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Natalie 04/15/12 |
I will be feeding a group of 8 women (aged 19-32) for 12 meals...4 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 4 dinners in a kitchen that is not my own in a vacation home about an hour from a grocery store. I know the group size is much smaller than you usually work with...mostly I'm just stuck on menu. One eater won't eat mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, or cream-based anything. Another is vegetarian. So I'm a little stuck. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!! |
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ellen 04/15/12 |
Actually, this is one of my favorite size groups, and ladies for 4 days is a nice collection of eaters. The two cautions with cream and vegetarian are minimal restrictions. First though, part of the decision is, how much time do you personally want to spend in the kitchen, and how much will the others be helping? For example,do it yourself breakfast bar or cooked pancake breakfast? Are you there as the cook or to participate in the activity/ vacation? How tight is the budget? Is this a yogurt eating salad lunch crowd or a scrambled egg and sausage gravy biscuit cheeseburger crowd? Write back some more info and let's have some fun with this. |
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Natalie 04/15/12 |
Awesome! Thanks so much! I'm actually taking the group on a bit of a leadership retreat. The girls all work for me and they're basically the best of the best. :-) But in that, I LOVE to cook and I love to be in the kitchen. I've built a lot of free time into the retreat and free time for me can totally be in the kitchen...it's how I unwind. I think a mix of meal types would suit them. If we have a light easy buffet in the morning one day and something heartier later in the day...and one day a big breakfast and lighter meals later. As long as the day is balanced, I'm happy. A good number of them are snackers |
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Natalie 04/15/12 |
Oops that sent too soon! A good number of them are snackers and so I figure whole fruit and veggies and a couple snack mixes. Lunch can be easy...sandwiches or salads or something maybe? The house has an outdoor grill and I would likely take a crockpot... I don't really have a budget, per se. The whole trip is a splurge and I want to, of course, make awesome food!! Thank you thank you!! |
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ellen 04/15/12 |
Consider making ahead and freezing 4 days of delicious mostly healthy cookies and bars for mid-afternoon "tea party". I would do a breakfast bar because appetites vary so in the mornings. Granola, good yogurt, fruit, a breakfast bread (can be made ahead, maybe 4 different, muffins, English muffins, quick bread, coffee cake?) and an egg thing (casserole, quiche, fritata, egg casserole?). Lunch could be pick up, but consider adding a great soup every day, 6 quart crock pot just right for 12 people. Supper, one night wild make it ourselves pizza (artichoke hearts, pesto, etc); one night chicken (the freezable orange Dijon chicken on this site is very good)a; one night Asian noodles- good recipe on this site; one night curry with all the trimmings, or shishkabob or shrimp spaghetti? Just some ideas...curry |