Tropical Bridal Shower

I love hosting parties and making my guests smile. When one of my best friends announced that she was going to get married on St. Thomas, I knew I had to throw her a bridal shower to celebrate. Parties can be as complicated or as simple as you want to make them. I prefer making 90 percent of my foods from scratch and ordering a cake from my trusty baker.

Sticking to a theme is an excellent way to keep organized and cohesive throughout your planning, prep and execution. Since Nikki was getting married on St. Thomas, I created a tropical theme for the entire party.

Fried Plaintains and Guacamole
5-7 plaintains
peanut oil
sea salt
pepper
3 avocados
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno
1 clove garlic
1 roma tomato
cilantro
blue chips

Plaintains can be a little difficult but if done correctly can be delicious! Plaintains can be done a few different ways, you can make little thin discs, long thin slices or giant chunks. If you want crispy plaintains choose one of the first two. For this bridal shower, I chose the small discs. Heat up your peanut oil til bubbling, slice up your plaintains and slowly dip into the oil using your wire utensil. Cook for just a few minutes until golden brown and let rest on paper towels. When all the plaintains are fried, let rest while making the guacamole.

Guacamole should be simple, mash up your avocados, dice up your onion, tomatoes and garlic. Mix everything together, add in a minced jalapeno and diced cilantro. Mix altogether, add salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime to taste. I also served blue corn chips in case the plaintains went fast.


Coconut Meatballs with an Agave Glaze
1 lb of ground beef
coconut flakes
plain bread crumbs
1 egg
salt
pepper
agave nectar

Add egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and a bit of the coconut flakes to the ground beef. Mix together very well then form into one inch balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Drizzle agave nectar on top and toss in remaining coconut flakes.

Tropical Baked Brie
one medium wheel of brie
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup dried mango
2 Tbsp agave nectar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 sheet of puffed pastry

Roll out your puffed pastry, cut wheel of brie into two big circle slices. Mix together nuts, coconut, dried mango, agave nectar and brown sugar. Put 3/4 of the mixture in the middle between the halves of brie. Place top half of brie on top and wrap with the puffed pastry. Flip over so the smooth side is on top and add remaining nut mixure on top and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve with crackers or bread. This can be made with really any nut and dried fruit, perfect for any season.

Chicken 'n Veggie Skewers
1 pound of chicken tenders
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
olive oil
salt
pepper
wooden skewers

Soak the wooden skewers for about 20 minutes in water, before using on the grill so they do not catch on fire. Skewer the chicken and chunks of the vegetables. Grill for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Pork Loin Sliders
1 lb pork loin
yeast rolls (frozen or homemade)
mango glaze (recipe follows)

Drizzle olive oil over your pork loin and add any spices you prefer. I added salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Then bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes (depending on size). Let your yeast rolls rise and bake for about 10 minutes.

Mango Glaze
1 small champagne mango
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp agave nectar
pinch of salt
squeeze of one lemon

Puree mango together with all the ingredients. Make sure you taste to see if you need to add more sugar or lemon.

Once the pork is done, let rest for 10 minutes and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Slice up the rolls as well. Spread your mango glaze on the rolls and add the pork.


Fruit Skewers
2 cups strawberries
1 large mango
5 kiwis

Fruit skewers are easiest with firmer fruits, slice in a delicate, pretty way and add to the skewers. Serve with a fresh whipped cream.

The cake was made by my favorite local baker, I requested a French vanilla cake with mango in between the slices with a buttercream frosting and large coconut flakes on the outside. I had a Hawaiian quote placed on the top to stay with the tropical theme.

As far as the decor went, I used beach towels as the table cloths and added sea shells on top. I created bridal advice cards that went on the table as well. For flowers, you want to choose the best for your theme so birds of paradise would work perfectly.

The bridal shower was a huge success! All of these recipes are quite easy and most of all they are delicious! I hope this helps give you the courage to throw a party for one of your dear friends.

Enjoy! xo Lo