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Baby Shower Idea Center
Got Food? Baby Shower
Foods: Recipes and Ideas
Most
Americans center their days around their meals! For this
reason,
menu planning for a baby shower needs to be one of the main focuses on
any baby shower checklist. The foods you serve should reflect
or
at least coordinate with the theme of the shower.
The center of your menu should be the
cake. Just taking a
simple
cake decorating class can really do wonders for your
confidence.
Not only will the classes teach you how to decorate a cake, but you
might also pick up a few other tips.
You can use any basic cake mix,
but a nice dense cake works
well.
Every time I bake a cake, no matter what the occasion, I do one simple
thing ANYONE can do: add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the
batter. You will be amazed at how something so little can
really
change the taste of a cake mix! Now, here is my all time
favorite
cake recipe:
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Chocolate sour cream pound cake
1 box dark chocolate or fudge
cake mix
1 cup (about 6 oz) vanilla
yogurt
1 box instant chocolate fudge
pudding
4 eggs
½ cup warm water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions: Put all
ingredients except chips into large
mixing
bowl and mix on medium speed for 4 minutes. Fold in
chips.
Pour batter into greased bundt pan and bake at 350 F for 45-55
minutes. Be sure to watch your oven. Take out as
soon as a
toothpick comes out clean. Loosen the cake from the pan by
lightly shaking it. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes and turn
it
out onto a cooling rack.
If you want to make a layer
cake, bake for ~20 minutes, checking often
to prevent burning.
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Well, now that you have a great
cake, most people want to decorate
it! Some bakeries will sell you icing, but you can also buy
Wilton cake frosting in the tubs, just like the kinds on the baking
aisles. I’ve never seen them anywhere except around
the
Wilton baking pans in the craft section of my favorite discount
retailer. Using gel coloring, you can dye the icing to make
just
about any color you want. Using liquid food coloring will not
yield the vibrant colors you can get from the gels.
Now you can decorate the cake
any way you want. I have
decorated
cakes for showers like a baby quilt, a little boy’s outfit
(that
matched the invitations, by the way!), a dump truck with
“Baby
Under Construction” and “Mom at Work”
signs and
more! Inspiration is not as far away as you might think!
Now for some menu
ideas! These are just suggestions, but
should inspire you.
Brunch: Breakfast
casseroles, quiches, muffins, finger
sandwiches, spinach dip in bread bowl, teas, coffee, punch, water and
sodas.
Lunch: Finger
Sandwiches, fruit and veggie trays, hot
hors‘d oeuvres like mini pizzas, water, punch, sodas, teas.
Mid Afternoon:
Similar to Lunch, but you won’t need
as much food.
Dinner: Hot hors
‘d oeuvres, tossed salad of mixed
baby
greens with a nice balsamic dressing, fresh bread slices with herb
butter, Chicken casserole, fruit tray.
Tea Party: Finger
sandwiches, fruit and veggie trays, hot
hors‘d oeuvres, petit fours
Now, if you like the petit
fours idea, but don’t know how,
it’s really very simple! Check out
http://www.baking911.com/cakes/petits_fours.htm for complete
instructions.
Be sure to have fun planning
your baby shower menu! Remember
to
have plenty of non-meat items for anyone who might be a vegitarian and
some healthy options for those watching their waist lines.
Also, if the mom-to-be is on
any restrictive diets, you will want to
consult her to see what she is and isn't allowed to eat. As
someone who was on a diabetic diet, the last thing I would have wanted
to see is a bunch of sweets or high carb foods I couldn't eat!
Keep everything in balance and
don't try to do it all
yourself.
Your local grocery store or favorite restaurant might have some party
trays that can really save you time! You don't want to be too
stressed out on the big day!
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