Party Panache, Kid Friendly Charcuterie Buffet

My family was arriving at dinner time last Thursday for the holiday weekend,

which makes dinner itself tricky…

No one wants to sit down and eat right when they get here

The littles are excited and want to run around,

The adults want to unpack, get settled and have a cocktail

In the past I’ve made casseroles or something in the slow cooker that will hold,

but this time, after consulting with my head chef HHjr,

we decided to try something different

We took the concept of a Charcuterie Board

and expanded it to several boards,

with easy to prepare, simple, kid friendly food

Something for everyone to nosh on when they were ready

I chose things that would be good at room temperature and put the Tzatziki dip out at the last minute

If you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, grab some of this delicious cucumber dip, I served it with cool cucumber slices and fried pita chips  {Piggly Wiggly}

Room temperature tortellini with pesto is a great party food

you can serve it in a bowl with tooth picks

Or make skewers like these

Pasta Lollipops

There were clusters of red and green grapes

and an old Southern favorite,

 Bacon Parmesan Bites

Pistachio nuts

And a board offering a hard cheddar {Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar}

Salami slices, a cheese ball,

deli smoked turkey slices and small round crackers

{Trader Joe’s 12 grain mini snack crackers}

There was also a mini crockpot of Chili Cheese Dip with Scoop chips

Pigs in a Blanket with Mustard Butter were ready to go into the oven as people arrived

There was something for everyone, fruit, vegetables, pasta, nuts, meat, cheese, hot, cold…

And sweet!

Easy Peasy Lemon Sunshine Cake for dessert

Keep this concept in mind for your future gatherings

This was easy on the host/hostess,

Everyone loved it,

Clean up was a breeze,

And we snacked on the leftovers all weekend…

Juicy Details

recipes for Bacon Crackers and Lemon Sunshine Cake will be posting soon

Pigs in a Blanket with Mustard Butter here

Easy Chili Cheese Dip here

Pesto Pasta Skewers aka Lollipop Trees here

I recommend these items from Trader Joe’s

Tzatziki Dip

12 Grain Mini Snack Crackers

Unexpected Cheddar

I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:

Meal Plan Monday  Dishing it & Digging it,   Between Naps on the Porch,

Merry Monday   Make it Pretty Monday    Celebrate and Decorate,

Tasty Tuesday   Oh My Heartsie Girl  Full Plate Thursday

Thursday Favorite Things  Creatively Crafty   Home Matters 

Weekend Potluck   Sweet Inspirations   Happiness is Homemade