Baby shower ~ spring menu

I am so sorry to leave my readers without a food related post for the last week+... Been a busy girl!  
Last Sunday my mom, dad and I hosted a baby shower for my very cute and very pregnant sister, Jenn and my brother in law, Nat.  It was a day that required lots of planning and prep and it turned out to be a beautiful day.  Mom flew in from NY so a lot of our planning was done over the phone prior to her visit.  We hadn't decided 100% on a menu until she arrived on Wednesday so we spent the next three days planning, shopping and cooking up a storm!  Here is the final (very spring veggie oriented) menu:

apps:

mixed olives

layered cheese and pesto torta

tomato and basil bruschetta

brown sugar and honey glazed nuts

main:

antipasto platter

asparagus tart

chopped salad

bowtie pasta and sun dried tomato salad

mom's meatballs

dessert:

"oh baby" sheet cake with lemon filling

fruit salad

strawberry shortcake cookies (take home favors)

We decided not to cook a turkey breast or something time consuming and hot because we ended up with 85 degree weather on Sunday.  It was a smart decision!  The food came out great - although the chefs (mom and I) had a couple of mistakes in the kitchen (for example: my first puff pastry for the asparagus tart "puffed up" too much so I had to make another one), I don't think anyone at the party had a clue of our mistakes though.  Everything looked great and more importantly tasted delicious.  The one thing I was dissappointed with was the strawbery shortcake cookies which tasted amazing right from the oven, but didn't fare well wrapped in wax paper and placed in the chinese take out box favors (pics below).  They got soft and mushy... but it was nothing a warm oven couldn't fix!

The cheese torta was a favorite of mine and also of my brother in law's. :)  This made me happy.  We made this in class during our cheese night and I was happy that was able to recreate it at home.  I added a link to a similar recipe online above.

Some pictures from the day:

Can't wait to meet my niece!

Chow for now! :)