Family get together next month, family coming from all. Need a menu.

[HAMSTER INSPECTOR]

I have family coming from all over the continent next month from USA, Canada, Europe and parts unknown. Need to feed them all. What are easy to prepare foods for large crowds?

Got this from the Costco thread:

Reuben Sandwiches : Thinly sliced and chopped up smoked meat between two pieces of rye bread, one slice of Swiss cheese and on the other side a slice of cheddar. A sprinkling of sauerkraut, Finish on the paninni press.

 

[DELETDrileydaniels]

Well cooking for the family can be a stressful thing.

I remember doing it one year for Thanksgiving, it might be easier to hire a catering service - http://twistcatering.com/

 

[shrek71]

Hot dogs and burgers on the BBQ are quick and easy to do for a large number of people.

 

[HAMSTER INSPECTOR]

Hamburgers and hot dogs have been done to death, need a menu with imagination.

 

[oil&gas]

Some of the recipes from this link could suit your purpose of feeding
a large crowd of relatives.

https://www.princeton.edu/hubbert/frs-cookbook.html

A collection of recipes developed while leading the Princeton University freshman seminars in Mammoth Lakes CA. The challenge is finding recipes that scale up well (a black art), are popular with a large hungry crowd of students, and use common ingredients. While spectacular, Mammoth is far from the culinary center of California.
..........................................

 

[Butler1000]

What's your budget? How many approx? How many volunteers to help out. Indoor or outdoor?

I've cooked for up to 120 in the past so if I have a bit more info I may be abe to offer some good tips for food as well as time savers.

 

[oil&gas]

This recipe is worth millions. It is one of the favourite soups
of Arturo Toscanini the greatest symphony conductor of all time.
Obviously you have to scale it up for the dinner occasion.

"SOUP FOR TOSCANINI" [ca. 1950]

MINESTRONE

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 small whole turnip, chopped
1/3 cup chopped cabbage
1 small potato, chopped
2 quarts seasoned beef stock
1/4 cup lentils
1/2 cup cooked fresh peas
1/2 cup cooked kidney beans
1/2 cup rice

Heat oil and butter or margarine, add onions and cook until transparent.
Add celery, carrots and tomatoes; cook a few minutes to soften. Add all
other vegetables except peas, along with one quart beef stock and lentils
which have been soaked in cold water one hour. Cook until the lentils
are almost tender. Add peas and beans. Add remaining stock and the rice.
Cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat, let stand 10 minutes and serve with
bread sticks or crusty rolls. Yield: 6 portions.

 

[buttercup]

I can let you have five loaves and two small fishes, if anybody can do that trick.

 

[interactive]

I'd make a big batch of pulled pork. Pile of buns and you can feed the horde.

Pork picnic shoulder - you are going for fatty crappy cut so don't worry about quality.
Put it in a foil turkey roaster.
Mix and rub it with 1 tbsp Paprika 1tbsp Pepper 1 tbsp Sea Salt 1 tbsp Brown Sugar and 1 tsp sage. (easy on the sage)
Cover, cook at say 325 for an hour or so. Turn down cook for 4 or more hours at 225. Should be lots of juice. The whole think will fall apart easily. Make two batches a day ahead of time. Heat on the day of...........

 

[TeasePlease]

I'd make a big batch of pulled pork. Pile of buns and you can feed the horde.

Pork picnic shoulder - you are going for fatty crappy cut so don't worry about quality.
Put it in a foil turkey roaster.
Mix and rub it with 1 tbsp Paprika 1tbsp Pepper 1 tbsp Sea Salt 1 tbsp Brown Sugar and 1 tsp sage. (easy on the sage)
Cover, cook at say 325 for an hour or so. Turn down cook for 4 or more hours at 225. Should be lots of juice. The whole think will fall apart easily. Make two batches a day ahead of time. Heat on the day of...........

Sounds like my kinda party. I'm going to try this. Thanks!

 

[I'm not here]

If it's a large number of people, getting the food catered might be a more cost effective option. Whenever we have >15 people over for dinner/lunch whatever it's just ordered at a restaurant/caterer and picked up. Otherwise it takes way too much time. Between the prep/cooking and cleaning it's too much.

 

[Ceiling Cat]

I am preparing for a family get together myself. If you have the right equipment it makes it much easier. I have a char griller charcoal BBQ that I can do chicken, roast beef, sausages and other dishes in, I do the first batch 3/4 done and I put it into the smoker to keep warm while I do the second batch. You could feed an army if you have this equipment. For plain burgers, I pan fry the burgers 3/4 done and put it in a pan in the smoker to keep warm till serving time, then it is back on the Char griller at high charcoal heat to finish. That way everyone is served at the same time.

I have 8 gallon jars of home made coleslaw marinating for the event. I got the recipes on Youtube

 

[Ceiling Cat]

This recipe is worth millions. It is one of the favourite soups
of Arturo Toscanini the greatest symphony conductor of all time.
Obviously you have to scale it up for the dinner occasion.

You are feeding maybe 30-40 people, you can not get into the gourmet mode. These are family meals that have to be kept simple. In my family there will be diners where the host ( us ) will invite everyone out to a restaurant, and the visiting guest will also do the same during their stay. In between all you need are simple family gathering meals. Here is what I do with minestrone.


Throw a can or two of minestrone soup into a pot and let it come to a boil, throw in a handful of fusilli pasta and some frozen peas and carrots. cover and let it simmer for 30-40 minutes. The soup is absorbed by the pasta and the frozen veggies are steam cooked. You can have it as a pasta side dish. Sometimes I even eat it as a meal, just throw a raw egg into it when the minestrone soup comes to a boil.

 

[fuji]

Pig roast.

 

[oil&gas]

I can let you have five loaves and two small fishes, if anybody can do that trick.

With or without that trick no self-respecting host will treat
his guests to a shabby meal like this.

 

[whitewaterguy]

Catering:thumb:

 

[Ceiling Cat]

Well cooking for the family can be a stressful thing.

I remember doing it one year for Thanksgiving, it might be easier to hire a catering service - http://twistcatering.com/

Catering:thumb:

If you do catering, you may as well go out to a restaurant. Family from all over the continent and other parts of the world will be here, there will be outing days where the visitors will want to see the sights, but there will be catching up days where it is nice to sit talk and dine together. If you have the right equipment, it can be quite easy to prepare a meal for 30-40. I am picking up a turkey roaster at Home Depot USA when I get the chance. It can roast a turkey in about an hour, even if I need 2 or 3 turkeys I can keep them warm in my smoker that I already have.

 

[wetnose]

If you're going to serve them buffet style, do NOT do soups. Soups should only be done for sit-down affairs....trust me I speak from experience.

Given it's the summer, do a BBQ.

Do a build-your-own-burger table, with pulled pork/grilled fish/sirloin burgers. Get a big bowl of salad. Get 2 coolers full of ice cold beer & soft drinks. Paper plates and plastic cups for everyone. Done.