I absolutely love having friends and family over to my house for meals. My passion for cooking began when I moved out from home when I went to further my studies in the city. I am fortunate enough to be brought up in a family that really loves to cook, bake and eat all types of dishes and cuisines. I was trained to adapt to different ingredients and tastes at a very young age and that practice has become a part of my everyday life. Unfortunately, not everyone is the same as me. I understand that if you want to prepare popular foods for any party, you have to learn how to prepare great party food for picky eaters.
If you have been struggling to find the best party food to serve for your friends and family this season, do not fret. Just follow these suggestions and you will probably have thumbs up from everyone at your party! Do remember to ask your guests about their allergies and diet restrictions before preparing any of these dishes.
My Best Party Food for Picky Eaters Selection
1. Pizza
I can assure you that practically anybody knows how to eat pizza. The good thing about preparing pizzas is that you can buy the pizza bases and use different toppings for different pizzas. So there’s room for experimenting here! For instance, you could have hawaian pizza (chicken, ham and pineapple), pepperoni pizza, three cheese pizza, seafood pizza or vegetarian pizza.
2. Granola Bars
This is a popular treat among children and adults with a sweet tooth. Experiment by adding dried fruits, chocolate chip, desiccated coconut or nuts to them. The list is endless.
3. Burger
Who says burgers can’t be great party food? I mean, the thought of eating a huge gourmet burger at a party would seem crazy, especially if you won’t want to save your appetite for all the other lovely food. But you can always make mini burgers, right? I mean the bite-sized ones…
4. Pasta or Spaghetti
Another popular treat among picky eaters is pasta or spaghetti dishes. Try them in tomato based sauces, cream sauces or simply toss in macaroni, shell, farfalle or fusilli pasta into salads. This will be a hit among children and adults!
5. Skewered chicken, vegetables and fruits
Even a boring looking chicken, vegetable or fruit can be turned into something attractive and appetizing once they are in skewers. To make things more interesting, skewer your ingredients and have your guests barbecue the food while they mingle with one another at the barbecue pit.
6. Chicken fingers or nuggets
This works well especially if you are serving kids because it’s familiar to them. These little chicken bites need not be unhealthy. You can always make your own from scratch. A good recipe that you can follow is at rasamalaysia.com.
7. Mixed nuts and fruit
Practically no one says ‘No’ to mixed nuts and fruit. This is a perfect starter, especially when your main meals are still cooking away. It makes the wait seem shorter.
8. Chocolate chip cookies
Definitely moorish! Of all the cookies in the world, my top pick was chocolate chip cookies because they are simply addictive and irresistible. Anyone from any age, culture and background will love you for serving this at your party!
9. Cracker, dips and cheese platter
You can easily get these at leading supermarkets. Just simply lay them on a large plate and they’re ready to go! I can guarantee that they’ll be finished in minutes. Popular dips are tzatziki, hummus and French onion. For hard cheeses, go for cheddar. As for the soft cheeses go for camembert or brie.
10. Chicken Salad
You can either dress your chicken salad with mayonnaise or olive oil with lemon juice. You can spice them up with some nuts, dried cranberries and raisins.
11. Nachos
You can either make mince beef or chicken nachos. Just re-heat the filling with the nachos chips just before serving your guests, or they’ll turn soggy.
12. Ice-cream
Famous ice-cream flavours that most people will like are chocolate, chocolate chip, mint or hazelnut.
That’s all the suggestions I have for party food for picky eaters at the moment. Which dishes did you like the best? Do you have any other suggestions to share? I’m opened for suggestions anytime.