Is everyone else throwing the lavish cocktail parties I see in magazines? Most of our family entertaining is on the run:
- breakfast brought for co-workers
- birthdays in the park
- dinners for a new mom
Martha Stewarts of the Net, just overlook our humble beginnings. Fledgling entertainers, let's take baby steps together!
This week I delivered lunch to some VIPs. Box lunches are a great
way to extend hospitality without having to mop the kitchen floor!
I like to use the clamshell containers from the grocery store salad bar. Clear plastic shows off your artful arrangement, and you don't have to provide a separate plate.
Choose foods best served chilled or at room temperature.
MAIN COMPARTMENT:
This can be anything from a salad to sandwich. Since I had
vegetarians, I placed an avocado half on crisp romaine and filled it
with a spicy corn and black bean relish.
SMALL SIDE COMPARTMENT #1:
If you served a salad, how about a freshly baked roll or
triangle-shaped cheese sandwich? If your main compartment features a
casual wrap, use a coffee filter to hold a handful of fancy chips.
Other good sides:Â cute little Babybel cheeses or Laughing Cow
wedges with wheat crackers, marinated cucumber and tomato slices, pasta
salad.
SMALL SIDE COMPARTMENT #2:
Every box lunch needs a guilty dessert! Slice brownies into long
bars, or include a miniature assortment of sweet bites:Â chocolate
truffle, lemon square, pecan tart. Add color with a handful of grapes
or a couple of perfect red strawberries.
DRINKS:
Bottled fruit teas or fancy French lemonades make your whole lunch
feel gourmet! This country girl will always remember the tiny Perrier
bottles packed for our picnic to Tanglewood.
Don't forget the napkins and utensils! Tie them across the top with a pretty ribbon, or tuck raffia-bound bundles into the carrier bag or basket.
Remember, entertaining isn't limited to our dining room tables!
Do you have someone to spoil with fancy box lunch instead? Tell me
about it in the comments, or head over to Blissfully Domestic to chat.
Meredith, a pro at at things lovely and frugal, blogs at Like Merchant Ships
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These would be so cute with the natural (light brown) coffee filters and raffia!! Great idea!
These look awesome!
This is such an inspirational post! You're making me think of spoiling my husband for a week . . . should be fun!
Just beautiful, Meredith – I am always so inspired by you!
No fancy cocktail parties here, but some smaller events and lots of large events (thankfully, in a location in our apt complex) coming up this summer. But for now, most of our events are in other people's homes.
Oh, this on-the-go lunch is a wonderful idea! I hope you don't mind–I'm linking to this from my blog!
Okay-do you buy the clear containers from the salad bar or ask to have some? How do you get those?
My sister in law made box lunches like that for her wedding – they looked great. A fun idea – I need an excuse to try this.
Jen, the time I needed 20 containers, I asked the salad bar manager if I could buy them. She said just to take what I needed, as I was buying so many other ingredients there.
Obviously, I don't want to abuse her generosity!
Usually if I need only 2 or 3, I will get a few (light) ingredients from the per-pound salad bar, "paying" for the containers by buying a little food.
It's actually cheaper to buy a handful of sliced olives this way than to buy a small can–and you may find it economical, too, on items like blue cheese crumbles or fresh bean sprouts.
I have tried to buy a case of plastic containers from both restaurant stores in my area, without much luck. I certainly don't need 200 for $60!
Anyone have a more eco-friendly alternative? If I could find sturdy cardboard boxes and cups, I would do it that way, with sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper.
Oh this is so sweet! We are having a picnic next week and I believe I just have to do this!