Italian food for 60
Kim
05/23/11 		I have been asked to prepare the food for a friends wedding reception. She want a variety so her menu is spaghetti and meatballs, chicken marsala, shrimp and linguine and either baked rigatoni or sausage with peppers. I dont know where to begin to figure how how much we will need.
ellen
05/23/11 		Hi, Kim,

I detect an Italian theme.

Your friend wants too many entrees for 50 people. I would revise the menu this way:

Appetizer table
(needed for the hour between the service and dinner, especially if there are children in the party)
shrimp cocktail, scampi on a toothpick or other cold shrimp; 1 pound per 5 people
Meatballs with tiny rolls- 1 pound per 5 (sort of a tiny meatball hoagie)
Fruit tray- 1/2 deluxe tropical fruit tray, see fruit tray page

Buffet
Chicken marsala- 1 piece per person plus 10 percent
Sausage and peppers- 1 pound sausage per 4 plus equal weigh veggies
One pasta- 5-6 pounds dry
One veggie (broccoli? eggplant? mixed roasted?)- about 12 pounds ready to eat
One salad or marinated veggie, or pasta salad with antipasto twist)- about 2 gallons
nice bread on tables with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping

coffee- dinner coffe
beverages per beverage planning page
desserts

Kim
05/24/11 		I my haste, I neglected to give you the full menu but we are pretty much on the same page. You and I both realize the bride wants too many entrees but she is still insisting with 4. So, with that in mind, do the quantities of the 3 entrees remain the same and how much spaghetti and meatballs would you suggest? Also she would like enough leftovers to have a small family dinner the next day.
I would like to thank you for your help. You are a lifesaver!!
ellen
05/24/11 		I would do about 40 pieces of chicken, morph the other meats into the required dishes using the same amounts. You want no more than 10 pounds total dry pastas.