Party for 60 people - food

Whispered · 14-09-2015 4:17pm #1

Hi,

We're thinking about hosting a party in our home with 60 people invited. I don't know where to start. I'm not a great cook and tend to get flustered when there is a lot going on at once.

We could have a company come in and cater the whole thing. This would be my preferred option, but budget is a consideration.

I'm also wondering if it would be worth looking at party platters similar to the ones M&S do (did?). It might allow me the cost saving of doing it myself without all of the hassle. In general, does the quality pf these type of things be ok?

Then there is the option of coming up with an easy to execute, store and serve finger food and buffet menu and do it myself.

Any hints, tips, experiences would be very appreciated. I need to know the best and easiest way to keep warm dishes warm. I want a dessert table pre-set but dunno if that's doable with keeping it cool (and not crusty and stale looking). Maybe people could suggest desserts that do well at room temperature. Best way to serve chilled dishes etc. I'm not looking for safety advice, but ways to keep food looking and tasting good, serving ideas etc.

Thanks

MissFlitworth · 14-09-2015 4:18pm

Just to reiterate guys - no food safety advice. Just tips on keeping food in the most delicious and appealing condition Thanking you.

katydid · 14-09-2015 8:46pm

Whispered wrote: »

Hi,

We're thinking about hosting a party in our home with 60 people invited. I don't know where to start. I'm not a great cook and tend to get flustered when there is a lot going on at once.

We could have a company come in and cater the whole thing. This would be my preferred option, but budget is a consideration.

I'm also wondering if it would be worth looking at party platters similar to the ones M&S do (did?). It might allow me the cost saving of doing it myself without all of the hassle. In general, does the quality pf these type of things be ok?

Then there is the option of coming up with an easy to execute, store and serve finger food and buffet menu and do it myself.

Any hints, tips, experiences would be very appreciated. I need to know the best and easiest way to keep warm dishes warm. I want a dessert table pre-set but dunno if that's doable with keeping it cool (and not crusty and stale looking). Maybe people could suggest desserts that do well at room temperature. Best way to serve chilled dishes etc. I'm not looking for safety advice, but ways to keep food looking and tasting good, serving ideas etc.

Thanks

My brother had a load of people at his fiftieth, and he did a buffet with lots of salads, breads and cold meat. He got the cold meat from one of those wholesale meat shops; it was much cheaper than buying packets in the supermarket. On the other hand, he found that things like coleslaw and salads were much cheaper in the supermarkets. So basically, they shopped around. Mind you, friends and family chipped in with bowls of salad too. Pasta salads or couscous salads are cheap and easy to make, and you get a lot of salad out of a packet of pasta or couscous.

Paper plates and plastic cutlery....

Depends on how posh the party is.

Barte · 14-09-2015 9:19pm

Hi

You could do easy dessert like panacotta or meringue with fresh berries on top, Mix Berries salad with mango custard or mint cream.

mini coconut rocher or frangie pan, lovley taste easy to do.

Generally if you looking for canapes menu (small bite size food) you can make chicken gujons with smoke paprika mayo,
Lime Chili Tiger Prawns
Beetrot mini Quiches with duck breast or goats or feta chesse on top
mini blinis with smoked salmon and soft cheese

Whispered · 15-09-2015 10:30am

A cold meat platter would be a great idea. What would you suggest a good combination of meats would be? Say if I was to have one meat platter with Irish meats such as ham, beef slices etc and another with continental meats such as Parma? Irish meats could be served with a ramekin of mustard in the centre of the dish and the other meats with olive tapenade?

I would imagine when serving food to a lot of people you put out a platter then replenish from the fridge to keep food at its tastiest?

Those desserts sound great. They sound very elegant actually, I would worry difficult to do.

I think I'd like for the dessert table to be a bit of a feature. It's a birthday party so cake and all should feature heavily. So there would be the birthday cake, which I will have made, meringue and berries, I would have to serve cream with this, what would be the best way to do that? Already on the meringue or in a serving dish for people to help themselves? Perhaps a serving dish might be best as it would allow people choose how much, it would also allow me to have a plate of mince pies and people could dollop their own cream on too. Does that sound suitable? Maybe a plate of brownies for the kids, dusted in icing sugar to keep it wintery looking. Anything else to go on a dessert table? Maybe some truffles, a profiterole stack, a jar of sweets to make it look cute? Definitely a fruit bowl.

Would a cheese board be served on a dessert table or with the savouries? I know traditionally it's a dessert course but in the case of finger food? Perhaps two small boards, one on each? Some cheese combination ideas would be appreciated.

we would like to serve our guests drinks but to do so with a selection would be prohibitively expensive. Would mulled cider be a good option? Mulled wine? Maybe both? I would also somehow like to serve hot chocolate, but does that have to involve me standing at the hob? Would it be possible to serve hot chocolate from a large tea pot? Keeping it warm might be an issue and I think I'd have to use water to make it and water hot chocolate just isn't as nice as creamy! Any ideas here would be great.

Given the time of year, would people need hot food? I have no problem making something but I do not want to be cooking when guests are there and would like the food to be self served as much as possible.

The suggestion of mini tarts and other canapés is great. I will look up various recipes to see how I'd like to do that. Could these be made the day before? How best to serve them?

The kids would have to eat and may not like the food on offer so, again, I need some ideas for that.

Then with a few plates of different salads (any special salad ideas) and baskets of breads - would people be happy enough with that?

Dolbert · 15-09-2015 10:36am

I'm watching closely for ideas hehe. That all sounds great, I don't think we'll be doing hot food either. Maybe a huge pot of vegetable soup that can be sitting on the hob.

Whispered · 15-09-2015 10:48am

Oh a big pot of soup is a great idea. My mil makes fantastic soup so I could rope her in.

How come you've decided against hot food? Is it that you don't want to be cooking with guests there too?

Would quiches etc need to be served hot?

It seems a lot for a birthday, but our 5th wedding anniversary is next month and we won't be doing anything to celebrate that, then the little fellas birthday, welcoming party in lieu of a christening, and I might mortify my dad with a cake for him too as its his birthday the week before lol

Actually, I saw a lovely ripe for a salted caramel torte around here somewhere. Might put that on the list.

Melendez · 15-09-2015 11:41am

This post has been deleted.

clever user name · 15-09-2015 11:55am

I've done food in the past for some family events and generally make both hot food and cold food.

For hot food I make a big pot of chicken curry. All you need is a big pot, about 3 or 4 tubs of bensons curry sauce (or any brand you want), chicken breasts and some veg to fill it out. Its easy to make and you can make it the day before if you want, then just heat it up. Then just boil some rice to go with it. It takes an hour to make the curry, including prep. You can also buy boxes of spring rolls in the Asian supermarkets to go with it, just deep fry them.

Some people don't like curry (or some people want both) so I also make some salad. Make your own coleslaw and potato salad if you have the time, its just a matter of preparing the veg and adding mayonnaise. It works out super cheap. Then just have your usual salad items and some cold meat. As someone mentioned above, the meat is far cheaper wholesale than buying packets.

It takes about 3-4 hours to prepare all that. Its not difficult, so you can get some people to help you. The only thing you have to do then is cook the rice and heat the curry. Everything else just needs to be laid out. The only difficult thing is finding a pot that is big enough for the curry :pac:

MissFlitworth · 15-09-2015 12:00pm

Marks & Sparks party platters are really tasty, you'll probably get a better selection of them closer to Christmas is the only thing. Although this sounds like a Wintery event so you might be in luck

meringue and berries, I would have to serve cream with this, what would be the best way to do that? Already on the meringue or in a serving dish for people to help themselves?

We've done both ways at family parties, big pavlovas or little bowls of meringue, berries and cream for people to serve themselves. If the house is hot and the dessert is sitting out I'd go for option b) because cream can go a bit manky in a hot room if it's sitting about and you can keep a bowl of cream in the fridge or a cold wintery garden if necessary, till people are ready for dessert

Actually, if it's cold enough out the garden and shed become the drinks fridge too, which has been handy to save room in the actual fridge.

For other nice bits on a dessert table, especially if it's wintery, I've had great success with chocolate dipped pretzels, brown butter rice crispy squares dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with crushed mint candy canes and marshmallows dipped in chocolate. You can make them all a bit in advance and it's all just melting, dipping and potentially a bit of mixing so it doesn't have the potential to make you frantic the way trying to knock up a rake of individual creme brulees or something might.

If you're doing hot or warm foods scope out if anyone you know has a hostess trolley/tabletop/table side warmer. They used to be really popular wedding gifts and they are surprisingly durable, some of my family have them and they're quite nifty.

MissFlitworth · 15-09-2015 12:22pm

Whispered wrote: »

we would like to serve our guests drinks but to do so with a selection would be prohibitively expensive. Would mulled cider be a good option? Mulled wine? Maybe both? I would also somehow like to serve hot chocolate, but does that have to involve me standing at the hob? Would it be possible to serve hot chocolate from a large tea pot? Keeping it warm might be an issue and I think I'd have to use water to make it and water hot chocolate just isn't as nice as creamy! Any ideas here would be great.

Do you have a slowcooker? I've used mine to keep a pot of mulled wine warm before because I didn't want to leave it on a ring on the stove

It works for making hot chocolate/keeping hot chocolate warm. I've been served hot chocolate in big silver pots before, so you can definitely do that too. Here's a salt caramel one and a really sweet looking condensed milk based one

I'd probably do either mulled wine or mulled cider, just from the pov of not having 2 big pots of liquid to keep an eye on. And I'd delegate looking after the warm drinks to someone else so they can keep topping them up during the festivities.

Oh, and I'd keep cheeses with the main food rather than the dessert table because at any buffet type things we've had people tend to start laying into the cheese early

And I'd hit either Lidl or Aldi to buy them.

Barte · 15-09-2015 12:33pm

I personally dont like overcomplicate menu

Irish meat plater Sliced Chicken or turkey, beef, pork, ham, also mustard i thing is to intensive in taste. I would put wholegrain mustard ord mayo mustard and ballymaloe relish
Continental meat plater yes, pastrami salami parma ham chorizo could be with black olives tapanade or pesto (thick one)

if you have enough platers or wooden chopping board (you can use for canapes or meat plater) i would put around 60% of food at the start.

Storage yes keep in cold place fridge warped around with cleanfill.

Ok dessert two option, first option baked meringue break it and put in big bowl, and beside you will have sweet whipping cream and berries compot (i would use frozen berries)

second option meringe in small bowl individual portion, meringe ice cream and berries on top.

Im not Irish but for me mince pies it is christmas dessert, chocolate brownie it is easy to do even without mikser but it is just my opinion. Maybe some truffles, a profiterole stack that sounds ok

Chesse board Bri Chesse, Durrus cheese, Goat Chesse and Cheddar Chesse, Plus celery sticks, grapes and walnuts and chesse crackers, quince paste.

Chesse board it is french thnig so i would not go crazy about it yes probably two board will be ok

canapes you could do day before but make sure there are wrapped well and never wrap hot food just let them cool for 2-3 h and after wrap it

fruity punch for drink yes Mulled wine can be cider, for kids yes you can make chocolate and warm up it time to time

Kids menu i would give chcicken gujons mini sausages roll and chips or hot dogs

Salads you can make nice typical like potatoes salad plus pesto plus red onion plus some meat you can do potatoes with mayo and spring onion you can do coleslaw greeck salad panzanela, beans salad, chcick peas and chorizo and watercress, millions option can be summer salads cucumber sugar snap mint yoghurt, can be winter roast veg with goats chesse and beetrot etc

Dolbert · 15-09-2015 12:52pm

Some brilliant ideas here! I like the sound of a cooked turkey and ham, and cheeses too. Mulled wine and mince pies are also now on my list. God I love Christmas food...

Whispered · 15-09-2015 3:02pm

So sorry I never mentioned. It'll be a week before Christmas so yes wintery and a nod to Christmas is good, like the mince pies. It will be starting in the afternoon too, if that make a difference to the food?

Some brilliant ideas, I'll have to sit down with a pen and jot them all down. I do not have a slow cooker, but if I got two, would that work for the hot chocolate and mulled wine then? I'm sure I could borrow them somewhere!

I was on to m&s today who said I could order their party platters in store. They don't seem to be on the Irish website, but the English website shows great prices and some lovely bits and pieces.

Love the pretzel and crispie cakes in chocolate. Wonder would a small chocolate fountain be overkill

Some questions: if I do canapés how many different types would you normally expect?

Salads meat and breads would remove any need for sandwiches right?

You know the way you can have great intentions and it doesn't work out, are there are seasoned tips on presentation to avoid the table looking like I jut shoved everything on plates?

We will have to borrow or create a table to run along the wall, I think some boxes under the table cloth to make some different levels will add some interest and make it easier to get at the food. Any other ideas?

Has anyone seen anything unusual that just works?

Edited: thanks a million for taking the time to help btw. Much appreciated.

ellejay · 15-09-2015 5:06pm

Hi Whispered

It's all very do-able!

We did a party for my mother's birthday, for 70 people last year, first week in December.

We did Turkey and Ham.
In saying that, we borrowed a hostess trolley (80's gadget not sure if they're still on the go.)

I bought four rolled and boned crown of Turkey, and 2 large Ham's.
Cooked the day before. On the day. heated them in Trolley and covered with stock and Tinfoil.

We cooked Carrots, Caulflower, Broccoli in three separate electric steamers. (Borrowed)
Made the Cauliflower sauce separate and left a couple of jugs on the buffet table.

For spuds, we cooked a big pot of boiled baby new potatoes and also mash. But if you wanted to use your oven you easily have roastie's ready to go.

For Dessert we did Apple Tart, about 7 of them. Because a lot of the guests were older and they love Apple Tart. We Did Jugs of custard and cream and left them on the buffet table for guest to help themselves.

We also did Irish Coffees and Cheese Boards, that was a bit of work, but plenty of people happy to help.

The buffet table was L shaped, we borrowed them for a Local Hall and covered with tablecloths.
Glasses we borrowed from local pub, big rush to get them back the next day.
Cuttlery we bought in a Cash and Carry, along with salads.
We priced hiring the equipment but too expensive. Also has to go back washed at a set time. So it suited to buy it.

If I was doing it again, I wouldn't bother with salads at all.
I'll never forget shelling all those boiled eggs as long as I live.

I also found that people like to help.
They seem to feel more involved, so a simple "would you mind bringing out the Gravy please" went a long way.
And genuinely the help was great!!

Also you might need some kids food, sausages or something.

The key is to prepare as much as possible the day before.
I felt so many guest wanted to chat to me and say hello, it kinda slowed things up.
So If you can arrange for friends or family to have designated jobs, that will really help.
Eg topping up the wine or drinks, you can't do that, and get the food out.

That's really all I can think of.
Best of Luck!

pwurple · 15-09-2015 5:16pm

60 people is a big enough group. Is your food going to be eaten on plates with tables and chairs (do you have 60 chairs!), or are people standing and milling around with a drink in one hand and food in the other?

If it's the latter, then I think go for things that don't need to be chopped up or require cutlery&plates. Finger food all the way. Also saves the washup. Hot ones -> Sausage rolls, bruschetta, garlic bread, samosas, small vol-au-vonts. Cold ones -> Salad wraps cut up into slices, brownbread with smoked salmon and cream cheese, crackers with pate or cheeses.

On desserts, I nearly always keep the same principle, individual portions for a party are far far easier to deal with. Provide napkins.

Buns/cupcakes, brownies, mince pies and maybe some plates of pretty biscuits in addition to your birthday cake (for those who want a cuppa!). For height on your dessert table, turn a bowl or cup upside down and put your plate on top of it.

Don't forget about drinks. For that volume of people, maybe delegate a couple of helpers to drinks duties, and set up your bar/drinks area away from your food area. Someone on hot drinks (tea, coffee, mulled wine) and someone on wine, beer, soft drinks, water.

Collect empties and napkins, people leave them lying all over the gaff.

ellejay · 15-09-2015 5:20pm

Whispered wrote: »

So sorry I never mentioned. It'll be a week before Christmas so yes wintery and a nod to Christmas is good, like the mince pies. It will be starting in the afternoon too, if that make a difference to the food?

Some brilliant ideas, I'll have to sit down with a pen and jot them all down. I do not have a slow cooker, but if I got two, would that work for the hot chocolate and mulled wine then? I'm sure I could borrow them somewhere!

I was on to m&s today who said I could order their party platters in store. They don't seem to be on the Irish website, but the English website shows great prices and some lovely bits and pieces.

Love the pretzel and crispie cakes in chocolate. Wonder would a small chocolate fountain be overkill

Some questions: if I do canapés how many different types would you normally expect?

Salads meat and breads would remove any need for sandwiches right?

You know the way you can have great intentions and it doesn't work out, are there are seasoned tips on presentation to avoid the table looking like I jut shoved everything on plates?

We will have to borrow or create a table to run along the wall, I think some boxes under the table cloth to make some different levels will add some interest and make it easier to get at the food. Any other ideas?

Has anyone seen anything unusual that just works?

Edited: thanks a million for taking the time to help btw. Much appreciated.

We got fresh bread rolls, to bring out at the end of the night.
Again help yourself type of thing.
We left it on the buffet table with salads.
Unfortunately no-one availed of them, all too much food.

Whispered · 15-09-2015 5:40pm

Some great ideas elliejay. Thanks!

Pwrple it'll be a standing up type of thingy, with some seats and couches but certainly not 60. So do you think rather than salad and bread, ready made rolls/bread etc?

Actually, how many seats would I need to cover so nobody ends up wrecked with nowhere to sit down?

ellejay · 15-09-2015 5:49pm

Whispered wrote: »

Some great ideas elliejay. Thanks!

Pwrple it'll be a standing up type of thingy, with some seats and couches but certainly not 60. So do you think rather than salad and bread, ready made rolls/bread etc?

Actually, how many seats would I need to cover so nobody ends up wrecked with nowhere to sit down?

We had reckoned on everyone using the marquee's we'd set up outside. Due to torrential rain, the marquee's collapsed, half of one was used by the smokers. Everyone ended up inside and we were desperately short of space.

The older people took the couch's etc, and younger people took turns sitting down to eat. Some even sat on the stairs, very inventive.

We borrowed fold up chairs from the local hall so had enough seating for 45. Ended up being plates on knees unfortunately.

On the plus side, it was an intimate, friendly setting!

cobham · 15-09-2015 6:00pm

I made good use of two slow cookers to keep food warm and easy to serve from. I had choice of two types of curry..which were were prepared earlier and transferred to slow cookers. Rice was cooked on hob in largest pots. It seemed to work ok with people coming and eating at different times over the evening. I never managed to cater for 60 though....

Not everyone wanting to sit at same time! yes in summer garden steps become seats with selection of cushions/seatpads and in winter the stairs get used! I make use of an ironing board covered in decent cloth as a serving /side/drinks table for an odd corner.

Hot chocolate is nice idea to sent them home (hint!

) Green and Blacks do a lovely rich type of instant mix that can be made on water or milk or both.

pwurple · 15-09-2015 10:32pm

Whispered wrote: »

Some great ideas elliejay. Thanks!

Pwrple it'll be a standing up type of thingy, with some seats and couches but certainly not 60. So do you think rather than salad and bread, ready made rolls/bread etc?

Actually, how many seats would I need to cover so nobody ends up wrecked with nowhere to sit down?

It's up to yourself, you know your own crowd. Generally, the older people are, the more they like to sit. Teenagers are happy out leaning against walls.

I'd go with things ready to grab myself, but I'm assuming everyone is arriving around the same time, staying for a bit and going again? If it's an all day thing, with people arriving in dribs and drabs, maybe salads meat and breads might suit them better.

People will sit anywhere. Couch arms, steps, stairs, windowsills, kitchen counters. Just try to keep them out of your bedrooms. Half a very dry sandwich and an ecosystem in an old cup of tea is not something to find a week later under a bed.

Smidge · 16-09-2015 4:20am

Just one point on doing ready made foods from party platters etc.
Can be a divil to watch/not burn while greeting guests etc. They dont all cook at the same rate either, so something to think about(and can work out pretty expensive if you want to feed people, not just give them nibbles)

Having done LOTS of very large family events over the years, I can def recommend the chicken curry/chilli con carne/beef stroganoff suggestion.
Can be done the day before and reheated slowly while people are arriving.
Also, some salads and meats never go amiss too and can all be prepared in advance and leave you free to enjoy the event stress free

Whispered · 16-09-2015 10:02am

Stroganoff or the likes might work well from a slow cooker? I'm very reluctant to have anything on the gas. Not only a bit dangerous with so many people milling about, also the issue of me having to keep an eye on it.

How does this look?

http://viedechateaux.ie/restaurant/portfolio-item/event-catering/

It looks good to me and I know the place gets good reviews. The food is supposed to be excellent.

I have no idea how much I'd need to order though. I've sent an email enquiry and the chef/owner emailed me back asking to meet up to discuss. Which is great, but I'd like some idea about what I'd need to order before speaking with him. No point in wasting his time if it's going to turn out at 1,000 sort of thing!

18-09-2015 8:24pm

If it's a standing party, the less fuss the better. Goulash or Curry and rice can be eaten with a fork. Finger food again easy to eat, but might take more preparing. Individual desserts, like mince pies or apple tarts, with custard or cream on the side. Fiddly salads would be awkward to manage one handed. Make a list of all foods you would like served to you at a party and pick two or three. Most important, enjoy yourself.

nozzferrahhtoo · 18-09-2015 10:21pm

Whispered wrote: »

I'm not a great cook and tend to get flustered when there is a lot going on at once.

The trick would be to make as many things before hand as possible. Things that keep well but taste good. I tend to make a lot of DIPS the day before. Fresh Guccamole, Salsa, Yoghurt and Chives, and so forth. There are 100s of dip ideas out there, some of them quite filling almost a meal in themselves. Served simply with nachoes or dorito type things, you instantly have a ton of food on hand.

Heavier filling salads that are quick to make but have a lot going on are also great. Google the smitten kitchen smashed chick pea salad for an example of where I am going with that. Again makeable quickly the day before, you can hammer together a large batch in half an hour, but great to serve with a few sticks of french bread.

Also good to have is a HUGE pot, your own or borrowed, which you can keep bubbling over with a good soup. I tend to have a very big pot with something kept hot for the entire eating part of my part that people can laddle into bowls easily but has a lot of flavour.

Cheese platters are always easy to construct and with a nice variety served with crackers, apples, and olives you have instantly got dishes you can leave around the place for picking.

Backing up a large batch of Jacket Potatoes is also an option. You can wrap large potatoes in tin foil a couple of days before hand and then get them baking on the day. Then all you need is things like cream cheese, chopped up salmon, and so forth that people can spoon into their own potato. This works well for me because I have a large metal container in my garden that I can contain a mini bonfire in. And we tend to throw 30 or 40 tinfoil wrapped potatoes around the outsides of it that people can fish out totally cooked later on.

As for drinks, it depends how much money you want to throw at it, but a secret I have found is have a few 10 euro cocktail kits around and a selection of alcohols and fruit juices. People end up just entertaining themselves. Throwing together cocktails, showing off their tom cruise cocktail shaker skills, so a few bottles of different spirits, a few bottles of fresh fruit juice, maybe some coconut cream and the like, a a load of fresh mint leaves, and you not only have drinks sorted but a group of the guests end up entertaining themselves with it too. If you have time, try and perfect a cocktail yourself to show off. I am a pina colada snob myself.

And never underestimate the power of the cocktail sausage. You can fit a LOT of them on a baking tray or two. Bake them up, feck them all in an enourmous bowl and leave a box or two of toothpicks beside the bowl, and you have a couple hundred sausages for people to munch into. Consider asking your neighbours if you can put a few slow bake things on in their ovens too, that you can jump in and pick up when done, but free up the space in your own oven.

I could go on for hours about the food and drinks ideas I bring to my house parties, but thatll do for now

Paella is astounding successful for large groups to dig into when done right but a bit more effort than my more low level stuff above.

The smitten kitchen corn chowder salad also worth a look. As is their avocado cucumber salad. And their wild mushroom pate. I am getting carried away now.

And if you have a few days to prepare look at the cooking club recipie for caramel squares. You could churn out 5 or 6 batches of those in a day and have a STACK of treats for desserts that will last fresh for quite a few days.

But just like the song that ends with "Trust me on the sun screen", Trust me on the dips.

Whispered · 09-12-2015 10:54pm

Party size has reduced to 30 - 40. After a fair bit of to-ing and fro-ing, I'm finalizing the menu and would like some honest opinions please. Also any ideas on serving, plating up etc appreciated.

Ham and cheese platter (I'm thinking of just buying good quality packet ham instead of cooking a ham, smoked cheddar and mature cheddar, served with wholegrain mustard)

Greek Salad with hummus
Chicken ceaser salad
Cocktail sausages
Goats cheese bruschetta (still deciding on exact recipe, would like the cheese whipped though)
Smoked salmon and cream cheese bruschetta
Mini Spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce
Selection of bread
Wedges
Pizza (for kids mainly)

Dessert table:
Lime pie
Mince Pie (shop bought)
Brownies
Banoffee (guest bringing)
Caramel squares (guest bringing)
Birthday cake

Drinks:
Self serve container of "winter fizz" (lemonade, cranberry juice, ginger)
Water with lemon wedges
Wine
Port
Baileys

2xj3hplqgsbkym · 09-12-2015 11:39pm

The deserts sounds lovely . Are you going to do the mulled wine or just wine? Or hot ports? I can't imagine too many people would drink baileys, unless you are planning on baileys coffees which are a lot if work. Do you not think you will need any beer or spirits?

Greek salad is nice but do you need hummus with it? What would people use to dip in the hummus?

Chicken Caesar salad may go soggy unless dressing is on the side. I would prefer some more filling salads such as pasta salads or cous cous or quinoa salads as someone else suggested. They are cheap to make and filling, and can be prepared the day before, eg. Pasta with roasted peppers, mozerella and basil .

Pizza will always go down well and bruschetta sounds nice.

2xj3hplqgsbkym · 09-12-2015 11:42pm

Also I think you would be better buying a cooked ham if you don't want to cook one and just slice it yourself. Fancy deli slices would be very expensive and doesn't look as good as one you have sliced. But really cooking one yourself is very easy and could be done a few days in advance.

Whispered · 10-12-2015 12:01am

I'm more excited about the desserts than anything!

I was thinking of just getting a pre made sachet of spices and seeing if people wanted mulled on the day. It doesn't seem too popular really.
For the baileys I have coffee ice cubes made so I wasn't planning on doing anything but iced baileys coffees. Port is just there because we already have it in the house

I won't be heating it. As its a Sunday daytime party, not many will be drinking anyway and most of those coming are wine drinkers. Although it would be a good idea to have a few beers in. Would lagers be the norm?

Sorry I should have said. The selection of bread would include breadsticks. But really I included the hummus because I always have it with Greek salad. It's sort of the norm for me. I was planning on having it in the middle of the salad with a spoon and people could use it like a dressing.

Yes the dressing for the chicken salad will be on the side.

I actually had "pasta caprese salad" on the menu and took it off thinking I have too many salads. I might stick it back on.

Thanks

Oh edited to add: I've only ever cooked one ham. Not sure if I have the confidence to cook one now. Maybe I could buy a precooked one. Ha I'm also not a very good carver. Could it work to have a ham on the table with a carving knife? (Well out of reach of small hands) or would people expect it to be carved.

Melendez · 10-12-2015 10:11am

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Whispered · 10-12-2015 10:34am

Melendez wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I'll be passing and M&S tonight

will pop in to have a look. Thanks.

Party for 60 people - food

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