nicoleckrause's Profile

Add another vote for Alias. I must be on my 3rd viewing of the entire season by now. However, the worst I have ever been is the holidays after I finished college, I watch the entire 10 Seasons of Stargate plus Atlantis and most of Universe in a month. More recently, The West Wing, I can't remember how many times I saw the sun come up after "just one more episode".

Also, yes to Doctor Who, Community, IT Crowd, Being Human (the BBC version), Fringe and Arrested Development. I also recently watched the first two season of Nikita and was pleasantly surprised- it's kind of like a combination of DollHouse and Alias.

Like a few of the posters above we often plan our nights around the games and ask each guest to bring one to play. At the moment our favourites are Bananagrams, a great scrabble-like word game and Jungle Speed, which is a very fun and hectic card game. We also invented a game we called ERS or extremely ridiculous snap which is a combination of the rules of snap and the rules of strip jack naked. My friends are so competitive and violent we ever had to introduce a blood rule!

Maybe try here? http://www.taste.com.au/search-recipes/?q=dairy+free&publication=

In my experience kids like anything they can pick up and eat easily so things like dip platters with carrot, celery and red pepper sticks and cheese cubes are a must. Likewise, platters of fresh cut fruit in lots of colors will appease both young and old.

You could also try vegetarian spring rolls which can be made a few hours in advance and then covered with a damp tea towel to keep this fresh. Or you can cut all your filling ingredients up ahead of time and then assemble them just before your guests arrive.

Savory pastry pin wheels are easy to make and can be made in advance and refrigerated (or even frozen) until time to serve. Just spread sheets of store bought puff pastry with tomato paste/pesto/olive paste top with vegetables of your choice (capsicum and mushrooms work well) and grated cheese. Roll up and cut into 2cm think slices, place on a baking tray and cook in a moderate-hot over until golden brown and puffy. You can make vegetarian pizzas in a similar way by cutting small circles out of the pastry and topping them with vegetables and cheese (for a more adult version try caramelized onion and goat cheese)

Also mini quiches, sushi, exciting finger sandwiches (think sliced roasted vegetable and pesto), tomato, bocconcini and basil on toothpicks and vegetarian arancini are all other good choices that can either be made ahead of time and served cold and can be easily adapted for both children and adults.

The finger food collection from www.taste.com.au is full of inspiration too.

Have an amazing party! Good Luck :)