Conference turris::cooks

    Sherry, I'll let you know how far our food goes this week-end. 
    We are doing a 75th Birthday Party for my mother.  We'll have close
    to 70 people.  We're doing things like - chicken wings (18 lbs),
    hot zucchini squares, Italian Meat-balls (10 lbs), cocktail hotdogs,
    vegetable dip, fruit, ham roll-ups, tuna roll-ups and a couple other
    things.  I'll report back next week.
    
    Hopefully, it will be a nice day Saturday, as we had planned this
    for outside!
    
    Julie
    
    

    Probably the biggest mistake people make when planning for a large
    gathering is to assume each attendee will take "one of each". You
    end up with enough leftovers for an army!  As an example, my husband
    convinced me to make two large pans of lasagna for a party of 20
    people. However, one pan was enough, since most people took only
    a sliver of lasagna because they wanted a sliver of eveything else
    on the buffet table. 
    
    

    
    Do you have the Joy of Cooking?   I bet they have information on
    menu and party planning.  

RE: Last....I don't have the Joy of Cooking, but I will check into my 
other cookbooks this weekend (the other women helping me do this will be
here and our task is to come up with a menu).

There seem to be 2 ways to do a large party....

	1) make alot of "small" dishes (serving 4-6)
	2) make a few "large" dishes (such as was done in reply #1)

The other thing I would be interested in is the cost of putting on such a
large bash.  It would seem to me that if you are buy ALOT of food that there
would be some stores (meat markets, produce stands..) that would give you
a discount.  Anyone ever attempted that, or did you just go to the 
local supermarket?

Sherry

    
    Rep .0,.4
    
     I prefer the alot of "small" dishes approach. I find it's easier
    for me to prepare and serve alot of small dishes instead of the
    few big dishes. If you have small hot dishes they are easier to
    reheat via a microwave and for cold dishes they store better in
    the refrig. Also like one of the early replies mentioned for a
    buffet people usually like to sample alittle of everything. 
    I think the small dish approach also helps you keep everything
    fresh on the table be it hot or cold. Whatever you choose make
    sure you can do everything ahead and serving it will take very
    little effort so you can also enjoy the party and not get stuck
    in the kitchen. Bon Chance,
    
    
    -mike
    

    
    I have done a lot of large parties, and my suggestion is to decide on
    the menu first, then start thinking quantity. The larger the crowd, the
    fewer types of food is the way I plan. For example if there are 50 or
    less, you can serve several varieties of things with out too much
    trouble, when the crowd gets up over 50 its easier to deal with larger
    quantities of fewer foods. I gave a pig roast 2 years ago and had 110
    people. The only thing that I had left over was about 10 lbs of pork
    and about 5 lbs macaroni salad. 
    
    Most people have too much food for fear of running out. On things like
    potato salad, macaroni salad, cole slaw and stuff like that figure
    about 1/2 cup per person of all combined, not 1/2 cup of each. On
    meats, if it is sliced meats like roast beef or turkey, figure 4 oz per
    person if no other meat is being served, if other meats or meat dishes
    are being served figure about 2 1/2 oz per person. if sliced cheeses
    are being used count that as a meat. Casseroles, baked beans and things
    like that figure about 1/2 cup or less per person . The more types of
    food served the less per serving. 
    
    If you are serving something that has to be kept refrigerated or has to
    be served hot, serve them in small quantities and replace tham as thay
    are used up. For example, have 3 or 4 bowls of potatoe salad instead of
    one large one, that way you always have fresh salad on the table,
    especially if its a warm day.
    
    If you want to ask me some specific questions, feel free to call me. 
    DTN 282-1216.  I have done affairs for as many as 250.

I've got the answers for you in a cookbook called "Hors D'oevres--Easy to 
Prepare, Elegant to Serve" that gives you the formula for figuring out 
quantities, based on if you're serving appetizers vs. entrees.  I'll look it
up this weekend for you!

ann    

    One of the books I read when planning my wedding suggested 4 to
    5 hors dourves per person if that's all you're having.  Some other
    things to consider: time of day - will people have eaten before
    coming, or will it be at a time of day that people won't expect
    a meal?  Will be outside (it was 92 degrees for our outside wedding!)
    or in the air conditioning - that will have an impact on what people
    will feel like eating.  Will there be time between the ceremony
    and reception (for pictures, etc) that you will need to provide
    something for the guests to do or nibble on?  
    
   I decided on small stuff for several reasons: we weren't going to
    have seating at tables for "dinner," and I didn't want entrees that,
    although easy to do ahead, would be too sloppy to eat off of paper
    plates while standing (plus the serving utensils cluttering up the
    table!).  This also eliminated the cost/hassle of eating utensils,
    too.  Lots of appetizers of several different types made it easy
    for guest to "graze" and I didn't have to worry about replacing
    pans, lighting sterno, etc.
    
    Good luck and have fun & make sure to get pictures before the guests
    arrive and all your hard work is only a memory!
    
    Terry