I'm throwing a party in less than a month and I'm having trouble planning the menu. It is a birthday party.

Question

We have a popcorn machine and a chocolate fountain. But what should we have to dip in the fountain. Also what would be easy finger foods that everyone would enjoy. I do not want a sit down dinner, just simple finger foods that are affordable. The party will have about 100 people mostly teenagers. Recipes or ideas are apprecitated.

Answer 1

For that many people, hot dogs would be very helpful to fill them quickly and without massive expense. Also goes well with the rest of the food.

For the chocolate fountain, long pretzel sticks, marshmallow, bananas and Oreos are all great for dipping.

I'd also do things like pizzas, big soft pretzels and fruit skewers, both keep down the mess and are easy for the kids to play with toppings, like nacho cheese, cream cheese and mustard for the pretzels and coconut and chopped nuts for the fruit skewers.

The only thing I'd shy away from are things that will be greasy or have gross leftovers (like bones). It's hard to get nearly 100 kids to put the bones in the trash and they'll be walking around with greasy fingers touching everything.

Answer 2

Since the party seems to be structured more for teens go for recognizable foods! They are really there for the social thing not for a gourmet experience. Finger foods are a great idea, my mother always prepared them for my parties and the kids were thrilled to be fed real food at a party for them. Her menu always included the following. Vegetable tray with dips, cut up fruit, high quality lunch meat rolled up and sliced into spirals placed on toothpicks, olives, cheeses, crackers, thin crust pizza cut into small portions, pretzels, cheese puffs, potato chips, corn chips, nuts, candy and lots of different soda pop.

I would include fruit, cookies and marshmallows to dip in the chocolate fountain. I like those mini smoked sausages a lot but you can substitute the larger smoked sausages sliced up. The are both good in a hot plate with BBQ sauce. You can also cut up chicken breast and cook it with any of the asian marinades available at the super market for a tasty, economical meat snack. It will hold well in a chafing dish/hot plate. Don't forget chips and salsa. They always like one dare devil hot thing to try.

My mother always stuffed celery with her special dip and here is the recipe.

Two 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz. sour cream
1/2 onion minced or grated
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients until smooth and adjust salt, pepper and garlic to taste. Fill celery stalks with mixture or spread on crackers.

Make sure to include one favorite finger food of the guest of honor and your party will be a hit.

Answer 3

mini corn dogs were a HUGE hit at my last party. Just buy a big box of frozen ones - they got nicely crisp in the oven - and serve with bowls of ketchup and mustard.

Another idea is to buy ready-to-bake pizzas at your local grocerry store or costco and bake them as directed and then cut into bite-size pieces. kids love it.

veggies and dip and cheese and crackers is always good (and there's no oven space required!)

Get large tortillas (or lavash bread) and roll up PB&J with banana; turkey with chive cream cheese, lettuce and tomato; cheese and veggies; really anything you'd put in a sandwich - then cut into bite size pieces - they look really pretty on a platter and are filling and easy to make ahead of time.

for the chocolate fountain - definitely have marshmallows and graham crackers on hand! Mmmm. fruit. cubes of poundcake or angle food cake. pretzels.

Answer 4

Mini Croisant sandwiches
Chicken Wings (asst flavors)
Pizza bites or Mini egg rolls
Mini Bagel Pizzas
Chips
Fruit / pound cake kabobs (for the fountain) -- use asst fruits and alternate with about 1" pieces of pound cake
Assorted sodas
and Obviously, have the popcorn machine going

Sounds fun -- ENJOY yourself.

Answer 5

For the chocolate Fountain: Assorted fruits, marshmellows, and assorted cookies. Mini pizzas that you can make your self:

Instead of round try square of rectangle shaped crust. Make different ones by mixing the ingredients up: some pepperoni, plain cheese, sausage, ect. Just add sauce and tomatos or whatever and cook.

Also mini sandwiches, assorted and chips and salsa

Answer 6

FRUIT KEBABS will go very well with the chocolate! Other than being really tasty, their really fun to make! You would have to get a wide variety of fresh fruit; all types of berries, pineapple bits, apple bits, pear bits,...you get the idea!

Answer 7

Try Culinary Chef at http://www.culinarychef.com for recipes and menus for special occasions.

Answer 8

i know a lot of things you can dip in a chocolate fountain. you can dip in strawberries or bananas. or you can make smores.

Answer 9

Strawberries would be good to dip into the chocolate. Especially, this time of year.

Wings are also something that you could make in huge quantities to save time buy them frozen to save money but them in bulk and cut them yourself

6 pounds chicken wings, separated at joints, tips discarded
1 1/2 cups Louisiana-style hot sauce
3/4 cup butter
1 cup honey
1 pinch garlic salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill the chicken 8 to 12 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear. (You can deep fry or bake the chicken instead if you want to, but it is best when grilled.) Remove chicken to a large roasting pan.
In a saucepan over medium heat, mix the hot sauce, butter, honey, garlic salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Simmer about 10 minutes, until blended and heated through. Pour the sauce over the grilled chicken wings and stir to coat.

Crock-pot meatballs
1 large jar of grape Jelly
1 bottle of favorite BBQ (I use hickory smoke)
1 to 3 tsp Dijon mustard
1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tbsp bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt

Combine jelly, BBQ sauce & mustard in Crock pot & stir well. Cook covered on high while preparing meatballs.

Combine remaining ingredients & mix thoroughly. Shape into 30 meatballs. Bake meatballs in a preheated 400F oven for 15-20 minutes; drain well. Add meatballs to sauce, stir to coat, cover & cook on low 6-10 hours.

Frozen meatballs can be substituted to save time. Also, this is good with the little smokies.

Layered Bean Dip

16 oz bean dip or spicy refried beans
1 c. Sour cream
1pkg. (8oz) cream cheese, soften
1 1/14 oz taco seasoning mix
2 garlic cloves
1 c. Chopped green onion
3 tomatoes chopped and seeds removed
1 c. black olives
1 c grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread beans/refried beans over bottom of a deep baking dish. In separate bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning. Spread mixture over beans. Grate cheese over top and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until hot. Remove from oven and top with chopped onions, tomatoes and olives. Cover with more shredded cheese.
Serve with tortilla chips


Cheese straws
2 c (8oz) sharp cheddar cheese
1 stick oleo
1c plain flour
1c Rice Krispies
Dash of salt and pepper

Cream cheese and oleo; add other ingredients. Roll into small balls. Place on sprayed cookie sheet. Mash each ball with fork. Bake 10 minutes in a 350 degrease oven. Cool and place in airtight container

Vegetable trays with ranch dressing for dipping
Chips with homemade Onion Dip (1 package of onion soup mixed combined with 16 oz of sour cream)

Answer 10

fix frozen buffalo wings. with crinkle fries or even Chicken Nuggets.. frozen mozzarella sticks they even have Apple fritters these are great finger food.. buy them by the huge bags..