Salad to serve new friends

[Anonymous]

https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/lunch-jar-cherry-pecan-grain-salad

Love this salad!

[Anonymous]

Nancy's chopped salad without the meats and cheeses, and with mixed greens. The dressing is classic American Italian seasoning. Steamed broccoli and a small crudite plate. In my experiences kids eat lots of veggies with dips if they're out.

[Anonymous]

If you think one is vegetarian, avoid Caesar (anchovies). I would do a big bowl of greens and then crudites that can double as a salad bar. If people want to pick an individual veggie to snack on, or add it to a tossed salad there will be something for everyone. Add things like beans to bulk it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello there. My daughter (10) has two friends that she knows from an extracurricular activity coming over to play, and have dinner. Their moms are coming too. We have eaten together before at a restaurant a couple of times. They are very nice but I do not know them well. I think one of them is vegetarian. Anyway, for the girls (and us) I'm making pasta with a choice of sauces-- cheese, pesto, marinara, alfredo. Some homemade and some from the jar. The girls are very picky, so that's why they'll have the option of plain pasta.

I'm also going to make garlic bread and a big salad. I want the salad to be tasty and not boring, but I want it to be widely appealing. (Especially since if it was just adults, I would never just serve pasta and sauce.)

Any ideas for salad recipes? Thank you!

That is way too many sauces for only 3 kids - I would do plain (with butter or parm on the side), a red sauce, and a pesto (homemade). Also where is your protein? Maybe have some grilled chicken or shrimp on the side so the moms can put on their salad or eat with their pasta.

[Anonymous]

My almost 10yo won’t eat salad but will eat raw veggies. I would do a bagged salad for the adults because I’m lazy and cut up some carrots/cucumbers/tomatoes for the kids…….

[Anonymous]

I would do crudite with dip, a bowl of strawberries or watermelon, a board with olives, cheese and charcuterie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would do crudite with dip, a bowl of strawberries or watermelon, a board with olives, cheese and charcuterie.

Perfect. Plus pasta/sauce for anyone that wants it. Except instead of charcuterie, I would do pulled chicken or warm/cold grilled chopped chicken. A lot of people don’t like salami and processed meats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hello there. My daughter (10) has two friends that she knows from an extracurricular activity coming over to play, and have dinner. Their moms are coming too. We have eaten together before at a restaurant a couple of times. They are very nice but I do not know them well. I think one of them is vegetarian. Anyway, for the girls (and us) I'm making pasta with a choice of sauces-- cheese, pesto, marinara, alfredo. Some homemade and some from the jar. The girls are very picky, so that's why they'll have the option of plain pasta.

I'm also going to make garlic bread and a big salad. I want the salad to be tasty and not boring, but I want it to be widely appealing. (Especially since if it was just adults, I would never just serve pasta and sauce.)

Any ideas for salad recipes? Thank you!

That is way too many sauces for only 3 kids - I would do plain (with butter or parm on the side), a red sauce, and a pesto (homemade). Also where is your protein? Maybe have some grilled chicken or shrimp on the side so the moms can put on their salad or eat with their pasta.

+1. You have three adults and three kids. I would do pasta plain, marinara, pesto. A side protein. A salad (like the greek suggestion). And a bowl of berries or fruit salad. That’s plenty and IME if the moms don’t know each other well they aren't going to really eat anything. I would make sure anything you make, will work well as leftovers for your family.
Brownies for dessert

[Anonymous]

I don’t know 10yo who eat big green salads. The moms might.

[Anonymous]

Do a big bowl of lettuce tomatoes and cucumber. In small side bowls put various toppings. For the kids get ranch for the moms a nice balsamic vinaigrette.

[Anonymous]

Oh my. These responses are all over. Good luck, Op! Maybe pass around an IPad with a delivery menu. Your treat! Done. Lol

[Anonymous]

I would do a caprese, and one large platter/bowl with a variety of smaller salads arranged in pie slices. Could be like cherry tomatoes with slivers of basil, cucumbers sliced very thin, roasted carrots with parsley, sautéed yellow zucchini, roasted cauliflower, fresh peas… something colorful that people can choose from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My almost 10yo won’t eat salad but will eat raw veggies. I would do a bagged salad for the adults because I’m lazy and cut up some carrots/cucumbers/tomatoes for the kids…….

Bagged salad, never. Barf.