Bridal Shower Recipes

A bridal shower is a special celebration of an expectant bride's future with her groom. Most bridal showers are for ladies only, although these days there are showers where men are included as well. Once you have determined who will be attending your gathering, and when and where you will be holding the party, you can begin to examine a menu.

Let's assume we are having a party for ladies only, and it will be a lunchtime or afternoon affair. This way you can also plan an evening out after your meal. Offerings on this menu are light, but have twists to make the meal feel special.

Appetizer

Smoked Salmon on rye

Brie on Crostini

Main

Chicken Salad

Croissant

Minted Iced Tea

Smoked Salmon is a light treat and very easy to serve. You can pick it up at any grocery or cheese shop, I prefer it thinly sliced. On a platter place the salmon, cut into bite sized pieces if necessary, appetizer sized squares of rye bread, capers, and a spread of cream cheese with some chopped chives and sour cream. Be sure to include a knife to spread some of the spread on a piece of rye, and a fork to put some of the salmon and a few capers on the spread.

Brie is a mild and creamy treat that anyone will enjoy. You can get a decent piece of brie at the grocery, or to be sure to get a well ripened cheese, go to the cheese shop. Brie is best served on simple crostini, which can be made 24 hours in advance and stored when cool in an airtight container. Take one French baguette and slice ¼ inch pieces on a diagonal. With a pastry brush lightly coat one side of each crostini with a bit of olive oil and place on a cookie sheet. Bake the crostini in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. On a platter place the brie with a knife and the crostini. A bunch of red grapes on the platter is a nice finishing touch.

For the main course chicken salad can be served in a large bowl with a basket of croissants on the side. Croissants area light, flaky, French pastry, that can be served warm or conveniently at room temperature. Croissants are available at the grocery, but as we have seen previously, if you want to step it up a notch you can visit a bakery and get some fresh croissants, or, better yet, order some ahead from Williams-Sonoma. They are sublime and well worth the effort. On the buffet table with the basket of croissants and the two sandwich salads, be sure to set out same room temperature butter and knife in case you guests want to enjoy the croissants buttered along side of the salads.

Chicken Salad

8 cooked and cooled chicken breasts

1 bunch of red grapes

Mayonnaise

Chives

Salt and pepper

Depending on what texture you like for your salad, cube the chicken. I like my salad with nice cubes of chicken, and I finely chop a bit of the chicken as well to make it more spreadable and combined. In a bowl, season the cut chicken with kosher salt and pepper to taste, start with a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper. Measure ¾ of a cup of red grapes and after washing, cut in half (grapes can be the remainder of the bunch from the brie cheese platter). Add cut grapes to the bowl and about 1 ½ cups of mayonnaise to the bowl. Fold the ingredients together gently, adding mayo to your desired consistency. Towards the end of the folding, add freshly chopped chives to add a light onion flavor, about three tablespoons. Taste, and season. Refrigerate, and allow the flavors to blend.

For the minted tea, boil 8 cups of water, add 4-6 teabags and allow to brew for 3-7 minutes. Remove teabags and add ½ cup sugar, more or less to taste. Add 4-6 sprigs of washed mint and allow to rest 20 minutes to 2 hours. Strain and chill for serving. As a special treat, freeze fresh water or tea in your ice cube tray with a leaf of mint in each cube.

Enjoy a lovely afternoon with friends tasting some special treats, before the special day!