For the majority of the gatherings in our group of friends, your guests are invited to create their own beverages and 'a plate to share'. I really like this idea – it alleviates a few of the stress and cost of the host/hostess and it ensures that everyone may have something to consume simply because they will bring something that they like!
But the hard part, things to bring? Personally, I favor to take stuff that do not require onsite prep whatsoever. Minus the coupon-clipping what sort of kitchen availability you will see and also you don't wish to function as the high-maintenance guest! Here are some of my top picks:
- Deviled eggs – Perhaps more prevalent in the South, but this is definitely a success and you may prep them pretty early. Just a quick tip, I've found that I get the prettiest results by mixing the filling in a Ziploc bag after which snipping a large part off of the bag for doing things just like a pastry bag. The eggs always turn out beautiful!
- 7-Layer Dip – My own recipe includes bean dip, guacamole, sour cream combined with taco seasoning, grated cheese, diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, and sliced black olives. You will find hundreds of variations though. I've had some delicious ones which include salsa.
- Ham Rolls – Not a very fancy name, but these have been requested often! I use the rectangular sandwich ham slices to make it easy. Spread a generous amount of chive cream cheese on the ham, trim a green onion top to fit the width from the ham slice, nestle it in the cream cheese, after which roll it tightly. Once you have these rolled, refrigerate the whole batch. Then you simply slice them into bite-size nibbles and arrange on the platter.
