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Nancy 05/09/14 |
Ellen, it looks like you give people pretty specific answers for quantity questions. Would you please look over this graduation party menu and amounts and let me know if I am way off. Thanks, Nancy
The menu will be:
I'm working out amounts for 180 people (mostly teenage through adult): Please let me know if I am on the right track. Thanks so much. Nancy |
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ellen 05/10/14 |
Hi, Nancy, Good effort, here are some tweaks.
180 people (mostly teenage through adult):
chicken/beef 65lb- plenty
rice 33 lbs- 16 pounds dry, so about right watermelon 45 lbs.- I usually do 1/2 pound per person, would suggest at least 60 pounds (how many costco size medium watermelons is that)- ??? about 4 1.5 x2 brownies 540- plenty. Some without nuts, if you are making them Congratulations to both you and the kid. If this saves you time, trouble, or money, please make a donation, maybe a nickel or dime per guest, to support this site. Thanks. |
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Nancy Kuncheff 05/12/14 |
Thank you for your thoughtful response Ellen. I will let you know how it goes after the party, and I will make a donation then. Usually we fix everything ourselves, but this is a big crowd, so I'm happy to be catering the main dishes. You helped me a lot with quantities. Thanks! |
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Juliet 05/15/15 |
Hi Ellen - We are planning a high school grad party for next month and we expect about 175-200 people. The party starts at 6pm. We are thinking of having: ham, turkey and roast beef tortilla rollups (instead of sandwiches) cheesy potatoes pasta salad fruit veggies and dip (premade up in plastic cups) cookies brownies chips/pretzels etc Can you tell me approximately how much we would need of each item? Also, do you think the tortilla idea is better than sandwiches, or should we go with deli sandwiches? Thank you! |
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ellen 05/19/15 |
ham, turkey and roast beef tortilla rollups (instead of sandwiches), good, you need about 5-6 pieces per person If you go with subs, do 8 inches in 2 pieces per person cheesy potatoes, use the recipe at the bottom of the breakfast planning page, 3 roasters full, because 1 only feeds about 60 pasta salad, 6 pounds dry pasta per 100 plus addins fruit, use the fruit tray page, 2 delux trays for 100 would be plenty veggies and dip (premade up in plastic cups), use the veggie tray page, allow about 6 bites per person, 2-3 ounces dip in the bottom of the cup
cookies
chips, 1 pound per 12, 1 pint dip per pound If this saves you time, trouble, or money, please make a donation, maybe a nickel or dime per guest, to support this site. Thanks. |
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Juliet 05/29/15 |
Thank you Ellen. Another question about the cheesy potatoes. I have a different recipe that I want to use but am wondering about using fresh diced potatoes vs frozen, and making ahead of time. Here is the recipe: 2 cans cheddar cheese soup 1 1/3 buttermilk 1 T butter 1/4 garlic powder and 1/4 pepper 32 oz frozen cubed hashbrowns 1/4 cup parmesan cheese cook in crockpot on low for 4-5 hours I was going to use 40 pounds of frozen hasbrowns (and multiply other ingredients too!) but hubby said he would dice fresh potatoes. Can I make this a day ahead of time and if so, how? Do I need to pre-cook the diced potatoes before putting them in the roaster? Can I cook a batch in the oven? The party starts at 6pm and I will have one roaster, crock pots, and an oven available to me. Thanks so much! I will make a donation to this site as it has helped me alot! |
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ellen 05/29/15 |
Yes you would need to parboil the diced potatoes. This will also keep them from turning brown if you hold them. The very best plan would be to cook it in the oven and just transfer to the preheated (180-200) roaster for serving. Maybe you could borrow a second cooking liner for the roaster? Or do one in the roaster and the second in the oven. Yes you can put the made casserole in the fridge, it adds 30-40 minutes to the cooking time. You can put it in big plastic freezer bags if the pans won't fit in the fridge, it takes a lot of space. Your DH will need to peel and dice about 48 pounds to get you your 40 pounds. Then they go into boiling water ever so briefly, get fished out, and go on to the next batch. Frozen really is awfully easy for this recipe.
You can get quite a savings by using #10 can of cheese sauce or making your own thick white sauce (4 tablespoons flour per cup of milk), and adding Velveeta or cheese, 1/2 pound per quart. Maybe you could consider a baked potato bar? Much easier on you and the guys just add what they like. Instructions on this site. If this saves you time, trouble or money, please make a donation, a nickel or dime per guest, to support this site. Thank you. |
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Juliet 06/01/15 |
Wow, thank you for your quick response. We are going to use frozen hashbrowns now! We will plan to cook one batch in the roaster and 2 batches in the oven the day of the party. Should the hasbrowns be thawed before we put them in roaster or oven, or doesn't it matter? What temp should we use for roaster and for oven (as I have only made these in the crockpot)? Should we cover the batches in the oven with foil? And how long approx will it take? Party starts at 6 and goes until 10. Thank you so much! You are very helpful! |