If you once celebrated a birthday at work, then you know how difficult it is. Without a fairy godmother, you need to invent, cook, cut, and still have energy left for beauty, receiving gifts, listening to toasts and cleaning up after. And no one canceled their work responsibilities.
How to make you want to celebrate this holiday every day, and not rest for 2 weeks after? The secrets are proper organization and a thoughtful menu!
In this article: birthday menu, ready-made and proven recipes, rules for creating a menu, shopping list. Save this article to your bookmarks, print it out (or rewrite your shopping list) and start bringing it to life by cooking easily, tasty and with pleasure!
Rules for creating a birthday menu:
1) Each organization has its own traditions of celebrating birthdays. Usually, there is an unwritten law: the fewer people in the team, the greater the expectations from the hero of the occasion. If there are 5-6 people participating in the holiday, then there may be several salads, main courses, snacks, and cake on the table; if 10-12, then the table can consist of sausage and cheese slices, fruits, vegetables and sweets; members of a team of more than 15 people celebrate with sweets. However, there can always be exceptions. We will present an option for each table.
2) The dishes that will be on the table must:
- be prepared in advance;
- prepare in a minimum amount of time;
- easy to pack and transport.
3) It is important to think through all the necessary little things (napkins, disposable tableware, corkscrew, knives, board). What will be especially beautiful on the table is not the usual disposable white plastic tableware, but colored paper tableware. If finances allow, you can purchase 1-2 sets of inexpensive glasses. It’s budget-friendly, but it looks completely different from disposable tableware, and your colleagues will say “thank you” more than once.
4) The number and types of drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) must be determined taking into account the tastes and capabilities of all those participating in the celebration.
5) The shopping list must be compiled and sold no later than 2 days before the birthday.
Considering all of the above, we offer the option
BIRTHDAY MENU IN THE OFFICE – 1
of quick, tasty and proven recipes for 5-6 people :
Main course: Lazy fresh herb pies
Salads: Squid salad, Lettuce salad
Appetizers: Pepper rings stuffed with cottage cheese and herbs and eggs stuffed with mushrooms.
Cake : Drunken Cherry Cake
The active preparation time for each recipe takes 10-15 minutes , cake preparation takes 35 minutes. Total active preparation time for a 5-course birthday menu in the office: 2 hours .
The number of products indicated in the menu is designed for a company of 4 people (except for the cake, it is designed for 8 people). If you are planning that there will be a larger number of people at your birthday party, then simply multiply the number of products you need by 2, 3, 4 times.
In order for the holiday to be a joy, and for you to have time for everything, you need to follow
ACTION PLAN:
3 days before your birthday:
Determine the number of people present at the celebration, the required quantity and types of drinks, and the necessary important details. Add this information to your shopping list.
2 days before your birthday:
Buy food, drinks, important small items in accordance with the shopping list, the basis for which is given below.
1 day before your birthday:
In the morning: remove the butter and eggs from the refrigerator and let them warm, pour cognac or vodka over the cherries for the Drunken Cherry Cake.
In the evening: boil squid and eggs, leave to cool.
Make the cake and put it in the refrigerator. Prepare Peppers stuffed with cottage cheese and herbs, Lazy pies and filling for stuffed eggs.
Prepare all the ingredients for the salads (cut the squid, wash the cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, herbs).
On the day of the holiday:
The cake and main course are ready. All that remains is to prepare salads, cut snacks, vegetables, fruits, and stuff eggs. It is convenient to use the help of colleagues; usually they respond with pleasure to a request for support in such a situation.
SHOPPING LIST
Vegetables, fruits, greens
Lettuce leaves - 400 gr. Cucumbers - 2 pcs. Tomatoes - 2 pcs. Sweet pepper - 3 pcs. (It is better to take peppers of different colors) Feathered onions - 1 bunch + 1 pc. Dill - 2 bunches + 3 sprigs Parsley - 2 bunches + 3 sprigs Garlic - 5 cloves Cherry - 200 gr. (you can use frozen)
Nuts, seeds, dried fruits
Walnuts - 50 gr.
Meat, fish, eggs
Eggs - 15 pcs. Squid – 900 g Red caviar – for decoration
Dairy
Cheese - 150 gr. Milk - 2 tbsp. Cottage cheese - 100 g. Butter - 300 gr. Sour cream - 200 gr. Condensed milk - 0.3 cans
Groceries, etc.
Cocoa powder - 7 tbsp. Flour - 1.5 tbsp. Olive oil - 5 tbsp. Yeast puff pastry - 1 package (500 g). The package of dough should contain 2 layers. Mayonnaise – 150 gr. Mushrooms - 300 g frozen porcini. If there are no wild mushrooms, you can replace them with champignons. Sugar - 255 gr. Cognac or vodka - 100 gr. Soda - 1/2 tsp.
Spices and seasonings
Vinegar - 1 tsp. Salt - to taste Black pepper - to taste
Beverages:
Alcoholic drinks Water Juices Carbonated drinks
Important details:
Napkins Kitchen towels Disposable plates Disposable cups (or glasses) Disposable forks and spoons Kitchen board Knives Corkscrew Tablecloth
The sandwich will taste better if...
... if you grease the bread with mustard oil (for 200 g of softened butter - 1 tablespoon of ready-made mustard from a jar) ... prepare the cheese cream (in a blender, beat 150 g of hard cheese, 150 soft cream cheese, 2 cloves of garlic and several sprigs of herbs, 1 /2 cups cream 20-22%) ... put a piece of sausage or boiled pork on tartar sauce (add 30 g of finely chopped pickled cucumbers, 1 tablespoon each of chopped capers and green onions to 150 grams of mayonnaise, cool for 30 minutes, pour in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste).
As a rule, more than one person prepares a buffet at work, so you can distribute in advance among colleagues who can do what at home in advance. Approximate design of sandwiches in the picture:
sandwich meat yourself. Believe me, your colleagues will highly appreciate a natural homemade product, it just takes a little effort! The meat is easy to prepare - HERE is my detailed recipe for boiled pork in pictures.
BIRTHDAY MENU IN THE OFFICE -2
of snacks and fruits and vegetables for 9-12 people :
The format of such a table for employees involves a large number of snacks, cheese and ham and sausage slices, and for dessert: Light white cake. This menu option is simpler than the previous one, but requires more effort to decorate the festive table.
ACTION PLAN:
3 days before your birthday:
Determine the exact number of people present at the celebration, the required quantity and types of drinks, and the necessary important details. Add information to your shopping list.
2 days before your birthday:
Buy food, drinks, important small items in accordance with the shopping list, the basis for which is given below.
1 day before your birthday:
Prepare a light white cake.
On the day of the holiday:
1 hour before the start of the holiday, asking your colleagues for help, cut cheese and sausage, fruits, vegetables, lay out black olives and/or olives, mushrooms, and decorate with herbs.
SHOPPING LIST
(for 12 people)
Main snacks:
Bread (2-3 varieties): white, Borodino, etc. - 2 loaves of Borodino, 2 loaves of white bread.
Sliced sausages (sausage, ham and other smoked meats) – 1.2 kg
Cheese 2-3 varieties. -1.2 kg.
Olives, black olives – 3 jars
Pickles, Korean salads -1.5 kg.
Marinated mushrooms-600 gr.
Greens: 2-3 bunches
Fruits (apples, kiwi, bananas, oranges) -2.5 kg.
Vegetables (tomatoes in the winter season can be replaced with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers) -1.5 kg.
For the cake:
Oranges - 3 pcs. Bananas - 2 pcs. Muesli - 1 glass Corn flakes - 1 glass White chocolate - 250 gr. Kefir - 500 gr. Heavy cream - 200 ml. (fat content at least 33%, otherwise they won’t whip) Gelatin - 40 gr. Sugar - 250 gr.
Beverages:
Alcoholic drinks Water Juices Carbonated drinks
Important details:
Napkins Kitchen towels Disposable plates Disposable cups (or glasses) Disposable forks and spoons Kitchen board Knives Corkscrew Tablecloth
The best snack is canapes
The main dish in terms of beauty and flavor combination may well be canapés. You can make as many different types of canapés as you can using pre-prepared ingredients (still keeping vegetarians in mind). For example, with meat and fish, as well as with rye and wheat bread. And then anything can be used: gherkins or fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, pickled mushrooms. A red grape or olive will perfectly complete the delicious “pyramids”. Chop the ingredients for the canapés the night before, and at work, arrange them in any order.
Article on the topic
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Prepare ham with cheese on skewers. Buy a ham and ask the seller to cut it thinner. Grease each ham circle with feta cheese, place a strip of red sweet pepper in the center, roll into a roll and secure with a skewer. Place the appetizer on lettuce leaves.
And finally, a small note. The whole “strategy” of such a menu is that the set of ingredients for different dishes may turn out to be imperceptibly standard. Gherkins, olives and grapes will create an assortment, and at the same time will be used to prepare and decorate dishes. The same goes for cold cuts, salmon, cheese and bread. This will significantly reduce your costs and at the same time make the table bright and varied.
BIRTHDAY MENU IN THE OFFICE -3
Sweet table for 15 people
If you decide to celebrate your birthday at work with a sweet table, then there is also something to surprise your colleagues. You can prepare a French king pie with 4 different fillings (essentially these are 4 pies with the same dough, but different contents), the cooking technology allows you to do this quickly, different fillings will suit every taste.
ACTION PLAN:
3 days before your birthday:
Determine the quantity and types of drinks (if necessary), important details. Add information to your shopping list.
2 days before your birthday:
Buy products for the pie, drinks, important little things in accordance with the shopping list.
1 day before your birthday:
Prepare a French king cake with 4 different fillings
On the day of the holiday:
Cut the pies, announce the beginning of the holiday 
Sweet…
I decided to throw in a very cute idea here!
I saw it in a magazine and immediately scanned it for you :-). a Christmas tree made of candies will look very original (if your buffet at work was organized for the New Year) or just a “tree of happiness” made of candies if you are celebrating something else. How are you celebrating at your office? Write in the comments the most successful snack recipes that your colleagues rated especially highly.
I also remembered one of my recipes for lemon pie, which is easy to transport and men really like for the taste of the filling with zest. Try it!
