.
6. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

Don’t forget the famous scene from It’s a Wonderful Life describing what you need as ‘the basics’ for a housewarming, and why:

Bread – that there will ever be sustenance
Salt – that there will ever be flavor
Wine – that there will ever be joy

Everything else is just garnish.

You should make buffalo chicken dip. It is fucking amazing unreal heavenly godly best thing in the world. I’m serious. It’s SO DELICIOUS. If you’re interested I can send you my moms recipe. It’s very very simple too.

Bruschetta
Lox and cream cheese on party pumpernickel, with dill
Hot crab dip
Cold shrimp
Tenderloin sandwiches
Mashed potato martrini bar (serve mashed potatoes in martini glasses, set out toppings)
Chicken satay
Snow peas stuffed with curried cream cheese and raisins

At this point, my boyfriend and I have decided on these definites:

sausage stuffed jalepenos
croissant pizza rolls
fried ravioli
barbecue meatballs
empenadas from our friend

I want to do some sort of slider, maybe chicken since I already have beef and pork in there. I think we might be getting spinach dip from a friend of ours, and @deni, I would love that recipe. That will go over huge with this crowd.

@poofandmook: Don’t forget the fruit and vegetables and complex carbs. Have a wonderful party.

@gailcalled: lol yes, I’m not asking his input on those. The fruit and veggies would likely only be consumed by the females. The men in our circle of friends are pretty much junk food junkies.