Entertaining Menus

Living in a small space doesn't give me a chance to entertain too often  However, I live by the beach, so I do get some out of town visitors once in a while.  Being single,  I am not used to putting together menus for guests.  I pack food for work and usually snack out of the fridge at home.  This being said,  I decided to put together a collection of menus/appetizers/snacks for those time when guests are in house. I really don't want to spend a lot of time cooking and planning when the beach beckons  :)

Here we go:

Breakfast

Herbed baked eggs with fruit and yogurt

Scrambled eggs with chicken sausage, home fries and cantaloupe

Appetizers/ Snacks

Sliced feta cheese ( buy the block, not the crumbles)
Black olives
Crusty bread
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping
Sliced prosciutto or salami
Canteloupe cubes
Crackers - my fave Crunchmaster Multi Seed Crackers

Brunch/Lunch

Ploughman's platter - you can mix this up in a lot of ways.  This is great for a crowd.  Scale it down for one or two - maybe just ham, bread, mustard, cheeses, pickles and sliced apples. No fancy serving trays?  Just lay down some parchment paper on the table/buffet and arrange your goodies  Oh - don't forget a nice wine and/or some good ale!

Sliced ham
Sausages sliced on angle
Sourdough bread or other crusty bread
Cranberry chutney
Dijon Mustard
Romaine leaves tossed with Garlic Expressions dressing ( all natural ingredients with no junk)
Hard boiled eggs
Sweet pickles
Cheddar cheese wedges
Swiss cheese wedges
Blue cheese weges
Grapes
Sliced apples
Grape tomatoes
Baby carrots
Olive tapenade
Celery sticks


Check out some of these Ploughman's Lunch ideas on Pinterest