How is the Holiday Menu for a Birthday

Last Updated on October 7, 2020 by Mary J. Grice

How is the Holiday Menu for a Birthday: Birthday is a memorable holiday, it is one of the few that relate personally to a person, and it must be celebrated in such a way as to please the birthday man first of all. When preparing a festive program, one should not forget about the birthday table, paying special attention to each dish’s choice. The birthday menu should be moderately unusual – it should be remembered by every guest, so variety and creativity in this matter are only welcomed.

Factors Influencing Menu Selection

The selection of the menu for a birthday dinner is a complex but creative process, and it should be thought out carefully and in advance so that later you do not face the fact that half of the guests did not touch one of the main dishes and the birthday person himself is allergic to several others …

The choice of food is influenced by many factors that must be considered for a successful evening. The main ones are the circumstances described below.

Location

The choice of the place where the celebration will be held has a great influence on the menu. With a similar composition of guests and the same birthday person, it will be completely different if a party is held in nature or a restaurant.

So, in the first case, it is almost impossible to do without kebabs and several juicy salads, and the second option will depend on the style of the chosen restaurant. Of course, his choice is also made, considering the celebration’s main host’s specific preferences. Today they use the following options for organizing a holiday, and, consequently, types of menus:

celebration in nature;
House party;
calling a catering company;
banquet in the restaurant.

In each of these cases, the approach to menu selection will be radically different.

Event Format

If a birthday is celebrated at home or in a restaurant, it is possible to use different formats for holding a festive evening. So, the following options are the most popular:

Traditional feast. The format of it is known to everyone and is used most often. Until recently, all holidays were celebrated only in this form, and there were no alternatives to it. A long table (or several tables), seated guests, a la carte meals, and snacks are all attributes of a birthday celebration in a traditional feast style.
Buffet. Guests here are seated in a similar order, but instead of the portioned dishes, everyone uses the buffet system, which many have liked.
Buffet. This format is assumed if there are no plans for a long holiday – after all, it is quite difficult for even a healthy person to stand on their feet for several hours.

Season

Even though today, the choice of fruits and vegetables in supermarkets does not depend on the time of year, this factor still affects the name’s menu. So, there are typically summer (okroshka, salads) and typically winter dishes. In certain months, young potatoes can be a delicacy, while it will only cause confusion at other times of the year.

Individual Characteristics of the Celebrants

The factor is also very important since without taking them into account, the risk of failing to select dishes is very high. Individual characteristics include:

Age of Guests

In case of doubt about this, it is enough to look at the menu of children’s and adult holidays; then, it will become clear that a person’s tastes can be completely different at different ages. The list of dishes will be completely different if a children’s party is planned or a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary is being prepared. For example, a children’s birthday rarely provides for a change of dishes and a long feast because children are so restless that it is better to choose more contests and outdoor entertainment for the holiday.

The Presence of Allergies

Today, in the age of massive allergic reactions, this factor is becoming more and more relevant. Therefore, when deciding on the list of guests, it would be nice to know if any of them have food allergies and provide a worthy alternative to dishes with these products.

First of all, it is worth asking about this from the birthday man, since he will be extremely offended if it turns out that he will not even touch most of the dishes. It is also necessary that guests with similar problems have the opportunity to know the exact composition of the dishes, unless, of course, the host’s plans include the participation of the ambulance workers in the party.

Vegetarianism

Today vegetarianism is a widespread trend. If one or several guests adhere to it, it is necessary that they also have the opportunity not to remain hungry in this gastronomic paradise. Of course, you should not build the entire menu around people with certain food addictions, but each of them should have the opportunity to enjoy at least two or three dishes.

Finance

The financial factor will also play an important role in the choice of dishes for a birthday celebration. Of course, a birthday is once a year, but it’s not worth it to get involved in the celebration of it at incredible expenses and doom the family to a month’s hungry ration for several hours of gluttony. Suppose there are certain restrictions in this regard. In that case, it is necessary to look through the menu options again and choose a more suitable financially since, with today’s variety of products and prices, it is not at all difficult.

Of course, making a 100% perfect menu and catering to any guest’s taste is simply impossible, but a birthday is worth making another attempt to do it.

Celebrating a Birthday at Home

Even though this option imposes some restrictions on both the number of guests and the selection of dishes, it is still the most popular option. Everyone feels more at ease at home, and the hostess can control the culinary process almost without leaving the table.

It is quite possible to put the roast in the oven at home, start the timer, and, without worry, retire to the guests. Oddly enough, one of the main dangers when making a menu for celebrating a birthday at home is the excess of dishes, both in the number of recipes and in the volumes prepared.

Most hostesses strive to show all their skills, surprise guests with as many salads as possible, and provide for each dish’s supply. It’s still not worth getting carried away with this, but before purchasing menu products, you should review and discard some of the dishes from it. It is better to cook a few truly different and exceptional dishes than a large number of similar and fairly mundane options.

The volumes should not be exceeded: no one has left hungry since their birthday, and it is so unpleasant to throw away cooked dishes with love the next day. When cooking, it is better for the hostess to take an assistant for herself, so that at the holiday she does not fall off her feet from fatigue, but to rejoice with other guests.

Festive Menu Dishes

When choosing dishes for a birthday celebration, it is advisable to choose those extremely rare recipes in the standard set or do not come across at all. These can be dishes using exotic products or very laborious in execution and requiring unique decoration. Birthday dishes are a special topic of conversation. Here, the festive decor is simply a must, and since the reason for the feast is more than significant, you should not neglect the opportunity to enhance the appropriate mood further.

Today, there are options for decorating holiday dishes, both very simple, accessible even to beginners in cooking, and daunting, existing as a separate direction of cooking, equated to art.

It is currently not challenging to find recipes for a festive table; you need to go to the Internet and open several thematic sites, the variety of which is enormous. There are also win-win recipes that can be used to make any party successful. Below are two salads that will delight and make you ask the hostess for their recipe.

Caesar Salad

The classic recipe requires chicken breasts, white wine, lettuce, and if you want to add variety, you can use ingredients such as lemons, bread, hard parmesan cheese and more. The breasts are marinated in advance, then fried, after which, after cooling, they are mixed with other components, and a dressing of olive oil and mustard is added. You can also use Worcestershire sauce for her if you strive to stay true to the recipe. In this case, the salad is not cut but torn into large pieces by hand.

Capercaillie’s Nest Salad

Of the ingredients, you will again need chicken fillet, chicken and quail eggs in the amount of three of each type, the same amount of raw potatoes, a couple of fresh cucumbers, salt, herbs, spices, mayonnaise and vegetable oil. In oil, you will need to fry the potatoes, grated with straws, the fillet is boiled and chopped, we do the same with the proteins from the chicken eggs, and we cook the quail – they will act as a decoration.

Cut the cucumbers into strips, cool the potatoes, and let the excess oil drain, after which you can start building the “nest”. Except for a small portion of fried potatoes, all components are mixed, salt, seasoned, and put in a salad bowl. The decor will be the remaining potatoes, yolk grated on top and three quail eggs.

Final Word

With the help of these elements, a semblance of a nest is built, it is sprinkled with herbs on top, after which a delicious salad and a spectacular decoration of the festive table are ready.

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