www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/bbentree5.html

2 carving stations(roast turkey & stuffed fresh rolled ham): you want 4 ounces ready to eat turkey PLUS 3 ounces ham per person if this is a party type meal. See the yield tables and the planning and shopping for large turkey dinners article in the holiday cooking section at the top of big pots.

fruit cup, see fruit tray page

scalloped potato,60-70 pounds raw potatoes plus sauce

steamed vegetable medley- 1/2 cup each

rolls with butter, 1.5 each unless very small, then allow 2. 6-8 pounds butter per 100

design your own ice cream sundaes, see ice cream sundae bar article

with coffee, tea & soda- see beverage planning page.

If you post your estimates, I will check them for you.

The Menu consists of shredded beef (cooked in a pit), pinto beans flavored with ham hock, coleslaw and dinner rolls.

I realized cross rib was a type of chuck, I just didn't know if it served a little more beacuse it was leaner. :)

75 pounds of lean, boneless beef will do for the sandwiches, if someone is serving the meat. If self serve you might need 85-90.
8-9 pounds dry pinto beans per 100.
Since there are no other veggies or salads, you need 4-4 1/2 gallons slaw per 100. I would add great pickles (see the garlic pickle recipe on the chili page, for example).

Also do not neglect all the sandwich condiments. For amounts per 100, see the sandwich event page.

The beef is not going to be on sandwiches, it will be served alone with possibly some green chili and onions in it.

Your help on amounts would be very gratefully received! The theme is International. This is the order of the food table layout. We expect 225 guests, mostly adults. It will be 3:30, with apps. The app amounts I can figure pretty good, but the main dishes since they vary is harder.

Apps = Rueben Dip
Nacho cheese w/ chips
Antipasta Veg platter of cheese, olives, veggies

Buffet
Penne Pasta with sausage, tomatoes & spinach
Italian antipasta salad w/ eggs, olives etc
Bread, rolls w/ butter

Fruit platter
Chick Fil A chicken strips platter

Paella
Taquitos (premade, heated and cut in half)

Since you are using an international theme, and it is mid-afternoon, what about going for all apps?

For 225 people you want at least eight-ten different items

Add two dry room temp bites, maybe spinach Parmesan squares and sausage balls if you want to do your own, or mini quiches or spinach filo bites?

Use the antipasto platters with meats instead of the salad, skip the pasta and paella.

Add seven layer dip- Tex-Mexican- platters, colorful and popular.

These are the minimums I would plan:
shredded BBQ beef or pork- 4 ounces ready to eat per person 1 pound per 4
meatballs- 1 pound frozen ready to cook per 4 people

Nacho sauce 1/3 cup per person. If you do other toppings, use the potato bar page to figure the amounts, they are about the same
chips- minimum 8-10 pounds corn chips per 100 (nachos) PLUS 6 pounds potato per 100

Pepperoni salad (I assume this is with pasta), cucumber salad, potato salad, cole slaw: I would do 3 gallons pasta salad PLUS 3-4 galons potato salad PLUS 2- 2 1/2 gallons each cuke and slaw

veggie tray-see veggie tray page, you would plan enough for about 1/2 the number attending because of the salad selection. Don't omit ranch dip.
Fruit tray- amounts for tray for 25 will do for about 40 with this menu.

Don't forget beverages if it includes adults have iced tea or coffee as well as the punch and soda.

I need your help please. First I will give you the menu and the quantities of what I have figure.

Chicken - 260 pieces
Cabbage rolls - 250 tennis ball sized
Beans with meat - 6 gallons
Dinner rolls - 18 dozen
Butter - 8#
Tuna Salad - 2 gallons
Potato Salad - 2 gallons
Italian Pasta salad - 2 gallons
Seafood Salad - 2 gallons
Relish Tray -1/2 gallon pickles, 1 quart olives
4 cans black olives,1/2 gallon sweet pickle
Jello salad - 10 cake pans
wine breads - 2 flavors - 20 loaves

Relish tray is very short, see the relish tray for 60 at the top of my veggie tray page and make at least 2.

Jello salad is short, it takes 17 small packages or 8 large ones to make 100 servings. If it is a creamy one or has nuts or fruits, count on most people taking some.

Cheese and crackers
breads
fruit
shrimp toasts
wonton cups with crab and cream cheese
Stuffed mushrooms
cold beef tenderloin
Smoked Salmon
potatoes

Can you please tell me how many pounds of brisket and sausage I should get?

Thaks so much!

Deb, it depends on whether you mean for plates or sandwiches and before or after you add the sauce. But just for starters, it takes 1 pound sauced ready to eat to make 3-4 sandwiches (depends on regular or large buns. It takes 2 pounds sauced ready to eat to serve 5 people plates, a bit more if self serve.

Broasted chicken, 300 pieces
taco's, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, peppers, salsa, sour cream, shells, see the instructions on the baked potato and taco bar page.

potato salad, 4-4 1/2 gallons per 100

relish tray, 3 times the tray for 60

August 19, 2009

I am always enchanted by chef David Bouley's brilliant food. Once, when dining in his New York restaurant, Bouley, I ate some luscious tomatoes cooked with vanilla-- and those tomatoes led me to this recipe. They're delicious with poultry.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

4 pounds ripe plum tomatoes

1 teaspoon sugar

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (Ellen's note; some orange peel or a slice of lemon and two cloves are another option)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Peel, seed and coarsely chop the tomatoes, catching all the juices in a bowl.

Place the chopped tomatoes in a nonreactive saucepan, and strain the juices into the pan. Add the sugar, and tuck the vanilla bean halves into the tomatoes.

Simmer the tomatoes, uncovered, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until the juices have reduced and the tomatoes are cooked through, about 45 minutes.

Remove the vanilla bean pieces, scrape the seeds from them and return the seeds to the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Let the tomatoes cool to room temperature. Then cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Bring the tomatoes to room temperature before serving, or warm them over low heat. Serve 2 generous spoonfuls in each of four small bowls or large ramekins.

•1 pound pinto beans (cooks up to 6-8 cups)
•1/2 pound lean bacon, chopped small (May be omitted, but the beans will need extra salt at the end of cooking)
•1 chopped red ripe tomato (May use crushed or diced canned tomatoes in juice)
•1 med onion, diced
•1 small bell pepper, chopped
•1 serrano pepper, OR two jalapeno peppers seeded and finely chopped
•3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
•1 Tablespoon good chile powder
•1 Tablespoon Cumin
•Salt to taste
•Pepper to Taste
•1 bunch Cilantro chopped fine

Use chile to taste if you don't want it hot. Also remove the raw chile seeds. This will lessen the chile hotness.

All the information you need is on site, especially see the budget entrees on big pots and the article on cooking large amounts in the family kitchen- it advises on equipment, etc. There is an article on food safety that everyone participating should read.

You are doing pretty well on the menu, but I would do a little filling in. I would add small rolls with sandwich condiments for the meat and cheese. I would add an antipasto or marinated veggie/ relish tray pickles, olives, artichoke hearts, etc, see my relish tray discussion on the veggie tray page- 2 to 3 times the tray for 60. One veggie item such as my spinach Parmesan squares, spanakopita, mini quiches, etc. You have plenty of proteins, we are filling in the rest.

It would be fine to serve the marinated cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella balls with toothpicks (or stich pretzels for toothpicks), and would save a lot of prep time.

You need a nibble table to occupy your guests while you do pictures and dinner is being readied. Fruit trays and cheeses?

You need a full meal, for budget consciousness I suggest the dijon wedding chicken, a rice pilaf, 2 nice veggies and one of my salad that hold. All recipes are on site.

Take a look at the wedding dinner article.

Menu idea: the dollar sandwiches, fruit tray, veggie tray and cookies, cheese and crackers.

There is a full guide to taco bars on the baked potato, taco bar page. There is a guide to taco salad quantities per 25 and a recipe for home-mixed taco seasoning, on the walking taco salad page.

Teriyaki chicken bits (hot) - 30 lbs.
Ham cubes - 15 lbs.
Smoked salmon - 15 lbs. (they may skip this due to cost); Fresh salmon, steamed and chilled is an attractive, much less costly alternative Or how about a salmon mold?
Shrimp - 15 lbs. This is the most popular item on the table. You need at LEAST 3 ounces per person- 1 pound for every 5- at least 36 pounds- or skip it entirely and do a shrimp or seafood dip or salad.
Cocktail sauce - 2 qts.- need at least 1/4 cup per person
Cheese cubes - 15 lbs. 22 pounds minimum, and I often get the same amount as fruits, counting logs, balls etc as part of the cheese
Fruit tray - 20 lbs. Ready to eat, you need at least 36 pounds
Veggie tray - 20 lbs. see the veggie tray page for discussion
Ranch dip - 2 qts.
Artichoke dip (hot) - 6 9x13 pans you may run out. Each pan holds something less than 2 quarts, and makes about 28 servings
Doritos (bride & grooms favorite!) - 6 lbs. What do these go with? You could do a queso dip?
Baguettes (for art. dip) - 10 lbs. Need about 18-20 loaves
Crackers - 10 lbs OK

pork and beef. Yopu need 5 ounces ready to eat beef PLUS 3 ounces ready to eat pork per person, Raw amounts depend on the cuts.

BQ Chicken ( 8 piece fryers 150 lbs)
BQ Beef 50 lbs
Meatball 30 lbs
This is here I am having trouble how much to I need??

This is a VERY large party for an inexperienced planner to take on. It looks like you are planning a full buffet style dinner service.It requires at least 4 kitchen people (6 would be more usual) and 15 servers/helpers to set up, keep the food going and the tables stocked, and clean up.

As to the menu. I am concerned what kitchen facilities you will have available. In particular, the pizzas are not practical for this size group unless you have multiple commercial type ovens.

As to the menu; you have some work to do on quantities. For starters, you need at least 100 pounds of beef and 40 pounds of meatballs; the chicken is only about 400 pieces and people this age eat like locusts.

Ham 1 pound ready to eat for each 5-6 people; at least 60 pounds
Cheese Potatoes- start with at least 70 pounds frozen hash browns.
Cole Slaw- 10-12 gallons
Potato Salad- 15 gallons
Macaroni Salad- from 18-20 pounds dry pasta
Taco Salad not practical to hold on buffet as the chips get gross. Setting up a taco bar or dip as part of your meats with chips would be better.
Vegetable Pizza- see comment above. Not practical unless delivered
Vegetable Tray- fruit tray much more popular with this age group. See fruit tray page.
Broccoli / Cauliflower Salad- 55 pounds raw veggies to start
pickles- 4- 5 gallons
olives- 3 gallons
Green Bean Casserole- 16-18 #10 cans beans
BREADS and ROLLS you need lots, at least 40 pounds, along with sandwich condiments for about 200 sandwiches (see the sandwich event article).
desserts See dessert bar page, complete descriptions

Appetizers
Chips and salsa
veggie platters
cheese platter

We are wanting to do buffet style:
Fajita style taco bar
Dinner Salad
Potato Salad
Pulled Beef--for sandwiches
Pulled Pork--for sandwiches

Then, you could skip the pulled meats and simply add bollillos (soft sandwich rolls) to the choices with the chicken and beef fajita strips, they make great sandwiches. If you keep the pulled meats, I would just do the pork since the taco bar will have beef and chicken. Skip the potato salad, do have the rice, and borracho or ranch beans instead of refried.

Have chopped avocado or guacamole, since it is a wedding party. Have chopped lettuce and tomatoes, rather than green salad, and add everything needed to allow people to make taco salad instead of tacos, if they wish.

Then add a really good squash dish and the corn casserole called corn tomatillo about half way down this page:

Fetticinni alfredo
Spagetti with meat sauce
Meatballs
Ceasar salad
caprese salad
fruit platter
Garlic bread
breadstix

You are taking on a big project, and I want you to first go read the article I have posted under wedding dinner in the buttons at the top of the main cooktalk page.

A dinner this size, especially with passed hors d'ouvres, requires at least 3 people in the kitchen and at least a dozen servers the day of the wedding, none of whom should be the wedding party/immediate family, especially NOT the moms. The reasons why and some options are discussed in the article.

Now, to the menu. Good choices over all. You might do some of the antipasto on stick pretzels instead of toothpicks, or have platters set up on the tables with the beverages.

Actually, the lasagna is much easier than the spaghetti with meat sauce because it can be done ahead and frozen, requires much less handling the day of, and is less messy to eat in dressy clothes. I would alter the menu to Alfredo and lasagna, keep the meatballs.

And you are in luck, I have just posted an Alfredo style prep for 100 on the spaghetti/ lotsa pasta page. Do read the whole page thoroughly, it will guide you on quantities.

I would do alfredo for 120, lasagna for 120 but cut smaller, people will try both. 1 pound meatballs for each 4 people. With the two salad, about 120 of each, with some backup caesar not mixed.

Barbie, allow 6 per adult unless they are very large and 4 per kid below 8th grade.

If I have this right, you have both pulled pork sandwiches and shepherd's pie as entrees. You are serving 200 including 60 teens, I count the teens as about 1.3 persons each,(3 teens equals 4 adults) so that is about 220 people. I would do 200 sandwiches (about 65 pounds raw, boneless pork shoulder)and 120 servings of the pie (about 40-48 pounds raw boneless beef). You will have some left, but not too much, and everyone will get their first choice.

Honey Bourbon Chicken
Green Bean Bundles
Fruit Tray
Veggie Tray
Punch (Non-Alcohol)
Cheese ball
Spinach Dip w/ bread chunks
Chicken Salad w/ crackers

This menu desperately needs a starch, either rice or potatoes. Rice is easier and goes better with the chicken.

Menu

Fruit bar
Chicken Fajitas
Steak Fajitas
Rice Beans
Tortillas
Sour Cream
Avocado dip
green salad mix