Open House for Graduation
Alisa
05/03/07 		Hi, I am having my first open house for a graduation and the invitation list is around 450 right now. I have a couple of questions. How many do I plan for? We did not do RSVP's.

We are having Tacos/Nachos with veggies and dip, punch bowl cake and a cookie bar. The party is an open house from 1pm to 4pm. I would like to know how many pounds of fresh meat to buy, how do I figure out how much of the fixin's to buy and what about nacho chips and shells for the tacos? I know this is a lot but if you could help in any way that would be great!!!

ellen
05/06/07 		Alisa, this is probably way too many people! If it is at a house, where will parking be? Depending on your city ordinances, it may not even be legal- you know those maximum occupancy signs in clubs? They apply to residential situations, too. And I can't begin to estimate your RSVP rate- this varies by regions, by age of guests and by concurrent or competing events.

About 100-150 is a far more typical graduation party.

I have several recipes posted for tacos for 100. Basically, a taco bar takes the same amount of toppings as a baked potato bar. Nacho chips, start with 8 pounds chips per 100 persons.

janelle
05/06/07 		we are serving a taco bar at a graduation open house. how do we keep the taco shells warm?
Brenda Kay
05/07/07 		I am having an open house for my daughters graduation. She wants Sloppy Joes and Hot Dogs. How much gorund beef per person and how many hot dogs per person. She also wants baked beans and potato salad. We have sent out 100 invitations. How much food should I make?????
HELP!!!!!
ellen
05/07/07 		Janelle, an electric roaster is a good choice- like an oven, but you can take the lid off to get to the shells.

Brenda, I allow 1 hambrger/sloppy joe plus 1 hotdog per person, plus 10% for teen hungers plus 10% for self service. For sloppy joes, 25 pounds meet makes 100 sandwiches, use any favorite recipe. You want at least 4 gallons of potato salad (start with 35-40 pounds of potatoes, depending on whether you peel them) plus 3 gallons of beans, which is 4 #10 cans plus fixings to taste. I add slaw (20 pounds cabbage to start) or green salad or fruit salad or watermelon. See the plan for 100 page for green salad guidance or the fruit tray page for fruit salad and watermelon guidance, or any of the slaw recipes on the slaw, mac and potato salad for 100 oage.

NJ
05/08/07 		I am having around 60 or so for my son's grad party Main menu is sub sandwhiches from local place. I would like to add a taco salad- sausage,cheese,& cracker plate... along with grad cake and a special dessert. Of course soda and waters but what else would you suggest to finish out the menu? Thanks you for your time.
Diane
05/09/07 		Prom
We are doing a dessert bar for a prom for about 160 people. We will have a chocolate fountain with strawberries, pineapples, apples, marshmellows and pretzels. How much do we need to buy, expecially the strawberries? We are also having small bite-size cheese cakes. A baker is donating about 8 doz cookies.
ellen
05/09/07 		How about a big beautiful fruit salad, NJ?

Diane there is a whole article on chocolate fountains and dippers on the website. The link is on the new pages page.