SHRIMP SALAD WITH SNOW PEAS & WATER CHESTNUTS (serves 4-6)
1/2 lb snow peas, strings removed
3/4 lb cooked shrimp, shelled & deveined
1 cup sliced canned water chestnuts, drained
2 TBL light soy sauce
1 TBL rice vinegar
2 TBL honey
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup light vegetable oil

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Blanch the snow peas in rapdily boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain & refresh under cold water. Drain again. Arrange the shrimp, snow peas & water chestnuts in a serving dish. Combine all remaining ingredients for the dressing & pour over the salad. Toss well & serve.~~Off the Hook

DELTA MINT TEA (1 gallon)
7 tea bags
12 sprigs mint
Zest of 3 lemons
8 cups boiling water
Juice of 7 lemons
2 cups sugar

In a large earthenware pitcher, steep the tea, mint & lemon zest in boiling water 12 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Add the lemon juice & sugar to the hot tea & stir until the sugar is dissolved. Strain. Combine with 8 cups of cold water. Serve over ice~~Southern Sideboards

SALEM COLLEGE ICED TEA (about 1 gallon)
4 sprigs fresh mint
8-12 whole cloves
1 oz loose tea
Juice of 8 lemons
Juice of 6 oranges
46 oz can pineapple juice
2 cups sugar

Add themint & cloves to 8 cups water; bring to a boil. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the tea & allow to steep 10-15 minutes. Strain & while still hot, add the fruit juices & sugar. Stir to dissolve & allow to cool. Serve over ice.~~Heritage of Hospitality

TEXAS ICED TEA (2 qts)
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
4 TBL loose tea
6 oz can frozen lemonade
6 oz can frozen orange juice

Put the spices in 2 qts water ina saucepan & bring to a strong boil. Add the tea & remove from the heat. Steep 5 minutes. Strain.
Add the fruit juices + 4 juice cans of water to the tea. Pour over ice in tall glasses. If serving from a pitcher, add lemon & orange slices for color.~~Texas Tables

Lots of very good chicken salad recipes from this forum. Check the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chicken Salad Recipes

Thanks for the recipes! I am going to try them on my husband (he is always my guinea pig!)soon. I have a party to attend next weekend and I think I will try one of your tea recipes on them! thanks again

You're very welcome.

These are always a hit, MsPretty. You can make the gougeres and fillings ahead of time, and assemble at the last moment:

Filled Gougere

In a saucepan bring to a boil 1 cup cold water, 1 stick butter, cut in small pieces, 1 tsp salt, and a dash of pepper.

Add 1 cup flour all at once and cook the paste over low heat, beating it well, until if leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball.

Remove from heat and add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition*. Add 1/4 lb coarsely grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese and a dash of dry mustard.

Let the mixture cool. Put the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large tube and pipe it onto a cookie sheet, forming rounds, crescents, or other shapes you might like. Brush the gougeres with milk and bake them in a hot oven (425) for ten minutes. Lower the heat to moderately hot (375) and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are puffed and golden.

Let them cool on a wire rack, slit them, and fill with ham filling, pate, chicken salad, etc.

*When beating in the eggs, I keep beating until the shininess of the new addition goes away before adding the next egg.

I like to make these double high. That is, I'll pipe out, say, a crescent two-pipes wide, then pipe another line in the crack between them.

If you vary the fillings you could, if you want, vary the shapes so each filling has it's own gougerre. For instance, you could put ham in round ones, tuna in crescents, chicken salad in triangles, etc. Going this route, I'd limit it to three fillings, and plate one of each on each serving along with an interesting salad. See the jicama salad thread for some ideas that would work well with these mini-sandwiches.

Years back I had this in a Vienese-style cafe in Boston, and have used it as a luncheon dish ever since. No recipe, just generalized instructions for:

Asparagus & Shrimp Louis

Cook some asparagus so it is tender but still has a little bite. Poach some large shrimp. Hard boil some eggs. Prepare Louis dressing (either the hard way, or just mix some chili sauce into mayo).

In the center of a small plate arrange 5 or 6 shrimp in a pinwheel. Lay down some asparagus so it bends around the shrimp slightly. Spoon a dollop of Louis dressing in the middle of the shrimp pinwheel. Arrange hard-boiled egg wedges and black olives on the rest of the plate. Sprinkle the asparagus with finely chopped hard-boiled egg if you want for additional appeal.

I often put a radish rose in the center of the pinwheel, too, siting it in the Louis dressing.

These can be prepared the morning of, and kept refrigerated until the luncheon. I particularly like them because they are simple to prepare, hold well in the fridge, and are visually appealing.

Because the last few falls in Kentucky have had unseasonably cold days, you might want to consider something hot.

The balancing act is to prepare it ahead of time, and hold it so it stays warm but doesn't get overcooked. So that can limit your choices. Crockpots and electric skillets are invaluable for keeping things warm while you do something else, though.

You might think about something like:

Meatballs in Almond Sauce

2 slices whole wheat bread, crusts removed
3 tbls water
2 lb ground pork
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbls flatleaf parsley, chopped.
1 egg, beaten
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt & pepper
All purose flour, for coating
3+ tbls olive oil
Squeeze of lemon juice

Almond sauce:

2 tbls olive oil
1 slice whole wheat bread
Generous 3/4 cup blanched almonds
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup dry white wine
Salt & Pepper
1 3/4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

For the meatballs: Put the bread in a bowl and add water. Let soak 5 minutes. Squeeze out the water and return bread to the dried bowl. Add the pork, onion, garlic, parsley and egg, then season generously with nutmeg and a little salt & pepper. Knead the ingredients well together to form a smooth mixture.

Spread some flour on a plate. With floured hands, shape the meat mixture into small balls (I use a 1 1/2-tbls sized scoop), then roll each meatball in flour until well coated.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet. Add the meatballs, in batches, so they do not overcrowd the skillet, and cook for 4-5 minutes or until browned on all sides. Use a slotted soon to remove meatballs and set aside while you cook the rest, adding more oil if needed.

Make the sauce: Het olive oil in same skillet in which the meatballs were fried. Break the bread into pieces, then add to the skillet with the almonds and cook gently, stirring frequently, until the bread and almonds are golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds, then pour in wine and boil 1-2 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper and let cool slightly.

Transfer almond mixture to a food processor.* Pour in the vegetable stock and blend the mixture until smooth. Return the almond sauce to the skillet.

Carefully add the meatballs to the almond sauce and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the meatballs are tender. Taste the sauce and season with salt & pepper if necessary.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice (or put a lemon wedge on each plate) and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.

*You may have to do this in batches, or it's likely to overflow the processor container. Or use a blender instead.

I'm thinking you could prepare these to the final simmering stage, put them in a crockpot, and turn it on while the tour is in progress. By the time you're done, so will they be. If the tour runs long, nothing will be hurt.

I would serve them on a bed of broad egg noodles, with a salad on the side. An apple/Ceasar salad complements this dish nicely.

now THAT'S a timely post, gardenlad! just yesterday someone on the cooking forum talked about a dish served with an almond sauce and i asked her if she had any thougts about how to make it because the idea appealed to me. and to date, i'm not sure i've met a meatball that i didn't really like. copied and pasted already--thanx very much!

didn't mean to ignore you at all, ms pretty. besides iced tea (i think ginger probably gave you as much of a selection as you might need!), can you tell us what sorts of dishes you might be looking for and about how many folks might be there?

San, google Albondigas & you'll find lots of recipes for meatballs in almond sauce.

Thanks for all the great ideas! I have been working with different recipes everyday for this. These are all great ideas. I am thinking of going with a buffett style luncheon, with a little of everything to please everyone.