Here’s come the bride. But first, quick and easy party appetizers and great finger food recipes for a truly memorable shower for the bride-to-be.
‘Something old, something new, something black and — ” No, wait. “Something borrowed, something blue.” And, if you’re the resourceful type, you can always add “a silver sixpence in her shoe.” (Good luck finding it!)
Now, there’s no reason food at a bridal shower needs to follow any kind of unified theme or age-old rhyme, except for the age-old rhyme and reason of being able to easily eat that food off one’s lap with just a fork or a few fingers.
Nor am I saying all the food needs to be blue or old — certainly not so old it’s spoiled. But I do like the idea of having four items to match the saying. At baby showers, after all, the food is often linked to babyhood in some way. You can’t tell me that a bride is less important than a baby!
Unlike a baby, though, the bride will be — I hope — old enough to appreciate what you’ve done for her. And down the road, when it’s her turn to give a bridal shower, she’ll steal all your ideas without crediting you. (Or me, if it comes to that.) Because stealing good party ideas is a rich tradition all its own.
Granny Cake
Let’s start with “something old.” What could be older than granny? Well, I mean granny cake. I don’t know how Granny cake got its name. Maybe it was because Granny knew a good thing when she saw it. The cake is rich (from lots of butter) and moist (from lots of bananas and pineapple). It tastes like a “marriage,” if you will, of banana bread and carrot cake without the carrots. It’s served un-iced here, but I think that a cream cheese icing would make it even better.
Tarragon Chicken Salad Mini Croissants
If you suspect the bride would rather not be associated with a granny in any way, there’s always chicken salad. It’s been a staple at showers since the cave-man days, for good reason. This delicious rendition is a classic, and so is the presentation.
