What to Serve at Memorial Day Picnic

Memorial Day is a time for people to come together. Often times a few people show up that you don't even know. Everybody seems to be looking for some party to go to on Memorial Day and they don't care whose it is. Since there is this element of excitement attached to Memorial Day; many people have to plan for all their invited guests to show up for at least an hour or so before heading to someone else's Memorial Day Celebration. Because of this; the food is essential. You don't just want to have basic chips and dip. Many people want their Memorial Day Gala to remain in their guests memories as an exciting event where every food and drink presentation was just right. How can a host or hostess go about appealing to everyone's tastebuds?

First you must consider that you will have many different types of people at your party. You will want to have chips and dip on hand and some Chex Mix just to have it out. But, these items should not be your main presentation. You should understand that you want your appetizers to be neat and portable. People will have on nice clothes that they don't want messed up. You also must consider there are a few different types of American food pallets. In my experience, these are the main ones.

There's the Standard American Only that doesn't like or want anything ethnic, foreign or spicy. There's the American adventurer who's tried foreign things and enjoys them. There's also the healthy eater or the vegetarian. Offering all or a few of the dishes described below will allow your party to appeal to all of these palettes.

Grilled steak and chicken are always a good idea. You can also season smoked sausage like Smithfield or Jimmy Dean with pepper and sugar. Saute smoked sausage until it is cooked lightly crispy. Use this in place of standard hotdogs. Eat with a hotdog bun and standard condiments.

Definitely serve wine and cheese. Include, brie, provolone and cheddar at the least. Serve your favorite beer and zinfandel and carbonated beverages.

Instead of serving just melons and carrot sticks; serve an exotic fruit blend. Many supermarkets offer fruit and vegetable options that weren't around 10 years ago. Bloom and Whole Foods are forerunners in offering these exciting options, but sometimes Safeway and Giant have options as well. Some good foods to try not typically served on fruit plates are starfruit, kiwis, baby bananas, mango, papaya, tangerine, blueberries, and yuzu.

Two other dishes that go over well are pakoras (a traditional Indian dish) and homemade sushi-make sure you make California rolls, and vegetable rolls in addition to any other types of sushi you decide to make.

So with that menu, you can cater to all tastes and diet needs while still looking like you made an extra effort to be upscale.