Care for a bite?

I was dwelling on food yesterday, coming up with a menu suitable for a small crowd of people who will be arriving at various times throughout the afternoon. Planning for something like this raises a bit of a challenge, as the goal is to have food that is not going to take a great deal of last-minute prep and finishing and to have food that can stand being at room temperature for a bit as people drift in and out.

We had planned to have people over for the early game, but it turns out that everyone but us seems to have plans for early afternoon. Fortunately, football season affords us an afternoon game and then an evening game on Sundays, so there will still be football for those arriving later. The upside of people not coming until later in the afternoon is that I don’t have to get up with the sun to smoke ribs. As I told someone via email, given the problems I have sleeping, this is probably a good thing.

The menu:

Smoked ribs (homemade rub, homemade bbq sauce or sauces, depending on how ambitious I feel)
Guacamole
Hummus
Roasted vegetables
Caprese salad
Mushroom, caramelized onion, and goat cheese tart
Roasted red pepper and sweet potato soup
Deviled eggs
Fresh, homemade pitas
Lemon bars

I am thinking that we need another veggie or side to go with the ribs, and I’d like to make some of my cinnamon bread (cinnamon raisin for those weirdos who eat cooked raisins in their bread).

That should be plenty for about a dozen people moving in and out. There’s always room for one more, though, so as always, if you’re in the area, feel free to stop by.