Cook Talk

Feeding 150 appetizers
Gloria
09/03/13 		Hi Ellen! I love your web site. It has helped me so much. But I need your help once again. I am feeding 150 mixed group of people from 8:00 pm to 12:00 pm. Someone else will be providing beer and wine. I am having a hot table with Italian appetizers and a another table with the cheese, salami, breads, extras on it. I have reviewed all your sites and I am trying to figure out my amounts. Would you please look at my list and see if I am on the right track. I hate having too much food leftover.
8 lbs Goat Cheese
9 lbs Feta Cheese
9 lbs Fontina Cheese
8 lbs Gorganzola Cheese
9 lbs Sharp Provolone Cheese
9 lbs Cheddar Cheese
9 lbs Smoked Gouda Cheese
4 lbs Kalamata Olives
1.5 gal Sweet Pickles
1 gal Roasted Red Peppers, Marinated Artichoke Hearts
20 lbs Red & Green Grapes, Grape Tomatoes
4 lbs Assorted Crackers
125 Breadsticks
4 loaves Bread
6 loaves Italian Bread
18 lbs Assorted Salami
20 lbs Carrot Sticks
120 Celery Sticks
6 qts Ranch dip
450 Party Meatballs
26 doz Ravioli
6 1/2 ga Marinara
2 pans Italian Cheese Bites
13 doz Pizzelles
100 Bottled Water
6 gal Iced Tea, Sweet & Unsweetened

Thank you for your time!

ellen
09/03/13 		You are headed in the right direction, but you have too much cheese and not enough fruits and veggies. Here is how I would tweak it, if it were my party:

8 lbs Goat Cheese
9 lbs Feta Cheese
9 lbs Fontina Cheese
8 lbs Gorganzola Cheese
9 lbs Sharp Provolone Cheese
9 lbs Cheddar Cheese
9 lbs Smoked Gouda Cheese
You have 61 pounds of cheese, you need about 30. You could either cut everything in half, or eliminate some; I would definitely cut it.

4 lbs Kalamata Olives- you need about 5-6 quarts of olives, get some green ones, too
1.5 gal Sweet Pickles- ok, get 1 gallon assorted, and do add a quart or two of dill types for the dill lovers
1 gal Roasted Red Peppers, Marinated Artichoke Hearts, I would definitely do at least 2 gallons, and add several quarts of grape tomatoes here. See the artichoke olive condite and the antipasto vegetables on this site.

20 lbs Red & Green Grapes, OK, add several pounds of dates and dried appricots

4 lbs Assorted Crackers- at least 6, with all these cheeses I would have at least 8 available

125 Breadsticks
4 loaves Bread
6 loaves Italian Bread
You need a total of about 15 pounds

18 lbs Assorted Salami- thin sliced. Might augment with some deli-sliced ham
450 Party Meatballs- I use 10 pounds of 1/2 ounce size per 100, 3 quarts sauce per 100
26 doz Ravioli- fried? depends on the size, but this looks like a lot- about 4 per person
6 1/2 gal Marinara- this is a fu8ll cup per person, not sure why you are planning this much?
2 pans Italian Cheese Bites?? are this like the Parmesan spinach squares I make? 2 per person, about 4 bites

20 lbs Carrot Sticks
120 Celery Sticks
you could put the cherry tomatoes here, but I woud also add some broccoli, cauliflower, and mini bell peppers or pepper slices, see the veggie tray page- or sup the marinated antipasto vegetables
6 qts Ranch dip

13 doz Pizzelles- nice surprise, but will there be other sweets?

100 Bottled Water, have at least one per person, I get 2 and return unopened cases
6 gal Iced Tea, Sweet & Unsweetened, 12, 1/3 unsweetened, or do dinner coffee from the beverage planning page

Since this is going to save you some major bucks, please make a donation, a dime or quarter per guest, to support the site. Thanks.

Gloria
09/04/13 		Thanks so much! I will definitely make a donation.
Everything looks good but I don't understand the cheese amounts. By looking at your site I should use 4 lbs of cheese for 100 and increase by 3-6 times for the time of event?? Am I missing reading the notes? And on the ravioli, it will not be fried and they are 2x2 size and I was planning 2 per person, which should be 300 / 25 dz. In my research, I found I should use 2 pints per dz to keep ravioli from sticking to each other in large pans. Thanks!
ellen
09/04/13 		OK, now that the ravioli case is clear, I can see your reasoning, I still think you will be long on sauce.

As for the cheese, think about how much total people will eat in an evening; 1 pound for about 5 would be plenty (1 pound for 8 to 10 would be more usual for an after dinner party), and even using the largest amount, 30 pounds would be sufficient. You would be better off turning some of that cheese into pepperoni, ham, or summer sausage if you are worried about having enough.

You are welcome. Mangia bene!

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