I grew up in Florida and we spent every weekend on the Gulf Coast on our boat. We would cruise to a nearby island, and most weekends we would have the entire beach to ourselves as far as we could see. It was such a beautiful place and when we had seafood, it was fresh off the local boats. I have a tender spot in my heart for anything coastal. So when I walked in to Swoozie’s and laid my eyes on their coastal line, I knew a party was in my future! I hope you enjoy our Goin’ Coastal Seaside Soiree!
For our Seaside Soiree, we served a variety of seafood dishes. We had Crab Salad in pastry shells (see recipe below), shrimp wrapped in bacon on top of arugula leaves, and homemade garlic butter with mini wheat crackers. One of my favorite seafood restaurants on the Gulf Coast serves garlic butter with crackers as an appetizer, and I just had to make some for our gathering! So good!
We also served a Crawfish Low Country Boil with fresh corn, potatoes and crawfish, and I wrapped sections of a French bread loaf in paper party bags & tied them with baker’s twine to round out our menu. We paired our meal with a white wine served in these Govino plastic crystal wine glasses.
And to finish our meal with a sweet ending, I created donut hole skewers. A friend made some for a dear friend’s baby shower last weekend and they were so yummy, I knew I had to make some for this gathering. I added a candy crab to the top of each skewer to continue our theme. Just melt the candy and pour into this mold. Then place the mold in the freezer for 10 minutes. When the candy has hardened, you can remove the crabs from the mold. Then just take a little bit of melted candy and squeeze some on the top of your skewer and place the candy crab on top. For best results, put the entire skewer into the refrigerator to harden the candy and secure the candy crab to the top of the skewer. The kids really loved this detail!
I hope you are inspired by our Coastal gathering. These ideas would be perfect for Labor Day or a celebration to end the summer and get ready for back to school!
As promised, here is the Crab Salad Recipe
(as shared by Rotricia Coley of CreateCookCapture.com)
Crab Salad Recipe (Makes 18 to 20)
Set the oven to 375 degrees and place wonton wrappers (brush with oil on both sides) in mini muffin pan and bake for 8 minutes. Let cool and store in air tight container if not using the same day.
Dressing: Juice from 2 regular size limes (or 1 large), grated zest from the lime. Add salt, pepper to taste. If you like a little kick add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 2 tablespoons of olive or sunflower oil. I mix and shake mine in small mason jars in case I have extra and to save on dishes.
Salad: 1/2 lb of fresh lump crab meat, 1 finely diced celery stalk, finely diced mango (1 med size) or half a large, 2 to 3 scallions (white and green) and fresh chopped cilantro (2 tablespoons)
Enjoy!
SOURCES: STYLING, DESIGN, & PHOTOGRAPHY: AMY OF AMY’S PARTY IDEAS | INVITES: SWOOZIES | PRINTABLES: LULU COLE | SERVING PIECES & CERAMIC DISHES: SWOOZIES | IKAT TABLE RUNNER: TARGET | TABLECLOTH: TABLEVOGUE
Keisha - Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams says
That makes this New England girl want Lobster now!!!! LOL Everything looks fantastic!
Amy's Party Ideas says
Thank you Keisha! Wish you could have enjoyed the feast with us!
Fizzy Party says
I grew up an hour from the Oregon coast and still live that close. I love coastal parties. This party makes me want to go buy all the coastal goods from Swoozies so I can have my own coastal party. Such great details and colours.
Amy's Party Ideas says
Thank you Tiffany! I’d love to still be that close to the ocean. There is nothing quite like the sound of the waves and the sand between your toes and som good fresh seafood!
Rotricia says
This coastal line is beautiful…perfect for a seafood boil. The crab candy on the doughnut fruit skewers are a nice touch :-).
Amy's Party Ideas says
Thanks Rotricia! Your ideas worked perfectly for this event too!
Sara says
I love this Amy! You did a gorgeous job! What a great idea to top the skewers with candy crabs….I thought those were porcelain and had to read on to find out where you got those cute toothpicks! I love all of it.
Amy's Party Ideas says
Thank you Sara! You are too sweet!!!