Make A Vegetable Platter Recipes Food Cooking International Guide

Make A Vegetable Platter To Increase The Variety Of Your Party Food

By Patricia Gorginas

Make a vegetable platter to please your guests. Apart from the usual, cheeses, dips, crackers and corn chips, a vegetable platter may be the best crowd pleaser at your party. You can purchase organic veggies from a food store or use your own vegetables from your garden.

If you know a number of your guests are vegans, then you may look at making a raw vegetable platter. I have seen people who are definitely not vegans, eat almost all the vegetable platter, nibbling all night until the platter is completely empty.

A Platter With Pickled Vegetables

Apart from raw vegetables, you can also place another platter with pickled vegetables. I make my own pickles with cucumbers, green unripened tomatoes and peppers. I even pickle some of my cabbages. I try to avoid the strong vinegar taste you get when you buy pickles from the store, by reducing the amount of vinegar in my pickles.

Knowing my guests love vegetables, I usually supply vegetables from my organic garden whenever I make a vegetable platter.

Serving An Attractive And Delicious Well Rounded Menu

Throwing a party generally involves a lot of work! You want to serve your guests a well-rounded menu that’s attractive and delicious. One party trick from seasoned hosts? Make a vegetable platter!

This is a healthy and easy way to add a festive touch to any get-together without spending days in the kitchen. If you’ve got any vegan guests coming, a large vegetable platter with all the trimmings is sure to be a hit. So, how do you make a vegetable platter that’s the star of the buffet? We’ve got the answers.

Drawing Your Guests To Your Platter

You’ve got to approach this dish as a work of art. In this case, it’s all in the presentation. A little bowl of broccoli florets and dip on the side is not all that visually attractive. When you make a vegetable platter, you want it to make a visual statement, such that guests will be drawn to take a closer look at this work of art.

Choosing the right platter is where you begin. If your party has a casual theme, a bright plastic platter might work. If this event is more of an upscale affair, a gleaming silver platter, lined with white lace paper doilies may be the best choice. An in-between choice of platter might be the Majolica style white ceramic platter with dividers. The idea is that you want to showcase those veggies!

Adding Visual Contrast To Your Platter

Color plays an important role in the presentation. You may have noticed this at the meat counter of the supermarket: the butcher separates the different meats with thick dividers of, well, plastic parsley. Nonetheless, the bright green color serves to differentiate between the different meats and adds visual contrast. You want to use the same concept when you make a vegetable platter.

This gets us to the arrangement of the veggies. Let’s say you’re serving marinated mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower florets, pickled onions, sweet red, orange and purple bell pepper, celery and carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes. Remember, when you make a vegetable platter, it’s art on the hoof.

Arrangement Of The Vegetables

For the most come-hither presentation, arrange the vegetables so that each one is side-by-side with a contrasting color of veggie. Be neat when you arrange each veggie, making a pizza-slice shape of each veggie, going towards the center of the plate.

To make a vegetable platter that sings its own praises, be creative in how you divide each section. For example, brighten up the mushroom display with a divider made of fresh rosemary sprigs between the mushrooms and the purple bell pepper. Follow the purple sweet peppers with fresh sprigs of parsley, followed by the carrot sticks. Contrast draws the eye – and appetite.

Place A Range Of Dips Nearby

Accompany your veggie platter with several choices of dips. Make a little place card that tells the guest what each dip is. Ranch and blue cheese look much the same. Your curry sauce dip may look like French dressing, so specify.

Cut glass votive candle holders, filled with cocktail toothpicks, increases the visual appeal of your dish. While the raw vegetable platter is the norm, there is another tasty and attractive possibility: the tempura veggie platter.

When you make a vegetable platter of this type, it’s time to go look for a rainbow-colored plastic platter to showcase this group!

Finding Out Discreetly The Expectations Of Your Guests

If you are looking for more ideas to please your guests, you may think about the expectations of your guests. You can find out, without the need to ask directly, what you will place on your platter. You may find out one of your guests loves cucumber, so do not forget to place pieces of cut cucumber and a cucumber dip nearby.

You may place a selection of crackers and corn chips near the dips, for your guests to use with their dips. Many people love cheese with their vegetables, so place a selection of low fat to normal fat cheeses with a little card nearby describing the type of cheese.

A Meat Platter

Of course, you do not have to place only vegetable and cheeses on your party platters. You can make another platter, with meat selections including sliced salami and small pieces of cooked meat.

The main aim of your party is to meet the needs of all your guests. Some guests are vegetarian, most are not. Even those who are not vegetarian, may gravitate to the vegetarian platter. Knowing the expectations of your guests can go a long way to make a vegetable platter.

About the Author:
Patricia Gorginas has written a number of articles on food and cooking including Bachelorette Party Ideas, Italian Cooking, Jalapeno Stuffed Olives, Quick and Easy Dinner Recipes, Dinner Party Ideas, Boost your metabolism, Easy and Quick Dinners, Spicy Hot Peppers, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Salad Dressing, Muffin Baskets, Chocolate Covered Potato Chips, Italian Food, Food And Wine, French Food.
Keep a lookout for more articles on this website.

Did You Know?

What are the kitchen basics I need?
Kitchen basics that every kitchen should have are pots and pans (in a variety of sizes), measuring cups, measuring spoons, mixing bowls and an assortment of kitchen gadgets that make life easier.

One of these gadgets is a can opener. Being forced to saw off the bottom of a can could take a little of the fervor away from cooking. Also consider keeping whisks, spatulas and tongs as part of your cooking basics.

Another item basic that is used often is a drainer/strainer. These can come in the form of bowls or be part of a boiling pan set. It is used to drain spaghetti water from the pasta or can be used for anything similar.