Couples Shower - His and Hers Menu

Let's travel back in time to the FIRST post ever put up on Apron Adventures (5 years ago this month!!), Say Thank You with Salmon. Remember that dear friend Meg I mentioned? Well, she's getting married! I was tickled pink to be in charge of the menu for the couple's shower the bridesmaids hosted this weekend. Her groom-to-be, Matt, is quite the foodie, while Megan has a bit more conservative taste when it comes to food. So, I thought a His and Hers menu would be more than fitting to showcase their varied (but always delicious) tastes in food. Here's what was on the line up:

His

• Caramelized Onion Tart from Simply Recipes
• Mini Crab Cakes from Annie's Eats
• Wasabi Shrimp with Avocado on Rice Crackers, from Steamy Kitchen (courtesy of What's Gaby Cooking)
• Pineland Maine cheddar (where the groom is from)
• Strawberry Balsamic Cupcakes from Annie's Eats (note, I made a traditional buttercream frosting instead and stirred in the strawberry mixture to be more stable for sitting out a few hours)

Hers

• Sandwich sliders with turkey, Robusto, mustard and raspberry jam
• Veggies and Green Goddess Dip from Ellie Krieger on the Food Network
• Bacon wrapped dates (recipe  below)
• Texas Pure Luck goat cheese (where the bride is from)
• Mac and Cheese Bites from Annie's Eats
• Lemon Cupcakes from Real Simple

The nice thing about the menu is that you didn't need a fork for anything! In addition to the cupcakes, the crab cakes and mac and cheese were also both baked in muffin tins so they were easy to crab and eat. The shrimp came on its own serving vessel with the cracker and the bacon wrapped dates had their own toothpicks for easy consumption. No fork = a hand to hold a glass of beer or wine  - everyone wins!

Bacon-wrapped dates

10 slices of bacon
30 dates
Blue cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano or marcona almonds (optional)
30 toothpicks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut bacon slices into three equal pieces (so you'll now have 30 total). If stuffing the dates, make a vertical slice in each and insert small piece of cheese or almond and close the date around it. Wrap each date with one piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on a broiler pan (so that the bacon grease has somewhere to drip while baking and doesn't prevent the bacon from crisping up) and bake for 30 minutes. Check to make sure bacon is done and cook an additional 5 minutes, if needed. Remove from oven and serve warm!