BREAD BASKETS

My husband and I do a great deal of entertaining. We have always enjoyed having friends over. We prefer to have a dinner party at our home to going out to a restaurant. In the home setting there is more comfortable seating and you can take your time with your food. I also enjoy setting the table and having different themes for the dinners. I have collected many serving dishes and bread baskets through the years that I use when setting the table. I have found that I like using certain dishes with certain foods. I believe that food tastes better when it is presented well.

I have several different colors in serving bowls. The bread baskets that I use are also in a variety of colors and shapes and sizes. One of my favorite things to do is to serve hearty appetizers rather than a meal when we have a group of people. This allows people to mingle and I do not have to worry about seating people by each other. When I do the hearty appetizers I always start with what the spread, meat, cheese or seafood is going to sit on. I buy and make specialty crackers, wafers and breads. These are placed in the different bread baskets. By starting with a flavorful fresh base the toppings are going to taste better. Most people like crackers wafers and breads, and many people will eat them plain. I make sure to keep the bread baskets filled with a variety of choices. I arrange the toppers on different serving trays. I like to provide both warm and cold appetizers. The hot appetizers I serve a few at a time so that they are always a good temperature. When I am serving homemade bread I like to keep it warm. I place ceramic warming stones in the bottom of the bread baskets. The warming stones are placed in the oven to heat. Each stone will hold its heat for about thirty minutes. I have several stones that I can switch in and out of the bread baskets.

I like to include several kinds of sweets or a main dessert to round out the finger food evening. I find that people enjoy a variety of sweets that are cut in smaller pieces so that more than one can be sampled. I always use china plates and make sure that there are clean plates and forks for the desserts. We also serve a variety of drinks both with and without alcohol. The drinks like the food are set out for people to help themselves. This makes for a relaxed atmosphere so that people will visit and eat as they want. This is a great way to introduce friends or neighbors that have yet to meet.