Rice for 40 people
Joan
03/20/10 		Hi Ellen:

I am going to be serving 40 people dinner. I am making boneless, skinless stuffed chicken breasts and pork and chicken souvalki. I figure I will make 30 stuffed breasts and 30 assorted souvlakis. Do you think this is about right?

More important to me is the rice. How many cups of uncooked rice will I need to cook. The rice recipe I am following will have very finely chopped broccoli, mushrooms, peppers and onions in it.

Steamed vegetable, salad and rolls will be served with the main course.

Please help me with the quantities, in particular the rice. How many cups of uncooked rice will I need and what is the ratio for rice per person and meat per person.

Thanks very much!
Cheers
Joan

ellen
03/20/10 		Nice menu.

You want to have at least 8 ounces raw meats to make party portions- and with all these nice choices, I would go 10 raw and have some left over, so everyone could get their first choice.

Almost sure that everyone will take at least 1 souvlaki, even if they take a breast also.

When I am making rice as a main dish for 100, I cook 12 pounds. When a side, 8 pounds. So 4-5 pounds (about 2 cups dry per pound) should make way plenty for you.

Joan
03/20/10 		Hi Ellen:

Thanks for your quick response.

So you think I should make enough souvlaki so that everyone can have one. Correct.

Now for the stuffed chicken breasts - should I make 40? I just want to make sure.

So that would be 40 sovlaki and 40 stuffed breasts. Sounds like too much but I am not sure.

I want to make sure I have enough plus a little extra...never like to see everything gone and nothing left - then I feel like maybe I didn't make enough.

Thanks for your help.

ellen
03/20/10 		Go by total weights of the meat. I don't know how big the breasts are before stuffing or how much weight per skewer. For example, if there are 4 ounces on the skewer, many folks will take 2 if that is their entree. If the breasts are large, split some for people who want to try both.

Here is an excellent Tzatziki

* Tzatziki Sauce (cucumber sauce):
* 1-1/2 cups seeded, shredded and drained cucumber (salted lightly to pull the juices, drained)
* 3 cups plain yogurt, preferably slightly drained to thicken
* 3/4 cup sour cream
* 3 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 3-5 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
* 1-1/2 teaspoons Greek seasoning
* good salt to taste
* freshly ground black pepper to taste

Joan
03/23/10 		Hi Ellen:

Thanks for the all the great info. I have also looked at your charts for cooking for 100 and they are very helpful.

Cheers.

Joan

ellen
03/23/10 		You're welcome.