comfort me with cuteness

When the economy plummets, comfort food’s popularity soars. After all, a night on the town may seem too expensive, but a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese does not.

Also popular during times of economic strife? The more budget-savvy approach to socializing:  entertaining at home.

And if you take these two trends and roll them into one, you get a pretty appealing option — a party with only cost-conscious comfort foods. Go even easier on the budget by calling it a potluck. For added interest, you can follow corporate America’s lead and downsize your comfort foods to create mini versions that will have guests proclaiming their cuteness before devouring them whole.

Here are some teeny-tiny, totally cute options:

• Buy some phyllo cups and fill them with macaroni and cheese. To make your mac extra-special without getting too labor-intensive, get a boxed variety (I like white cheddar) and add stuff.  You’re in charge, so throw in what you like: blanched broccoli or asparagus, prosciutto, breadcrumbs, chives, more cheese or whatever.
• Here’s a mini must-have: mini pigs in a blanket and its vegetarian cousin: mini soy-based pigs in a blanket.
• Tip: Muffin tins are amazing. Make a meatloaf and instead of using your bread pan, use the muffin tin for mini meatloaves. Or, even easier: Heat up some mini meatballs.
• Baby carrots are essentially downsized regular carrots, no? Put those out with some ranch dip. And go a little novel by offering those crazy-tiny champagne grapes. It’s probably pushing it on the comfort food front, but they’re so bizarrely small and fascinating, we must have them!
• Are quiches comfort food? Let’s pretend they are, and add mini quiches to the menu too.
• Shooter glassware is your friend for pint-size portions. Note: Shooters are larger than shots — think of the shooter as the toddler equivalent to the baby shot-glass size. Use shooters for small, individual servings, such as Jell-O.  A round of milkshake shooters would also be super-cute — get vanilla ice cream and add ingredients to create different rounds of flavors: chocolate syrup, strawberries, or peanut butter and banana. (Is this anyone else's childhood favorite or just mine?)  For extra nostalgia, add whipped cream and a cherry.
• Cupcakes — and the even smaller mini-cupcakes, above in strawberry-lemon-Funfetti flavor — are always, always a hit. Seriously. Get some.

Comments

Those ubiquitous baby carrots?
They are in a bag in everybody's refrigerator.
I would NEVER put them out at a party.
How common!

With hors d'oeuvres typically costing more than a buffet dinner, I think these are useful ideas for someone wanting to throw a party on a budget. And we always like the baby carrots!