Making Sushi

It’s always party season! You can have a party for any reason at all. In order to make your party great you need to have great food. However, how much do you need? There are some good rules of thumb you can use when you are estimating how much food you will need for your party.

Are you wanting to have a formal supper or finger food? This can change the amount of food you need. For a large meal, the general consensus is to plan for a pound and a half of edibles per person. If you want finger food, you can reduce that to around a pound per person. You may need to adjust this if your friends are big eaters or small eaters. You know them best!

When you serve appetizers, guests tend to eat about 5 pieces per hour for the first two hours they are at a party. They tend to consume a bit less, about three per hour for every hour after that. So, for a three-hour party for ten people, you should plan for around 130 individual appetizers. Of course, if you are planning on feeding them a meal, you do not need to provide so many snacks.

If you are planning to make fondue, which is again gaining in popularity, you can figure that a single person can eat about 20 1-inch cubes of bread. This is about half of a standard loaf of French bread. One person would also consume about 6 to 8 ounces of meat, 4 to 6 ounces of cheese, 6 ounces of seafood, 6 to 8 ounces of veggies or fruit, or 4 cookies. It is better to prepare too much than not have enough to feed your guests.

For beverages, you can figure that punch will serve about ten people per gallon. That lets each guest have three servings in a standard 4-ounce punch cup. If you think your guests will be extra thirsty, you may want to make a bit more. If you are planning on serving cocktails at your party, you will want to plan for around two drinks per guest per hour for the first two hours, and then one drink per guest per hour.

Do not forget the ice! Plan on 1 pound of ice per person if you are serving iced drinks. In the summer weather, you will need to increase your amount of ice per person to keep them cool and refreshed. Do not skimp on the napkins or small appetizer plates.

So plan on at least a few quick easy appetizers to start things off. Your guests will love having a little nibble when they first get there. Most appetizers can be made a day or two ahead of time. Planning and preparation should begin early for your party to run as smoothly as possible.

If you cannot plan ahead because your party was a last minute gathering, keep some easy recipes on hand along with the ingredients. That way you can quickly whip up a few treats as people arrive.

Simple shrimp appetizers can be as easy as pouring some cocktail sauce in a dish and arranging the shrimp artfully around it. You can also do a lot more with shrimp. Add them to potstickers or egg rolls. Wrap them in bacon. Serve them up in small dishes as scampi. You are limited only by your imagination.

When it comes to snacking, you don\’t need to miss out just because you\’re eating healthy. Eating all those sugary, fat loaded foods will make you feel awful anyway. Instead, you can enjoy lots of delicious snacks and appetizers that are healthy. Serve some at your next get together and see how fast they get eaten!

A healthy option that is also colorful is salsa. Make your own chunky salsa with mangos, peaches, peppers, tomatoes and onions. It is extra colorful and can be served in a bowl as a snack to accompany tortillas or chips. You can easily make it into an appetizer by placing a small spoonful on each chip or cracker and setting them out on a platter. Let the color show itself off!

If you are talented with your food preparation, make some California rolls. Everyone loves fresh crab. You can pick up nori, the dried seaweed used to roll up the sushi at your local Asian store. This delicious type of sushi is a great snack or even a light lunch. Make some for a party and let your guests ooh and ahh over your culinary skills.

Bruschetta is another wonderful option. Toast some slices of French or Italian bread. Top it off with fresh chopped tomatoes, herbs and perhaps a little cheese. Enjoy it with a beverage for a delicious snack. You can also make them as appetizers that will be enjoyed at any party, large or small. Make up a healthy pizza recipe for your meal or a snack. For appetizers, just cut it up in bite size pieces. This is a great fast dish when you\’re on the go.

If you like salad, you\’re in luck. Make up a healthy green salad. Make sure you chop all the pieces into small, easy to handle bits. Toss it with the salad dressing. This is a fabulous meal or snack at any time of the day. Need some quick appetizers? Take several lettuce leaves. Spoon some salad into each leaf and wrap it up. Fasten it with a toothpick and voila! Healthy appetizers full of flavor and goodness!

If you like to snack on finger foods, snack time is simple. Pour out a can of olives. Slice up some cheese. Take out the box of cherry tomatoes you bought at the store. Put them on a plate and you can pick and choose what flavor you want next. To make this snack party friendly, try putting these ingredients on small skewers. This makes noshing portable and easy.

When you\’re deciding on holiday appetizers you can do these same kinds of recipes. Give everyone a break from all the high calorie, sugary foods. Their stomachs will thank you! These kinds of appetizers look great on the table and taste wonderful. Some healthy choices will help your guests battle that bloated \”after the holiday\” feeling.

As you can see, many of these appetizers are simple and you can whip them up in mere minutes. This will help relieve stress and you\’ll be doing your body a favor by feeding it food that does it some good. Try some… these tasty snacks are a great way to start eating right.

Appetizer recipes are perfect to make as an afternoon snack. If your kids like a certain kind, have them ready after school when they get home. Appetizers can be nutritious as well as fun to eat. Use fresh fruit, veggies and other simple ingredients to make snack time fun.