‘Tis the season for holiday entertaining and you want your party to be memorable. Up the “Wow!” factor of your food and drink choices with creative and beautifully-styled interactive food stations. Serve-yourself bars are the perfect way to avoid the worries about guests not liking something you have prepared, kids (and adults) who are picky eaters, and guests who might have food allergies. And they’re not just for salad anymore! From beverages to snacks and desserts, there are so many wonderful ideas that will make party food presentation fun for your guests and easier for you to serve and clean-up too!
There’s no reason you can’t apply this wedding reception and event trend right in your own home. No matter what the meal, party theme, or the age range of the guests, there are self-serve food bars that fit the bill. You can keep them simple or go all out. Use creative containers like mason jars, steel pails, paper cones, and Chinese take-out boxes.
Because bowls and platters can be re-filled as they begin to run low, food stays fresher and at the right temperatures for longer before serving. You may want to decide whether you want to limit options, add-ons, etc. based on temperature for that reason too. When the party is over, you can simply transfer remaining portions into storage containers or jars and put aside to use for later meals. Self-serve can make leftovers fun for the family too!
Mini chalkboards or printed signs with menus for the various offerings on the table are a beautiful touch. Get creative with cards and papers, markers or crayons. Take your time to write interesting descriptions. A bean dish with dressing sounds so much more appealing when it is called “Three Bean Salad with Vidalia Onions and Warm Dijon Vinaigrette.” Try to use local and regional ingredients and name the purveyor on the menu. Scrambled eggs and ham becomes “Locally Sourced Organic Eggs with Hunter Cattle Sausage Bits.” Group the ingredients together on the menu by using names like Main, Accoutrements, Sauces, Toppings and Condiments. Make little cards on your tables with descriptions of what is displayed. Remember to make them two sided if you can access the food from different directions. Have fun with it, because, after all, it is a party!
While top-your-own pizzas, deli trays for sandwiches, pasta bars, and make-your-own ice cream sundae counters are terrific party options, here are some other do-it-yourself food station ideas that you might not have considered:
Breakfast and Brunch
Waffles
Whether it’s a holiday breakfast at Grandma’s house or a post-sleepover brunch for the teens, a waffle bar is sure to put a smile on the face of even the smallest guest! At Grandma’s, have a warming tray full of Belgian waffle sections or consider having someone act as “waffle chef,” pouring batter onto a waffle iron at the station for fresh-made hot and crispy waffles. For the teen sleepover, show how in tune you are with pop culture and have a toaster set up with a tray of Eggo’s for them to toast themselves. And in keeping with the Stranger Things theme, you’ll certainly want to have Eleven different toppings available for customizing their waffles!
Fill the table with toppings both sweet and savory, starting with the basics of butter and real maple syrup. There are many varieties of flavored butters and syrups you can add, as well as honey, fresh fruit, chopped pecans or walnuts, chocolate chips, sprinkles, Nutella, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and the usual breakfast proteins like crumbled sausage, diced ham, and bacon. You can always offer fried chicken tenders too, for that Southern specialty, chicken and waffles.
Cereal
A cereal bar gives young kids just what they love and takes adults on a nostalgic trip down memory lane to lazy Saturday mornings spent enjoying cartoons on TV. There’s no cooking, baking, or special prep need, other than slicing some fruit. Here’s your chance to dazzle with the display. Place colorful cereals in clear glass display jars or cookie jars, and use whimsical bowls.
Supply bowls, milk, and a wide variety of cereals – mostly the fun stuff like Froot-Loops, Cocoa Krispies, and Lucky Charms. Offer some “plain” options as well, like Cheerios, Rice Krispies, or Chex, that can be dressed up with sliced bananas and fresh berries. Bowls of granola and plain or vanilla yogurt allow guests to make their own breakfast parfaits.
Southern Style
Biscuits
Perfect for Christmas Day when the kids are up early and ready to tear through the wrapping paper on their gifts and guests may be coming and going, biscuits are delicious for breakfast, lunch, or a snack. Slather with sausage gravy for a filling breakfast. A couple strips of bacon, a slice of tomato and some pimento cheese, and you’ve got a tasty lunch sandwich. Top with some sliced strawberries, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and a dollop of whipped cream, and it’s a DIY strawberry shortcake!
You can keep it simple and serve only classic buttermilk biscuits or add flavored varieties like cinnamon or cheese. Make sure to offer a variety of spreads, including butters, honey, jellies, jams, and fruit preserves. Don’t be afraid to go beyond strawberry jam and orange marmalade and offer pepper jelly, tomato jam, and bacon jam. Pimento cheese, ham, fried chicken tenders, and bacon are good biscuit fillers as well.
Shrimp & Grits
Another big hit with the events crowd is a shrimp & grits bar. Fun alternatives to the standard bowl or parfait cup are martini and margarita glasses. Grits, gravy, and shrimp can all be kept in their own warmers for serving, with variations like plain or cheese grits, and plain or blackened shrimp, or simply combine shrimp and gravy together. Bowls of shredded cheese, diced chorizo, diced ham, crumbled bacon, corn, scallions, and possibly even MORE shrimp, let your guests tailor this classic Southern dish to their own tastes. A selection of hot sauces is also suggested.
FAVORITES WITH FLAIR
TACOS/NACHOS
Just like Friday nights at home! Offer a couple different proteins like ground beef or shredded chicken, black beans, refried beans, corn, and seasoned rice to get the party started. Baskets should hold tortilla chips, hard taco shells and soft flour tortillas. As for toppings, go for it! Shredded cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes, jalapeños and other varieties of peppers, onion, cilantro, and sour cream are all traditional choices. Have fun with the salsa offerings—corn and black bean, pineapple mango, peach, green tomatillo—there are so many varieties and in differing degrees of heat. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous (if you’re really going all out, make your own!), but make sure to have some more sedate classics for guests with less bold palates. Several different types of hot sauces and Tabasco are also a necessity here. Olé!
SPUDS
There are so many ways to do potato bars! You can serve up French fries in paper cones and offer a variety of condiments for dipping, and seasoned salts to flavor. Or you can use mashed potatoes, potato skins, cottage fries, homemade chips, and/or tater tots as the base layer to be topped. Shredded cheese and/or cheese sauce, chili, sour cream, ranch dressing, crumbled bacon, scallions, chives—the options are limited only by your imagination.
MAC & CHEESE
Adults aren’t afraid to show their love for this childhood classic, and why not give them some ways to dress it up?! If you have a smaller party, it’s best to start with a good mac and cheese recipe made in a slow cooker to keep the noodles warm. Serve with additional shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, diced ham or even cocktail weenies, ground beef or pulled pork (with or without BBQ sauce), lobster or crab meat, diced or shredded chicken and buffalo sauce, broccoli, spinach, artichokes, diced tomatoes, pico de gallo, jalepeños. Whole Foods is making a mac and cheese bar a new addition in some of their stores, so you’ll be right on trend!
CHILI
Everybody’s favorite bar during football game days is the chili bar! You can always make the chili using a slow cooker or make in advance and just heat up and leave warming in a crock pot to serve. For a deluxe bar, make more than one variety of chili to spice up the mix. In addition to your regular preferred traditional version, add white chicken chili, black bean vegetarian chili, or maybe a super spicy firehouse version for the heat-lovers.
The chili bar is extra versatile because you can load the table up with bowls of sour cream, onions, shredded cheese, jalepeños and fritos for fabulous topping combinations, but you can also use the chili as a topper too. Add hot dogs and buns to the bar to let guests make chili cheese dogs. If you combine your chili bar with the spud bar idea above, guests can enjoy tater tots, fries, or baked potatoes as sides to accompany the chili or topped by it.
CHOWDER
A chilly or damp Southern winter day where you just want to snuggle up and watch movies or play board games, is a perfect time to set out bread and soup on the buffet so people can enjoy at their leisure. And just what makes soup a chowder? According to PreparedPantry.com, a chowder is a thick, rich, chunky soup usually made with a white sauce base (with the exception of Manhattan chowders, which have a tomato base). Originally, it was a fisherman’s stew made with seafood, but today, vegetable chowders like potato and corn chowder are common. A chowder is typically made up of 5 parts: vegetables or seafood, the focal ingredient of the soup; secondary ingredients like cream, diced onions, bacon, or herbs; the cooking liquid, usually a broth or stock; a thickening agent like potatoes, flour or cornstarch; and seasonings.
A chowder bar with corn chowder or potato chowder gives people a hearty soup to start and lets them add to satisfy their hunger. Stock the bar with proteins like diced chicken, ham, bacon, and shrimp. Offer a variety of cheeses with different flavor profiles, like cheddar and smoked gouda, as well as any veggie options you might want to include, and chopped green onion, red pepper flakes, and other herbs and seasonings.
SNACKS AND DESSERTS
POPCORN
Why not have a family movie night complete with a popcorn bar? Who doesn’t love this light and crunchy treat—especially when you can make it sweet or salty or spicy to suit your cravings?! Supply plain brown or white paper bags and let your guests scoop their choices from large baskets or pails of popcorn.
If you’d like, offer pre-flavored varieties of popcorn, starting with the basics like plain salted, cheddar cheese, and caramel. Then offer bowls of mixers like M&Ms, milk, dark, and white chocolate chips, or pretzels. Another option is to serve plain popcorn and let people customize using butter and/or oil sprays and a variety of powdered flavors like cheddar, Old Bay, and truffle salt. There are so many sweet and savory options. Think Cracker Jacks and get inspired!
S'MORES
You don’t have to sleep outside to enjoy everyone’s favorite campfire treat. Instead of chowing down on cookies the night before Christmas, have a s’mores party! Who originally came up with the genius idea to place a toasted marshmallow between graham crackers with a square of chocolate? Nobody is absolutely certain, however the first published recipe for “some mores” can be tracked to a Girl Scouts publication in 1927 and is credited to Loretta Scott Crew, who made the treats for Girl Scouts sitting around a fire. Inside, you can create your “campfire” with a display that uses several sterno burners to allow for multiple guests to toast their marshmallows at the same time. Don’t forget the long sticks; go rustic and grab some from outside or use wooden or metal kabob skewers. Fun roasting sticks can also be purchased online and at some party supply stores.
On the table, supply graham crackers in regular and chocolate flavors, and if you want more variety, you can also offer chocolate chip cookies or buttery crackers as other options. Have plenty of large marshmallows and both milk and dark chocolate bars. For more flavor combination choices, add Nutella, Reese’s peanut butter cups, Ghirardelli squares in a variety of flavors, and maybe some caramels. You can always have bowls or sliced bananas, strawberries, and coconut flakes for another fresh twist.
BEVERAGES
HOT CHOCOLATE/COFFEE
Start with party-size urns of coffee and hot cocoa. Use a variety of holiday mugs – none matching if your party isn’t too large. Of course, provide sugar, sugar substitute, cream, milk, as you would for your typical coffee service. Bottles of popular syrups like vanilla, peppermint, hazelnut, coconut, raspberry, and almond let your guests tailor their favorite flavors. Then comes the fun stuff: whipped cream, marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, crushed peppermint, sprinkles, shakers of cinnamon and cocoa powder. If it’s an over 21+ affair, consider adding Bailey’s, Kahlua, Peppermint Schnapps for more spirited hot beverages.
Picasa
MIMOSA AND BLOODY MARY
For the “morning-after” party, or the early football games, why not add a mimosa and Bloody Mary bar to your food buffet? That should start the day with smiles! Not everyone likes Bloodys though, so guests will appreciate having the fruit juice infused champagne as an alternative. And the drinks are no-brainers: start with a good mix and easy-pour vodka on the Bloody Mary side, and stock the mimosa side with bottles of bubbly and carafes of fruit juices and let them pour. There’s no wrong way to make one!
Be creative in the array of fresh fruit juices you offer: orange, grapefruit, mango, strawberry-kiwi, raspberry-blueberry. Prepare bowls of berries and fruit slices to drop in or add as “garnish.” For the Bloodys, put out regular and flavored vodkas, a good Bloody Mary mix, plenty of olives, lemon and lime slices, raw and pickled vegetables, like celery, pickled asparagus or okra, cocktail shrimp, bacon, beef jerky, spices, and a variety of hot sauces for a fun and colorful drink station.
Take these ideas, combine them, or let them be your inspiration to run with a food bar idea of your own. Invite your guests, set it up, then sit back and enjoy the party!
