Assembling a Large Cheese and Meat Platter

This cheese and meat platter was the focal point of my daughter's birthday party so I wanted it to really stand out.  I have a lot of large platters which I normally use when making one of these for an event, however I wanted something larger for this party so I had to think outside of the box. the platter held sliced, imported Italian meats, assorted cheeses, truffled mustard, fall honeycomb, nuts, olives and grapes.  A pate de campagne which I also made was served on a smaller platter on the side.

 I went to a local recycling store and found this old window.

 Not only was it perfect for what I had in mind, it was only 5.00!

 I removed all of the hardware, plugged all of the holes with wood putty and sanded it down. I spray painted the frame and turned it over and sprayed the underside of the glass with mirror paint.  Then I trimmed it out with heavy rope and had the perfect serving tray for the event.  You can click on the first pic for a closer look.

 I made so many bread sticks that they almost made me cry.  I made a double recipe and they took 9 hours to make.

 I made hundreds of crackers.

 I also marinated and broiled 3 large flank steaks, cut them into thin slices and served them rolled up on toothpicks.

 Always a favorite, I made brown sugar, bacon wrapped smokies. Lots of them.

 These are one of my daughter's favorites, Asian chicken salad sandwiches on pullman bread with toasted sesame seed edges.

I ordered 50 of her favorite petite fours instead of having a big cake.  When I was little these were my favorites too and the same bakery still makes them.

The bread sticks were served with thinly sliced proscuitto.