Quiche? One with a gf crust.

I think quiche is a great idea.. I also just like a meal of small appetizers though I know some people want something more substantial. Shrimp, meatballs, asparagus wrapped in flank steak, potato bites, mushroom crostini.. all fun and flavorful little bites!

I tried to edit my post but the edit option isn't showing...I was also thinking of little mini quiche bites that you do in mini muffin tins. They could be finger food that way and just a few would have to be GF, but you could have a variety of fillings, some with meat/ham/sausage or some that are all veggie, etc.

You can still probably do soup. Serve it in mugs with croutons,since you can't do the salad with it. The gluten free member doesn't have to take the croutons.

Or if not, I would do some roasted shrimp,a sausage and cheese tray,with small rolls on the side if someone wants a sandwich, maybe a frittata, a platter of roasted veggies, some meatballs, some different crostini. Stuff like that. Even the old standby,devilled eggs. Maybe some olives or marinated artichoke hearts or tiny stuffed peppers. Instead of crostini,you can do tea sandwiches. Lots of gluten free options there.

I love a finger food buffet. It's the perfect meal.

Another option would be to serve the soup shooter-style in shot glasses. Then, you could have the same salad as long as it doesn't require a knife to eat it. You could add some diced grilled chicken if you wanted to bump up the protein content.

I thought about serving the soup in mugs, but I don't have enough large mugs!

I'm making a Spanish almond cake for dessert, so maybe I'll go with a tapas theme.

I have a recipe for a bacon crust quiche (gluten free). Texas Toast makes a gluten free crouton.

My guests loved the following finger dinner I served. There were 10 of us in my living room. We had cookies for dessert.

1) Cut baked russet potatoes in half lengthwise. They can then be picked up and eaten with one hand, each half with different toppings.

2) Baked chicken wings and legs, or breast strips. I used boneless with skin on. Bake them salted and peppered, offer different sauces on the side.

3) Corn on the cob, each ear cut in half.

4) Roasted veggies...cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, pepper strips, whatever you like.

5) Assortment of muffins or mini muffins or whatever bread you prefer.

No utensils, but tons of napkins!

It was fun, filling, flexible for the vegetarian, not too rich and calorie laden if you didn't take too many toppings, easy to prepare, and people took what they liked. The leftovers made the best chicken-potato-veggie salad I've ever made.

Good luck and have fun!

Could you possibly think out of the box and set up a card table or bistro table in the living room and have two tables for the overflow? My DR and LR are adjacent so I could do that no problem but YMMV.

I heard Kitchenwitch has some good recipes.

;-)

LOL

Hmm, lots of good ideas. I hadn't thought of getting mugs from the Dollar store. It would definitely be easier for me to just make soup and salad.

And pinkmountain, I was thinking last night that if I could get a piece of plywood I could put it on top of my large coffee table/ottoman and put a table cloth on it, so that everyone would have a good place to put down their plates and glasses. The only problem is that I don't have a vehicle big enough to bring one home. So my next thought is to take my dining table into the living room. I have a sofa and love seat in an L formation with a club chair angled towards them. I'll bring in my dining chairs for additional seating.

Can you borrow a folding table or two for the LR? We have taken the legs off our DR table to move it to the LR but it's a lot of work. You've gotten some good suggestions. I think soup and salad is a good option. $1 soup bowls

I'm off to the Dollar store to look for the soup mugs.

Terriks, I'm also hosting book club next week, also 9 ladies and me. Book club is fun but I do relate to not having a lot of space inside! I used to be self conscious because the other members all have houses that can handle bigger crowds but as I've gotten older I don't worry so much. I try to keep in mind that for a dinner party, as long as there is good food, good wine and good conversation everyone's happy right?!

My dining room table will seat 10 with the leaf although that then takes up my entire dining nook ;), but I don't have 10 DR chairs, so I'm using my folding IKEA chairs 4 to a side with 'real' DR chairs at each end.

Book club informal rule is that the hostess prepares the main dish and the members bring the rest: wine, salad, appetizers, dessert, vegetable sides etc. I'm probably going to serve chicken marsala and the Pioneer Woman make ahead mashed potatoes since I can do both in advance. I don't like fussing around in the kitchen, it's lots more fun to be able to sit down, have some wine and talk about the book.

For the December meeting we also do a gift exchange. I'm doing a combination gift of the tea package suggested in another thread along with this mug. Seems to be a fitting theme for book club, at least I hope it is. I also bought a package of bookmarks so I'm giving each of the members a few of those tied with a pretty ribbon as a little holiday extra. (Those might make good stocking stuffers too for some of the readers in my family).