Not Your Ordinary Bridal Shower

June is still the traditional wedding month. I hear that August, September and October are giving June a run for the number one month, but there is something about the month of June that feels bridal. If the wedding is later in the summer or early fall, then give a bridal shower in June and take advantage of the season of strawberries, roses, peonies, and wonderful weather (well, usually).

And speaking of strawberries, roses and peonies, they all come in shades of that girly color, pink. Yes I know that showers these days can be co-ed, but I still prefer the traditional female get together where the “girls” can play silly games, keep the ribbons for a rehearsal bouquet, and make cutesy decorations in pink or fuchsia.

I was one of the lucky guests at just such an ultra feminine bridal shower last year at the Alexander Mansion B&B in Winona and I loved it. We drew pictures of the bride on top of our heads, made lists of the bride and groom’s preferences from color to pet names and compared them with the real thing. We laughed and drank creamy punch, loved the centerpieces wrapped in tulle and watched the bride open kitchen gadgets in—you guessed it—everything pink. We oohed and aahed over the beautiful cupcakes in a rainbow of colors and flavors, and admired each other’s shoes while we won points in another game with the contents of our purses. This is not a man’s environment, although any guy would have liked the assorted sandwiches, pasta salad and yummy salsa. The salsa is sometimes called Texas caviar and is also known as Cowboy salad. I guess that is masculine enough.

Punch is always a fun way to serve the beverage—I loved the creamy pink concoction served at the shower I attended—but they had a second choice that was even better. It was just a juice mixture to which you could add champagne. I didn’t get the recipe, but came home and came up with one I loved.

Here’s a menu that looks beautiful and “girly” and tastes delicious too. Choose either the “from scratch” method or the short and easy version:

Pink punch
Sandwich selections
Salami cornucopias
Texas caviar and chips
Pasta salad
Assorted cupcakes


Pink punch

1 750-ml bottle cranberry cocktail
1 pint pomegranate juice
1 2 ltr bottle strawberry soda
Strawberry ice ring

Pink champagne

Mix cranberry cocktail and pomegranate juice and refrigerate until serving time. When ready to serve, put cranberry mixture into punch bowl with strawberry ice ring and slowly pour strawberry soda into bowl. Open regular or pink champagne and place in an ice bucket next to the punch bowl for those who would like to add some sparkly to their punch.

Strawberry ice ring:

Fill metal ring molds with water tinted pink. Freeze until almost set. Place whole washed strawberries around ring, evenly spaced. Freeze until solid. Unmold by dipping ring into warm water briefly, careful not to let water come over the rim.

Sandwiches

Open face cream cheese and cucumber on wild rice bread
Buttered Peasant bread (hearty, seeded) with roast beef slices
Ham and very thin sliced Swiss cheese on deli rye with Durkee sauce spread

Salami cornucopias

Roll deli thin-sliced salami into cornucopia shapes; fasten with toothpicks on which a pickle slice is skewered. Mix a garlic flavored soft cheese such as Boursin with enough half and half to thin it a bit. Beat until fluffy. Carefully fill cornucopias with cheese mixture.

Texas Caviar

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz.) shoe-peg corn, drained
1 can (15 oz.) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
5 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
½ cup thinly sliced green onions, white and green included
½ cup minced fresh cilantro

1 Tbsp. lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt*

Mix first eight ingredients in large bowl. Mix together lime juice, garlic cloves, sugar and salt in a lidded jar. Shake until well mixed and pour over ingredients in bowl. Serve as a salad or with chips as a salsa.

*can use low-fat Italian dressing in place of last four ingredients.

Everything was delicious and beautiful and we all had fun. The husbands that came along had been sitting around the kitchen table and all the leftovers were gone when we packed up to go home.