These no-fuss, familiar foods are great for a casual wedding and if you have a lot of kids in attendance. These are the kinds of dishes that will surprise and delight.

ATwo Comfort Worthwhile Food Splurges Menu hould your budget have some leeway, consider S these two ways to make your meal memorable. Have a cheese plate brought out after the main course and before dessert. A typical assortment might include a soft cheese like Brie, a hard cheese like • PASSED APPETIZERS • cheddar or Emmental, and a flavorful blue cheese like I don’t care whether Miniature Hamburgers with Caramelized Onions Gorgonzola. Serve with thin slices of French bread and you’re wearing a fruit. The cheese course can be plated in the kitchen, three-piece suit or Pigs in a Blanket shorts and flip-flops Spicy Mustard or, for a more elegant option, a waiter can roll a trolley —everybody loves Individual Crudités in a Shot Glass around to each table and cut individual wedges for pigs in a blanket. Green Goddess Dip guests. Cheese is such a personal taste, so I like the Crab Cakes latter method because it allows guests to choose what appeals to them. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Serve a midnight snack, one of my favorite ways This retro salad has • SALAD COURSE • to keep the party going late. Obviously, that won’t be an made such a come- Iceberg Lettuce Wedge Salad option in venues where the kitchen shuts down early back. You can also Crumbled Blue Cheese, Bacon do it with Thousand Red and Yellow Cherry Tomatoes or in rural areas where outside food sources aren’t Island dressing—my Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing available. But if bringing out late-night munchies is absolute favorite! feasible and you expect the party to be going strong • E N T R É E • Boneless Short Ribs at 1 a.m., it’s always a crowd-pleaser. The food refuels Red Wine Sauce guests for more dancing and steers guests who’ve Crispy Fried Chicken been overfrequenting the bar in another direction. Serve these in Peach Chutney Popular choices are burgers and fries (I’ve brought them plastic baskets set Salmon with Leeks in from McDonald’s and had waiters pass them on directly on the table. White Wine Reduction silver platters), breakfast burritos, or cookies with milk French Fries and Onion Rings shooters. The snack should be something that people Ketchup, Mustard, and Ranch Dip can eat with their hands; the revelers don’t necessarily Grilled Vegetables want to sit down, and tables have probably been Herb Marinade cleared at this point. There’s a lot of room for playing here, particularly since not everyone will still be around • DESSERT • Hot Fudge Sundae and not everyone will partake—if you’re known for Throw in whatever Vanilla Ice Cream chowing down on chicken biscuits or hitting a diner for other toppings you Hot Fudge, Crushed Almonds, like on a sundae. grilled cheese at 2 a.m., that’s what you should serve. Whipped Cream Bing Cherry Topping

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