Spring Entertaining at the Farm

One thing I love to do is prepare a big appetizer board for farm guests.  My sister and her family and some extended family travel to the farm last weekend and I wanted to prepare something for everybody once they arrived.  Megan and I prepared a huge one last Thanksgiving and it’s always a hit because there is something on there for everybody.  I wanted to do something a little more spring inspired, so I used some treats with a little more color. If I had more time, I wish I had run over to Anthropologie and picked up some colorful serving pieces.  I linked a bunch in the widget below that are super affordable and make a great statement.  The collection of items on my board are just an assortment of my favorite things.  You can really throw anything you like on there and it just works.

The goodies I used on my board:

-thinly sliced prosciutto (sliced fresh from the deli)

-3 different types of cheeses

-pomegranates (I listed some cute bowls below perfect for serving)

-apricot preserves (I listed some cute ramekins below for this)

-caramel popcorn

-chicken salad bites (chicken salad from Whole Foods, little pastry shells from Lucy’s Market)

-candied bacon (recipe and tips for making below)

-rosemary cheese straws (from Lucy’s Market)

-assortment of crackers (from Whole Foods)

-salted chocolate covered caramels

-salami

-fresh strawberries

-sweet and spicy nuts

*If I had more room I would have added some pistachios for the pretty green color.

Recipe for Candied Bacon

This is suuuuuper easy to make and was probably the most popular thing on the board. There are many ways you can make this, but I will just tell you the way I did it below.

Ingredients:

-thick sliced bacon

-brown sugar

Directions:

-Take a baking sheet and line it with foil.

-Lay your bacon on the foil and sprinkle brown sugar on top.

-Put it in the oven that has been pre-heated to 350 degrees.

-Bake the bacon for 10-15 minutes on one side, then flip and sprinkle with a little more brown sugar and put back in oven for another 10-15 minutes.

-Once the bacon looks browned remove it from the oven and immediately put it on a cooling rack. If you don’t remove the bacon immediately it will stick to the foil!

-The bacon will crisp up as it cools off and voile! Delicious!

*The next time I make this, I’m going to try putting the bacon and brown sugar in a bowl to cover both sides. Then I will bake one one side without flipping.  I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Grapefruit Mimosa

This was simple and refreshing and of course pretty to look at.  I wish I had some more festive glasses, but don’t worry…I linked some below!

Ingredients:

-fresh grapefruit

-champagne

-optional fresh sage

-for a non alcoholic version use sparkling water instead of champagne 😉

Directions:

This is pretty straightforward, but all I had to do was mix some fresh grapefruit juice and champagne.  I was just making a few of these drinks so I squeezed the grapefruit directly into the glass after adding the champagne.  If you need to make it for a larger crowd, I would recommend juicing your grapefruit ahead of time.  For a little more touch of color and flavor you can add a couple leaves of fresh sage.  The best part of the drink is the grapefruit wedge garnish, so don’t forget to add that 😉