Hosting a small party ...what menu ? (white wine, beer, appetizers, grilling)

[raidgirl]

Probably not the right thead but seems to be most appropriate to post here

I am not much of an "entertainer" but I would like to get started !
Want to invite some work colleagues over and wondering what I should do for the menu .

What kind of food ? I am not a great cook ...should I order to go or have it catered and delivered etc ?

Any suggestions with what I should consider serving other than wine/beer :P

[dens]

well you can do a combo of buying stuff and making stuff....this is hard you need to give more details. For starters you can do guacomole or hummus with chips or wings but there are so many options for entrees.....what type of group is it? Do you have any idea about their preferences...vegan etc?

[raidgirl]

No vegans
Flexible in their taste ...
I know what you mean ...there are endless possibilities ....It s just that I am not able to come up with a nice sample menu

What would you do for starter/ main course/dessert,?

I guess that narrows it down a bit

[gentlearts]

Are they coming on a week night, or weekend? How much prep time will you have?
What sort of party ar you visualizing? Grilling outside on the patio, dining in the dining room, buffet off the kitchen island? We need to know these things.

[raidgirl]

Friday evening
In an apartment
No grilling /outdoor stuff
Maybe a total of 9 people...all girls from the workplace

[raidgirl]

Prep time 2-3 hours

[gentlearts]

Ok, that helps.
Make a fancy colorful martini, red and white wine, also bottled water, diet cola, and iced tea
A couple of kinds of cheese and a variety of crackers, also grapes.
I would make my ham tettrazzini casserole ahead, and pop it in the oven an hour before you want to serve, a pretty green salad, and yummy rolls.
Since you'll be at work all day, you could buy a beautiful bakery dessert unless you want to bake something the night before. I have an apple dessert that takes 5 minutes to prepare, then you bake it for 50 mins and serve with ice cream.
You get the idea. If you want these recipes let me know.

You know your coworkers. They might rather have beer and make your own tacos.

[raidgirl]

Thanks
That was helpful !

[JustJulia]

For a party with the ladies, I like to have several things to nibble on, so we can just sit wherever and chat, play games, watch a movie, or whatever. You could have cocktail meatballs in the crockpot, some cold munchies like crudites and dip, hummus and pita chips, chips and salsa, cheese and crackers, etc. You could pick up some hot appetizers to heat in the oven, or make your own: stuffed mushrooms, taquitos cut in half, tiny quiches, little canapes ... I'd choose things that can be prepped in advance, warmed up in a crockpot, or popped in the oven at the last minute. That way I'd have more time to spend getting myself and the house ready, and I wouldn't need to spend a lot of time in the kitchen when my guests arrived.

I like gentlearts' drink selection!

[findinghope]

i would go with something simple like maybe an starter or two. maybe some olives and cheese with bread or crackers. then some grilled (on the stove top) and a salad. and a light dessert--jello or pudding or cake or homemade chocolate chip cookies.