The moment our sister Nancy hears that a family member or close family friend is getting married, the first words out of her mouth are, “We’ll have to throw you a shower!” I’m sure she got this from our Granny as over the years Granny hosted dozens of showers at her house. So, it came as no surprise to us when we became the co-hosts of a baby shower for our cousin Jeff’s future grandson.

The shower was to be held at my house and the five of us co-hosting it would all provide food. I was also in charge of games, which became tricky as everyone provided input as to which games they hate and did not want to be played at the shower. The “don’t play” list left me with only the “guess the girth of the mother-to-be” game. The rules of this game are to have the guests cut string or toilet paper the length of what they think will wrap around the stomach of the mother-to-be. The person with the length of string or TP that  comes closest to fitting around the mother-to-be wins. I also passed out raffle tickets and had a drawing for door prizes as everyone loves to win a prize.

Leslie, the aunt-to-be, was in charge of the invitations, which she had printed. I used the color scheme from the invitations for the food table and floral arrangements. I was able to find a blue tablecloth and napkins at Kohl’s on clearance that matched the blue on the invitation. I got 5″x5″ square white plates from World Market for the appetizers and cake, and a dark brown tray to hold the forks and plates. I love these plates and have already used them a few times since the shower.

White plates and dark brown tray from World Market

We served a variety of appetizers at the shower. We had dates and blue cheese wrapped in bacon, spinach dip served in a sourdough bread bowl, spring rolls, egg rolls, a south of the border shrimp cocktail, jalapeno hummus, mini quiches, fresh strawberries, and crackers and cheese. We had a serve yourself appetizer table, but passed most of the hot appetizers. Our local Safeway makes a great strawberry and whipped cream cake, so grandma-to-be Vicki picked the cake up on her way into town. I served a punch made with Hawaii’s Own passion orange concentrate and ginger ale. This punch often has people asking for the recipe.

Dates and blue cheese wrapped in bacon

Spinach dip in a sourdough bowl

Coctel de Camarones, a south of the border shrimp cocktail

As usual we had enough food for about 4x the number of people at the shower. Fortunately, we were having a family gathering at the party barn that night, so after the shower we packed up the extra food and headed for the hills.

Below is the recipe for the shrimp cocktail, which really has a great flavor. The avocado, garlic, and cilantro really complement the shrimp.

Coctel de Camarones 

– Serves 8

(Shrimp Cocktail from South of the Border)

Ingredients

• Juice of one fresh lime
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green or red onion
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 4 ripe tomatoes – chopped
• 8 ounces cocktail sauce (regular or spicy)
• 2 pounds cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 ripe avocado – peeled, pitted and chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions

In a large bowl mix together lime juice, onion, garlic, cilantro, tomatoes and cocktail sauce. Mix in shrimp, and lightly toss in avocado. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you like more of a kick, add in a dash of fresh horseradish, minced jalapeno or hot sauce. Cover and chill for 2 to 3 hours. Serve in martini or wine glass and garnish with a sprig of cilantro or lime wedge. Serves 8.

Happy Monday to you!

~merry~