Bridal Luncheon - Need a Good Main Dish Recipe

With a bridal luncheon I agree with you not having anything too heavy. How about brunch type foods? You could do an egg sausage casserole, nice chicken salad on a bed of lettuce, nice green salad, fresh fruit salad, croissants, etc. That way you would only need a couple of chafing dishes to keep the casserole warm. I have been in 22 weddings as a bridesmaid and been to several others and the lighter the better was always my preference since I was having to fit into a dress the next day or the same day.

I hosted a Baby Shower last year and served Cheese Soup in mini bread bowls and finger sandwiches, all of which can be made ahead of time. Everyone loved it! It was not your normal shower food. To make the bread bowls hollow out large dinner rolls and put them in the oven until they are crispy. You still have to serve them in a disposable bowl so they won't make a mess but it is so easy. We served the soup with cucumber dill, turkey chipotle, and chicken salad finger sandwiches with mixed fruit. You can even throw in a spinach salad if you want. If you need any of the recipes I mentioned let me know and I will pass them on to you.

Poppyseed Chicken is something that I have served to a large group in the past, and is always a hit. You can find the recipe online.

I got this recipe of Spark People today. I've not tried it but it sounds pretty tasty:
Tortellini with Vegetables

Ingredients
* 1 medium red pepper, sliced
* 1 medium green pepper, sliced
* 1 medium orange or yellow sweet pepper, sliced
* 1 cup snow peas, sugar snap peas, or green beans
* 1 large tomato, quartered
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 3 garlic cloves, chopped
* 5 or 6 fresh basil leaves, shredded
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 cups dried cheese tortellini
* 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Nutritional Info
Fat: 16.4g
Carbohydrates: 34.8g
Calories:335.3
Protein: 12.2g

1. Cook tortellini as directed by the package.
2. Heat oil in a medium sized saut� pan. Add onion, cook until translucent. Add garlic, peppers, basil. and beans. Continue to cook until peppers become slightly soft.
3. Toss vegetables with drained pasta. Top with parmesan cheese.

Serves 4.

Obviously this would have to be increased by the number of people you are serving. I think a simple pasta dish, especially one with lots of color, like this one with the different color peppers, or one with different color pastas, are always nice for a luncheon setup.

I also love the idea of doing a soup and salad service where you would make a couple of different soups, like maybe a French Onion and a Zuppa Toscana, or whatever you like, but probably one vegetarian and one with some sort of meat. And then maybe a couple choices for a salad, like maybe a Spinach with dried cranberries, toasted almonds, feta cheese and maybe a balsamic vinaigrette, or a fancy mixed greens salad with small chunks of apples or pears with blue cheese crumbles, toasted walnuts and a champagne vinaigrette. Or maybe a Caesar salad or just a regular tossed salad, whatever you think your guests will like best.

Here are recipes for the Zuppa Toscana and French Onion soups that I have made and like very much:
http://www.recipezaar.com/38298
http://www.recipezaar.com/33752

Of course, you can do a search on recipe zaar for any type of soup or salad that you like. I search for the highest rated recipes and those are usually fool proof, especially when you read the rating comments and implement the most popular suggestions.

Good luck!

I went to a bridal luncheon and they served quiche loraine sp? and caesar salad. They also had a bowl of mixed fresh fruit (melon, strawberries, ect.) Everyone loved it.
PS The pilsbury pie crust in the frige section are great.

chicken ceasar salad
club salad
quiche
fresh fruit salad
a variety of diff. salads-tuna, chicken, ham, spinach, fruit, jello -all the diff. types
pigs in blanket
veggie tray

HTH