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Two weeks ago I did a test run of a cake I'm going to make for Kelly's birthday party. It's a half vanilla/half chocolate cake inside with peanut butter buttercream frosting, reese pieces border, and I made a lion face out of marshmallow fondant to put on top. All my lovely testers loved it and said I should definitely make it for the party. I talked with my sister about the cake situation and told her I was going to make the peanut butter one for his party, and another one since there will be a lot of people. She said the other cake should be a more "normal" one, and one without peanuts since some kids are allergic. I have just decided for the second cake that it will be chocolate cake with a cookies and cream frosting. Do you think that would be "normal" enough? I'd think between those two choices most people would like at least one, and if not there will probably be other desserts there to choose from.
The other food issue that has come up is...... one of my DH's friends had offered to make a ton of chicken wings for our party. Well, in the past few days some stuff has happened, and dh is not really wanting to even speak to this friend so I don't think they will be coming to the party. My whole menu is up in the air now. What are some good foods to make? This is the *old* menu:
Chicken wings
Kebabs (beef & chicken?)
Corn on the cob
Watermelon fruit salad basket
Roasted potatoes
Pasta salad
Baked beans
Pizza
Chips (& Dip?)
Veggie/Cheese tray
Well my mom has since decided to make Italian sausage. Does that jive with the rest of the menu (minus the wings which we will no longer have)? I am also questioning whether or not I will have time to do the kebabs (enough for 40 people!!) and am wondering if anyone has another suggestion that I could do in its place? Is there anything else I should have? I am open to ideas and love trying new recipes.
Normally I'm not all obsessed with party-planning, BUT we just moved like 2 weeks ago and most people have not seen our house and I really want to make a good impression on everyone
First off WOW thats alot of food choices! YOU GO GIRL! lol but seriously, just x the kabobs. You have plenty of other food!
Second off, italian sausage is so delicious, it jives with everything.
Third off, I got a 2 tier cake (which cost 170 dollars!) and wanted my bottom tier to be kid friendly and top to be adult friendly. Bottom has vanilla cake with cookies and cream with ganache, top has vanilla with candied almond cream.
SO, Im basically doing something similar. top tier wouldnt be allergy friendly, but bottom would! We have amazing taste in cake flavors. =P I see nothing wrong with the two cake flavors you chose, cause i see nothing wrong with mine!
I think the only valid point she has about the peanut butter cake is the allergies. Who cares how traditional the cake is? Those two choice sound much better than just plain vanilla. Do what you want, you're making the cake!
As far as food "going" together, again, who cares? Different choices always make people happy. For food I think we are just doing burgers and chicken on the grill, fruit, some type of rice or potato salad and maybe one other thing, well then cake of course too. If it's hot outside people don't eat as much hot food, or food period.
I was also going to ask, assuming you are the one who gave me the link to the Wilton Marshmallow fondant recipe. How much does it make? Like to cover what size, shape cake?
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Thank you *Kiliki* for cute siggy Oct '11 June '12
i agree, if all the food is themed, it leaves little options.
and i think your whole party sounds wonderfull! if i had the money, i would fly out just for it!
Well, when my family does parties... we make sure there's lots of food! LOL. My dh's family does parties and they always run out of food which really sucks. Plus, there will be a lot of people there...at least 40, but there could be more than 60. The joys of large families who are horrible about RSVPing... lol. Plus, my DH just keeps inviting random people every day.
I need like the week off to pull this off!!! I guess I'll manage.
Thanks for your input! I ask my DH things and he gives the typical guy responses "I dunno" or "Do whatever you think works best". UGH!
Brandee - your cake sounds awesome! I love "different" flavors... yummy yummy!
I really do love your food choices, but those wings would totally be a hit. Any chance you could simply buy a bulk bag of frozen chicken wings and throw some bbq and hot sauce on them? LOL
well...then again....ive been craving chicken wings for weeks now.. so i might be talking from my stomach.
And to replace kabobs why dont you just get a meat tray? I love the trays that have like pepperoni and salami and crackers! Or Little baby sausage links you could roast up in the oven REAL quick with some bell peppers and onions and just put toothpicks in them. MINI kebabs!
With that number of people (& since your menu is up in the air now), you might consider checking out caterers? We're doing a luau for 70+ people, and that's what we ultimately did. We are ordering the bulk of our lunch from a local Hawaiian caterer. It is slightly more expensive (but not by much!!), but we are saving A LOT of time cooking for a crowd, which will equal less stress/more enjoyment for us. We are only making 2-3 additional things to supplement what we are getting from the caterer. We didn't want to be stuck in the kitchen or at the grill, so we're really happy with our decision at this point, and like I said, the increased cost is MINIMAL.
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Family Pic (kiddos are 16 months)
Me: 32.:. DH: 30...TTC w/ Male Factor.... BFP! Was triplets! NOW IT'S TWINS!!! 1 BOY, 1 GIRL
You could make the kabobs the nigh before so all you need to do is throw them on the grill, or you could scrap them and go for something really easy like sweet and sour meatballs in the crock pot. Minimal fuss and nothing to really watch or need attention.
For Paxton's party, I had my mom, MIL, and dh's grandma help make food. It was really helpful to me! For our main dish, Dh's grandma made a crockpot full of BBQ pulled pork. I also ordered a tray of chicken strips from the grocery store for the kids. My MIL made a cold pasta salad and a baked bean casserole. My mom brought fresh fruit, coleslaw, and a jello salad. I made a cucumber, tomato, and onion salad. We had plenty of food and we had about 40 guests. I wanted to stick with mainly cold dishes because it was so hot out. I know some people don't like to eat hot food or any food at all when it's really hot.
As far as your cake goes, I think they both sound YUMMY! I say make what you want. If people don't like the cake choices, they don't eat it.
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Thank You Caitlin for my beautiful siggy!
Two weeks ago I did a test run of a cake I'm going to make for Kelly's birthday party. It's a half vanilla/half chocolate cake inside with peanut butter buttercream frosting, reese pieces border, and I made a lion face out of marshmallow fondant to put on top. All my lovely testers loved it and said I should definitely make it for the party. I talked with my sister about the cake situation and told her I was going to make the peanut butter one for his party, and another one since there will be a lot of people. She said the other cake should be a more "normal" one, and one without peanuts since some kids are allergic. I have just decided for the second cake that it will be chocolate cake with a cookies and cream frosting. Do you think that would be "normal" enough? I'd think between those two choices most people would like at least one, and if not there will probably be other desserts there to choose from.
I'm a little late to this discussion because I wanted to check some things with my friend who has kids with peanut allergies. She said that if there are young kids running around (under 4 or 5), that the second cake would be a nice gesture, but wouldn't be sufficient. Her family'd come to the party, but would have to leave before the cake was cut. Kids are messy and once that cake is served, there'll be peanut residue on hands, mouths, tables, chairs, toys, etc. She suggested you warn people ahead of time so they can manage expectations. People with allergies/allergic kids need to know ahead so they can make an informed decision on whether to come. They will also need to tell the kid from the start that the cake is off limits so the kid doesn't have a meltdown when he suddenly finds out he can't have a piece of the cute lion cake. Those with infants/toddlers who have not been exposed to peanuts yet need to know before they give the cake to their kid. Last thing you want is a run to the ER in the middle of your party because a kid has an unexpected allergic reaction.
What are some good foods to make? This is the *old* menu:
Oct '11 
I say make what you want. If people don't like the cake choices, they don't eat it.
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