food ideas | Tara Guérard Soirée

Photos by Lucy Cuneo

You’ve got a house full of family (or friends) and have to focus on the big meal later in the day… Well, here are a few ideas that hopefully you can use to serve a fun and easy breakfast and maintain your status as the hostess with the mostest. First of all, the big Thanksgiving meal coming up tends to be more formal, so feel free to let the a.m be more casual, even self serve. Set it and forget it. If weather in your area permits, this could even be outside or on a porch allowing for the dining area to stay prepped for later.

Here, I went with a Bloody Mary and Biscuit theme. So, sett out your favorite mixers and garnishes and let guests build their own bloody marys. Other snacky type items, fruit, veggies, (I even like Bacon in my bloodys) here can also double as a buffet- make your drink and plate in one place. This can certainly be a light meal in anticipation of stuffing face later.

A great item that we like to have in the freezer to pull out are biscuits, and some of our favorite are Callie’s Charleston Biscuits… You can see more of us making biscuits in the kitchen with Carey Morrie here. A great item to include on the buffet, and works with everything.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

photo by Corbin Gurkin

It’s Tuesday “tip” day so today, we’re going to share some ideas on how to serve more fun party food or typically casual items in more elegant or fun ways. Seafood is one of the most consistent items we are seeing served at parties… From weddings to corporate events. Here, we did a twist on shrimp cocktail, serving it in a garden fountain seems to make an old idea new and fresh!

photos by Corbin Gurkin

It’s always great to make things super easy for your guests- whether you have 500 or 5… So, if you want to really impress even at a small party, try displaying some of your snacks over ice. Both Sonic and Chick-Fil-A have started selling their pellet ice by the pound, so find a cool container (we like to build wooden boxes that are easily set on tables) and add your own ice… Crab claws are already half shelled, oysters on the half shell with pre sliced lemons and mini Tabasco have been hits for us in the past. Lobster or crab salad can go in individual dishes or glasses so guests can just grab and go. Oh, and if you do build your box, make sure you cut a small hole and run a plastic hose from the bottom to a bucket to drain the water as it melts…

photo by Corbin Gurkin

For another seafood ice station, the bride’s family grows watermelon, so we froze slices of watermelon into ice blocks to give an element of design.

photos by Corbin Gurkin

Biscuits are big big big in the South, and with guests coming from all over the world we have to make sure we present them in a manner that all would approve (and even try for the first time!) So, chicken biscuits typically reserved for a drive through instantly become a hit served on silver at a black tie wedding! BBQ can be messy, but when already assembled onto biscuits and served late night – guests will be following the servers around to get one!

Ice Cream Collage photos by Liz Banfield

Ice cream is a constantly requested late night sweet treat at our weddings. So, we’ve tried to make it fun, but having many flavor selections in a custom ice station and guests can request what they want- kind of a like a real scoop shop. Miniature cones or ice cream sandwiches served to guests on the dance floor offers a way to cool off and curb a sweet tooth!

Fries Collage photos by Liz Banfield

The old standbys- hamburgers and hot dogs and fries are still popular hits when served up in creative ways.

Another fun late night snack that is somewhat unexpected is a cheese cart. We wheel out a variety of cheeses, crackers, and spreads and serve up custom little snacks to guests.

Carnival Collage photos by Liz Banfield and Adrienne Page (top)

And, novelty items typically reserved for kids’ parties are always a hit with grownups too. S’mores made easy, donuts served up on cocktail plates, or a pretzel station dressed up can all offer fun bites that still work with black tie!

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