ideas for party food?

[Sandra Long]

I'm planning a party for about 20 people. It'll be on a Saturday at noon. Kind of weird time for an adult party, but I didn't have a choice. I'm thinking people will be expecting a full lunch because of the time. I don't have room to do a sit-down meal, nor do I want to, I'd like people up and socializing. Any ideas for substantial stuff to serve that won't break the bank but still seem a little "special occasion"? My first thought was a variety of homemade small sandwiches, but I don't know if that's too complicated/boring.

Thanks!!  

[Amanda]

Bacon-wrapped figs are on the pricey side but soooo good!

Maybe a sort-of fancy pizza (goat cheese and arugula with walnuts, carmelized onion and ham, etc) cut into squares that are easy to eat as finger food? Or these no-knead baguettes cut up served with roasted nuts/cheese/fruit?

But your idea of tasty sandwiches is definitely not boring at all and would probably appeal to most guests. What type of party is it?

[Sandra Long]

Thanks for the suggestions! It's a 70th birthday surprise party for my mom and aunt (they're twins). They both lean vegetarian so I'm trying to have good veggie options too.

[Karen Bowness]

maybe you could do small soup servings of something blended and therefore sippable? soup is cheap, easy to make vegetarian, and easy to scale up - maybe sweet potato, or cauliflower or something wintery? if you have lots of coffee cups or tea cups or similar (try the dollar store?) there's no assembly required, either. you could toast some baguette to go with, if you wanted. 

[sb]

Oooo I think the best thing would be to serve something brunch-ish?  You could do slices of frittatas or quiche instead of sandwiches (both are relatively inexpensive to make, based on the ingredients, since they use a lot of eggs/potatos), and then also have muffins or scones (again, usually relatively inexpensive).

The only problem with this would probably be the prep time required, but muffins/scones could be made ahead.  

Off the top of my head/bookmarks list, a couple of ideas:
http://www.food.com/recipe/spinach-feta-frittata-19310
http://www.food.com/recipe/cheddar-coarse-black-pepper-muffins-86076
http://joythebaker.com/2012/06/lemon-blueberry-poppy-seed-muffins/

The Smitten Kitchen cookbook also has a really great potato/feta/scallion/bacon frittata recipe that I could forward along if you'd like!

[Sandra Long]

Love the brunch idea! And the soup! Thanks, guys!