My daughter has decided she wants her 21st at home.It will be very low-key, drinks and nibbles, with about 45 people coming.Due to a low budget we are going to do nibbles ourselves.Here are her suggestions: sausage rolls, samosa, spring rolls, patty tin pastry quiches, tiny chicken pieces (chicken nibbles!).We will later have cake cutting for coffee.
Does anyone have any suggestions on the best/easiest recipe for the pastry patty tin quiches!I'm not sure about the pricing of them, but a local bakery said they could provide 90 for $135.I'm sure I could make them cheaper than that right!
I'd love to hear any suggestions or changes you think I could make.I don't have a lot of time to spend baking/cooking, that's why most of these choices are easy peasy. Thanks.
casey1232,
May 22, 8:53pm
As a chef and having worked for a catering business id say 90 for $135 is very well priced. You might be able to make them cheaper but its just not worth the hassle and time having to make 90 quiches, just have them delivered on the afternoon. Might be worth poping down to the local bakery and asking for a sample so you can judge the quality!
cookessentials,
May 22, 9:23pm
We do have a weddings/parties and gatherings thread somewhere on here with some great ideas. Yes, I think you could make them cheaper and you could freeze them until required to make your job easier.
kokopuff,
May 22, 9:40pm
Not sure about using a pastry but what about a self crusting Quiche surely it would be quicker. 3 eggs 1/2 c S R Flour 1 C cheese 1 Tbl oil 1 1/4 C milk 1 onion finely chopped 2 rashers bacon chopped or what ever fillings you like (mush, tomatoes, asparagus, ham etc). Whisk egg, flour, cheese, oil,onion till well mixed. Pour into your greased patty tin add bacon etc. Bake at 180 till cooked.
jetxr8,
May 22, 9:44pm
Hi serious6, I've just made some mini quiches for a 21st.I use the silicone mini muffin trays and make 6dox (72) at a time.Very simple and quick to do.And very economical, too.The recipe I use is below this.It's for one full quiche, however, use this same recipe and it is exactly the correct quantity to make 6 doz mini quiches.Much, much cheaper to make than what you have been quoted of 90 for $135.Best wishes.
QUICHE INGREDIENTS: 3 eggs1 onion (chopped) 1 cup grated cheese1 tablespoon olive oil ¾ cup flour (sifted)1 tsp baking powder 1 ½ cups milksalt & pepper METHOD: Heat oven to 180 degrees C.Grease a 25 cm diameter flan dish. Put all of the above ingredients into a large bowl with a lid. Add a couple of the following: sliced mushrooms, mixed veges, ½ can cream style corn, or whole kernel corn, chopped ¼ capsicum, chopped sliced ham or bacon, ½ cup chopped, tinned asparagus, or anything you like.Put the lid on the bowl and then shake bowl for 1 minute.Pour into the greased flan dish (it will be very wet). Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown on top. Take out of oven.Serve hot.
This recipe is the correct quantity to make 6 doz (72) mini quiches. (It helps to lightly oil the silicone trays, before putting the mixture in them.) NB:If you don’t have a bowl with a lid, I found that just putting all the ingredients into a bowl and mixing with a large spoon, works just as well.Put cheese and onion in first and then flour, stir to combine, and then add the rest of the ingredients.
pickles7,
May 22, 9:57pm
Do what you can do well, buy the other things in. Look at the room you have to heat food, you may need to add a few more cold dishes, stuffed eggs, asparagus rolls club sandwiches.
you guys are amazing, thanks for your words of wisdom.
Jetxr8:did you cook 6 doz at one time!I'd have to source some silicon trays - where did you get yours! Also, did you do 180 degrees fan bake!
Thanks again
venom4,
May 23, 1:16am
Our PNS sells some savoury catering packs - not sure for how much though.I also buy from a wholesale place (kinda like Gilmours i guess) & for the parties we have a buy a box of petite mini savouries, theres about 120 savouries (b&e, mince & cheese, quiche, smoked chicken) and these sell for about $60.00
asue,
May 23, 4:53am
U need cold food, snadwiches, aspargus rolls, chicken rolls, seafood rolls. Otherwise sounds good.Also you could add pizzas if you wanted and had room to heat. Honestly its alot easier to make a heap of sandwiches in the morning,cook chicken nibbles to have cold, and just reheat savouries at night.Easy done and you can enjoy your guests and party. Also platters of cheese and crackers, dips, fruit etc
jetxr8,
May 23, 7:16am
Hi again serious6, Yes, I cooked 6 doz all at the one time.Two silicone trays on an oven slide x 3 and then put all 3 oven slides into the oven.(One slide at bottom, one in the middle and one at the top of the oven.)Yes, 180 degrees but NOT fan bake - just ordinary bake. I bought my silicone trays from Briscoes - I would happily lend you mine (I loaned them out several times) but I'm in Auckland and you're in Tauranga!See if you can borrow some, from friends. Don't be tempted to use non-silicone trays.I tried that years ago, and the cooked mini quiches are not easy to get out of the metal trays, because the quiches are small. You can add a couple of extra eggs, to the recipe, if you want. Best wishes.
jetxr8,
May 23, 7:30am
By the way, serious6, you will have to adjust the baking time, when making this recipe into mini quiches. (The time of 35 minutes, stated in the recipe, is for one whole quiche.)In my oven, I find that about 20 minutes is plenty.But it depends on your own oven.Cheers.
serious6,
May 23, 7:39am
I agree with you asue. While looking around Gilmours I found bags of those little pikelets.I thought they would be a good option instead of sandwiches (daughter isn't keen for them). Any ideas of what I could put on top that isn't too expensive to make!Daughter wanted jam and cream.but I thought they could be used for something different too.
Also, do you think cold chicken nibbles are good.Daughter wanted hot, but I reckoned it would be acceptable cold and way easier.
duckmoon,
May 23, 8:25am
I would go to a wholesaler ( in Wellington, Moore Wilson) and see what nibbles they had
evorotorua,
May 23, 6:16pm
Just a thought. I am no party organiser but I always think that with those chicken nibbles there are bones left over. And they take up a lot of room in the oven when cooking. And you must be sure they are cooked through. You could use that bags of Chicken Bites I think put out by Tegal. Cook them up and serve with a dip and some toothpicks for holding them. You still need to be sure they are cooked through but it is a bit easier to tell. Not too great cold though.
gardie,
May 23, 6:34pm
Blinis!You could beat up some cream cheese till it is softesh and then pipe a swirl onto each then pop on some toppings like a small piece of smoked salmon piece.If you want some of these sweet, just add a piece of fruit and sweeten the cream cheese.You could fold some good raspberry jam (like anathoth) through the cream cheese till it is streaky, pipe onto each pikelet and then top with fruit.
baalamb,
May 23, 7:19pm
I know your daughter isnt keen on the idea of sandwiches, but nice looking sandwiches tend to be one of the fastest moving foods at such times.
nunesy,
May 23, 7:56pm
Instead of sandwiches you can do small squares of heavy bread (like Vogels) with toppings: cream cheese and a bit of peppered pastrami is good, or cream cheese, ham, mustard. for a topping for mini pikelets, whipped cream (a little more whipped than usual) with a spoon of lemon honey mixed through is amazing.You could do cherry tomatoes, a piece of creamy cheese (brie or camembert) and a basil leaf for classy 'Caprese salad' nibbles.Taste great, look great and don't need heating.Oh, and if you cut the sausage rolls very small, ie only a couple of cm wide, they looka bit more 'grown up' rather than the type you have at staff do's or kids parties.You can mix tomato sauce with a bit of sweet chilli sauce for a change too - tastes great.All the best.
campmum,
May 24, 2:45am
Why not buy La Baguette Savouries Petite- 15pkt.Pak n Save have them on sale for around $8. mince pie, potato top & bacon/egg savouries.
duckmoon,
May 24, 6:01am
Since you are on a budget, I think that your daughter needs to suck it up and realize that club sandwiches and asparagus rolls are cheap and easy.
The night before the party,make up the fillings, and then the morning of the party, have three friends come over and turn your kitchen into a production line.
On my own, i can do a loaf of bread into asparagus rolls in fifteen minutes. There are about twenty one slices of bread in a loaf, which means seven club sandwiches cut into three or six. With forty five guest, I would make six to ten loaves of bread, which you and threefriends could do in about an hour. With the fillings made the night before
Cheap and easy
wheelz,
May 24, 7:11am
sandwiches! Of all the party foods on a table, I go for well made club sandwiches.
sultana0,
May 24, 9:32am
A winter starter barby with some saussy rolls and savs and the like, get some of the guest (that you know really well) to bring salads etc,it will be great because the foods not reason for the 21st
tarshlove,
May 24, 11:00pm
I know that couplands bakery does quiches have a look there you can get 4 for $5 on special
kinna54,
May 25, 12:31am
do a search under my name: I have put a lot of finger food ideas in:
Quiches are quite time consuming, but if budgeting right I reckon you could come out home made at around $1 each.depending upon ingredients:
An alternative could be bread cases! Again look at search, I have posted some ideasfor that as well.
Recently attended a function where the menu was build your own sandwich: they had a selection of breads, ham, sliced chicken and meats, platters of sliced salad ingredients, and condiments. It was a roaring success, and if correctly budgeted with all meats bought on special, home cookedand pre-sliced, could be a viable option. (just an alternative thought).
kinna54,
May 25, 5:40am
Also if daughter doesn't like the sandwich idea, look at doing rolls (as in an asparagus type roll) with a variety of fillings: i.e chicken fancylettuce and mayo rolls, salmon and cream cheese etc, which I have mentioned countless times in threads are all easy, look great and can be made in minutes.
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