I am having my 3rd annual Derby party and I need food ideas! This year there are going to be many more guests and I'm kind of broke and super busy this week so I need help coming up with some slightly Southern dishes that are fairly easy and cheap to make. In the past I've tried to stick with the more traditional Derby foods but I don't know if I can be bothered this time.
I was thinking maybe mac & cheese, some sort of corn recipe (maybe just muffins because pudding might be too annoying to eat), and maybe getting things to make pressed sandwiches and/or tea sandwiches. Someone is already making barbecue chicken and I *might* make my barbecue bourbon cocktail franks if I feel like it.
Of course there will be mint juleps and desserts and cheeses and chips!
what about making small biscuits? you can get cheap-o version of philsbury grands dough and maybe add cheese or ham or both.
i really dont think you should make too much for this party since it's alot bigger than your past parties and i dont think people are going to be expecting to be fed.
the cocktail weiners are always a hit! i'm going to keep thinking of ideas! will post more later.
hey cc--do you have a crock-pot? an easy recipe for a bunch of people who are going to be standing around (and is vaguely southern) is barbecued beef sandwiches. all you need to do is get a bottle of barbecue sauce, a rump roast and whatever spices you like, throw the whole thing in the crock pot and let it cook for a few hours. it stews downand then you shred the meat with a fork. then you can just buy rolls, pickles, mustard, etc. for people to fix up their sandwiches the way they want. it's delicious--my mom makes it sometimes.
I wound up making: -a giant tray of mac-n-cheese -roasted potatoes with a mustard-garlic-chives seasoning -mini camembert walnut pastries from epicurious
It was also a party for my friend's rabbit so this is the kind of tacky cake that I made:
Red roses are the signature Derby flower. I also made these cookies: