395412 Wed Apr 25 13:07:06 -0700 2007 26 31 Home Cooking 0 2514690 I'm hosting a bridal shower for my sister, her wedding colors are pink, white and brown. It's a late afternoon/early-evening occasion so I'm thinking of doing mostly appetizers. For dessert, I'm going to serve red velvet cupcakes and have chocolate fondue w/ some dippers. Any other ideas or thoughts would be super. Thanks, Chowhounds! Wed Apr 25 13:07:06 -0700 2007 27319 brattenheimer 1 2514852 Definitely include strawberries in your dippers. For a beverage, are we talking non-alcoholic or alcoholic? For non, I'd do a pink lemonade, or raspberry lemonade. Barefoot Contessa also did a drink with pomegranate syrup and soda water (or sparkling water, I can't remember which). If you're going alcoholic, cosmopolitans (passe, but I still like them). Apps. Pink appetizers are a little bit tougher to come by. Perhaps something involving beets, although they are more of a purple. Do they have to be pink? Or are you just looking for general appetizer suggestions. Because I always love a spread of crostini. Wild mushroom, artichoke and goat cheese, sun-dried tomato and fresh mozz. Stuff like that. Wed Apr 25 13:43:59 -0700 2007 2514690 17481 QueenB 2 2514878 Shrimp is pink! You could do Ina's roasted shrimp with thousand island dressing (also pinkish) so cocktail sauce wouldn't throw off the color scheme! Wed Apr 25 13:49:43 -0700 2007 2514852 12813 Katie Nell 3 2514899 Ah, and salmon is kind of pinkish. What about some smoked salmon canapes or a smoked salmon dip? Way to stimulate my brain Katie Nell! Wed Apr 25 13:55:02 -0700 2007 2514878 17481 QueenB 4 2517291 Salmon Mousse -- very pink, yummy, easy to make far in advance... and here's my recipe for it... 1 package gelatin (I use knox, whatever amount is in their packages) 1/2 cup boiling water A fresh lemon 1/2 cup mayonnaise fresh dill to taste salt and pepper to taste 2 cans salmon, drained and cleaned up 1 cup cream (you can use a little less if it comes together before you've added the whole cup. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water, add a squeeze of fresh lemon and blend for 30 seconds. Add mayonnaise, dill, a bit of salt and pepper, and salmon and blend for another 30 seconds. Add cream slowly, blending until smooth. Pour into a mold and chill overnight and when ready to serve, turn out onto a plate and supply crackers (I like melba toasts). Or you could chill it in little shots like what someone suggested you do with lobster bisque, which sounded great. I've also done this for canapes, but overall I don't think it's worth it to scoop it out 100 times yourself. Thu Apr 26 09:35:48 -0700 2007 2514899 11485 Adrienne 2 2517494 speaking of beets.. I made a beet salad from bon appetit (last month or maybe month before... can't find the issue). but it was roasted beets, peeled & cubed tossed with a little salt, creme fraiche & creamed horseradish. served with a mustard & rosemary crusted flank steak (though I used tri-tip. (the beet greens were sauteed on the side w/ garlic). anyway... The beets were very tasty, and pink... but one caveat... the pink is a rather violent shade of pink, but still pink. but even at the time, i thought the whole thing would translate to a rather delicious appetizer on crostini. might make for a conversation piece.. though it may be "what was she thinking". :) Thu Apr 26 10:23:37 -0700 2007 2514852 10524 withalonge 1 2514890 Two pink drinks I reported on here: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/311824?query=strawberry%20lemonade The strawberry lemonade is AWESOME! One of my friends asked me why it tasted so good, and I said... because it's real lemonade! Wed Apr 25 13:52:23 -0700 2007 2514690 12813 Katie Nell 1 2515062 What about neopolitan ice cream? It has the wedding colors and would go pretty well with cupcake and chocolate fondue. Ice cream can be dressed up with a cute cup for serving or interesting garnishes. For drinks, bellinis are always good (although they make me think brunch) and they can be made with a pink fruitjuice (grapefruit? strawberry?). Bon Appetit had a great potato pancake appetizer recipe that was topped with creme fraiche, red onions, and caviar. They were really easy to make (especially if you have a food processor with a grating disk) and sort of fit with pink, white, and brown. Let me know if you would like the recipe. Wed Apr 25 14:32:55 -0700 2007 2514690 93901 geekyfoodie 2 2515343 My mother used to make pink pinwheel sandwiches for my birthday parties.(40 years ago) I think the bakery sold the specially died pink bread and she filled some with tuna and some with cream cheese and strawberry jelly. She rolled them up and sliced them so they looked like jelly rolls. They were so beautiful. I bet you could get a bakery to do the bread for you. It not, you could make the pinwheels with white bread rolled up with smoked salmon and cream cheese. Cold strawberry soup sippers served in shot glasses would look beautiful and taste great. To put it completely over the top you could serve a tray of pink Hostess Snowballs for dessert. Remember them? Round chocolate cakes covered with a mound of pink marshmallow, sprinkled with coconut. Wed Apr 25 16:01:14 -0700 2007 2515062 50795 greenstate 3 2515353 Nigella Lawson has a recipe for watermelon/feta salad and it is delicious and sophisticated and pink! Wed Apr 25 16:04:18 -0700 2007 2515343 87101 Densible 3 2515419 Or, those cute little pink and white frosted animal crackers/cookies! Wed Apr 25 16:26:44 -0700 2007 2515343 78611 aurora50 3 2515686 Pink jelly rolls had me thinking... I'm not sure where you live, brattenheimer, but if there are any Asian bakeries in your area, they might carry a pink sponge cake jelly roll. A lot of Asian bakeries (Chinese, more specifically, but I think some Japanese or Vietnamese ones would carry them) have jelly rolls made out of super-soft, moist cake. They're filled with whipped cream and the cake flavors are usually butter cake (yellow cake), chocolate, coffee/mocha, taro (which is purple), and I've seen pink ones that are either strawberry or red bean. Wed Apr 25 17:50:50 -0700 2007 2515343 93901 geekyfoodie 3 2517627 You can also make pinwheels with ham & cream cheese, or with tortillas/cream cheese & salsa. You could do white asparagus ... I loved Snowballs ... my grandmother would give one to her dogs as a birthday cake (I guess she didn't know not to give dogs chocolate!!), and give me the other one. For years I would buy them when I saw one of those little two packs for nostalgic reasons ... they were always horribly stale. Thu Apr 26 10:54:12 -0700 2007 2515343 19108 foiegras 2 2515405 Cubed ham or various pink cold cuts … with a selection of brown and white breads. Goat cheeses for the white with brown types of crackers. If it is summer farmers markets often have heirloom varieties of tomatoes that are pink. Something on radicchio … maybe to hold seafood salad. Cubed watermelon or a watermelon salad. Raspberries ... ok, really red. Someone who wanted pink vegetarian bridal shower foods http://www.chowhound.com/topics/276409 Rose or pink sparkling wine. Be warned that pomegranate syrup does not produce a pink drink … you would think. I never liked it in a spritzer or sparkling wine either. Too tart. Here's an old topic on pink alcoholic drinks. http://www.chowhound.com/topics/284690 However for the non-drinkers cranberry spritzers. There is one natural soda company whose name I’m blanking on makes a lovely and delicious pink grapefruit soda … just juice and sparkling water. Pink guava juice is always nice ... make sure it is pink, some aren't. One of those herbal teas that is pink with regular brown tea and coffee. Wed Apr 25 16:21:31 -0700 2007 2515062 10264 rworange 3 2516584 Is it G.U.P.? (Grown Up Soda)? Thu Apr 26 05:50:33 -0700 2007 2515405 12813 Katie Nell 4 2517068 No. Finally remembered - Crystal Geyser Juice Squeeze. Thu Apr 26 08:41:08 -0700 2007 2516584 10264 rworange 2 2521944 Neopolitan ice cream is an EXCELLENT idea. Thanks! Fri Apr 27 15:41:32 -0700 2007 2515062 27319 brattenheimer 1 2515408 Lobster bisque in a shot glass makes a great presentation, classy & pink! Take a good pound cake and slice it length wise and fill each layer with strawberry creamcheese, cut into cubes. Pepper jelly poured over a log of cream cheese served with good crackers or little rye breads. Wed Apr 25 16:22:49 -0700 2007 2514690 40385 othervoice 1 2515412 Poached salmon is delicious, nutritious, can and should be made ahead of time, and is (more or less) pink. Wed Apr 25 16:24:11 -0700 2007 2514690 75002 Megiac 1 2515664 Along the line of salmon, gravlax is really easy to make. Thinly sliced, I've served it on miniature blini with a touch of sour cream (in the absence of creme fraiche). (Or you can buy smoked salmon and do the same thing.) I've also served it atop cucumbers smeared with a little goat cheese, the entire thing then topped with capers. Wed Apr 25 17:43:04 -0700 2007 2514690 10604 jacinthe 1 2515669 I am impressed with the excellent and broad ranging suggestions....and more than a bit scared about the amount of pink food in the world. Wed Apr 25 17:45:49 -0700 2007 2514690 80141 ccbweb 2 2515705 I second that! Wed Apr 25 17:57:59 -0700 2007 2515669 93901 geekyfoodie 1 2515704 There's always pink cotton candy, which would make really cute desserts or favors (easy to package and always makes for pretty presentation). If you have a good amount of time, I've seen cotton candy makers in crafts stores. I've also used the huge rental ones for parties, but those are a pain to clean. Anyway, if you're into a totally uni-tasking appliance, a cotton candy maker would be kind of fun. The sugar crystals and the paper cones are sold at Smart-N-Final. Wed Apr 25 17:57:46 -0700 2007 2514690 93901 geekyfoodie 1 2515869 Radicchio salad Taleggio (young) Proscuitto and Fig (purple skin) Duck Breast (rare) with balsamic glaze, Red Cabbage, Risotto with Red Grapes Wed Apr 25 18:51:52 -0700 2007 2514690 26180 Chinon00 1 2517103 Martha Stewart might be a no-no on this board (and I usually can't stand her), but I was browsing the Martha Stewart site for some ideas for something else, and there's a blurb on pink and white showers with a bunch of ideas and recipes, in case you're interested (marthastewart.com) Thu Apr 26 08:47:37 -0700 2007 2514690 64454 kcchan 2 2521951 Thanks, kcchan. I really don't like Ms. M.S. either, but I'll definitely peruse that site for ideas. Fri Apr 27 15:43:51 -0700 2007 2517103 27319 brattenheimer 1 2521421 PINK LADIES! Pink ladies are a frozen cocktail drink that is a tradition that we serve at all bridal showers across my group of girlfriends. A lot of hounds have recommended pink lemonade, and this is a twist on that.. only with alcohol! You take frozen pink lemonade, blend it with ice and vodka and you have a frothy deliciously pink frozen drink... serve it in fun glasses like margarita glasses and you have an instant party! Fri Apr 27 13:04:44 -0700 2007 2514690 51559 funmarysf