Cooking Question for Home Party

I had 20 people for Eater and had an 11 pound ham and it was perfect.

I'd make a 6-7 lb. roast.
I'd make 2 pounds of pasta.
5-7 lbs. potato salad.
I'd use 3 hearts of romaine lettuce heads plus other ingredients.
5-6 dz. cookies (you're having cake)

quiche? No clue.
banana bread--absolutely you can freeze & thaw day of.

Good luck!

I agree with One And Done. Remember, most people will only eat 1 of the entrees, so you're looking at feeding 6 people with each. That should make your planning easier.

Yes, you can make quiche ahead and warm it up. Yes, you can freeze the banana bread and thaw it.

Honestly, I think you have too much food for 17 adults. Make one meat, one starch (penne or potato salad) and one veggie (the salad). Yes banana bread can be made a month in advance even, frozen, and then thawed in the fridge the night before. At least my recipe tastes great after being frozen!

So to figure out how much of each food, just count. Most people eat 1/4-1/3 lb of meat, plus a spoonful of noodles, plus a spoonful of salad. So 1/3 lb x 17 is approx 6 lbs of meat. Salad probably two heads of lettuce plus a variety of toppings (olives, croutons, cheese, artichoke, hearts of palm, oranges, cucumber, tomatoes just to name a few) Penne - probably 2 or 3 boxes should be enough.

I just read other's answers. If you want to skip a salad, but still have veggies, maybe have a veggie platter with Ranch. Mine got devoured this weekend at my son's bday party.

My 2 cents on the quiche...I make these for my family - and freeze them...they thaw out perfectly and then I throw it day of in the oven at low temp 200ish to warm up.

As far as meats, 1/2 lb per person is a pretty good rule of thumb. I disagree that most people will only eat one entree though, most people will try a little bit of everything, so if you make half the amount of each, you'll probably be fine.

Potato salad, I usually do one potato per person, but kids don't usually count. You can subtract a few potatoes if you feel like that's too much, but that's usually how I do it.

You can absolutely cook the quiche and warm it up, I do that all the time. Or just cook it 1/2 way and do the rest the next day, either way works. If you make banana bread a few days early you won't necessarily need to freeze it. I'd wrap it really well, don't cut it and stick it in the fridge, it will be fine.

For salad, do less than you think. People don't take a lot of salad. They usually take some but it looks so big on a plate with lots of other stuff so I always have salad left over. Plus, if everything else looks too good, salad is the first thing most people will give up. I would seriously probably only do one head of lettuce plus extra veggies, etc. If you run out, oh well!

I think people munch on little desserts so if you do cookies I'd do a couple dozen easily. Kids are drawn to them! People are also always willing to take desserts home, so I feel having extra is better.

If I were you, I'd do a few quiche and a ham, skip the crock pot. Add in the sides you mentioned and I think you're good. I would add a fresh fruit platter because you can mostly get kids to eat that , it's easy and looks pretty.

Also, just FYI, Costco does a cross cake that I got for my son's Christening and it was so delicious and cheap! It will easily feed all your guests with leftovers and only costs $18. It looks a little funeral-y in the picture at the store, but if you get it without some of the weird scrolly things, it's perfect for a baptism!

I host lots of parties and holidays so I hope this helps!

Meat - 1/3 to 1/2 lb per person - I would only serve one type
Penne - 2 to 3 lbs
potato salad - at least 5 lbs
lettuce - depends on what other veggies your adding to the salad, a head of iceburg should be good
quiche - one of my favorties for this type of gathering, yes you can make it the day before, even 2 days before is fine, cut the quiche into 8 pieces
cookies 2 dozen, and go with a smaller cake
banana bread - yes it freezes very well

Have a great party!!!!

Try, just so that you are sure. Call a caterer and ask them about quantities and such. They would probably be able to give a more exact amount....

Holy cow! Can I come? =)

Look at the serving sizes in your recipes and on the ingredient labels.
Most pasta boxes/recipes are 8 to 10 servings, so those can be easily doubled and you'll have more than enough. A good rule of thumb with meat is a half pound per person which is WAY more than enough, especially with an array of sides and rolls.
It sounds like you are doing a LOT for a fairly small party. I think one meat, a pasta, potato and green salad (again look at recipes to plan the per serving size) and a nice cake should be plenty :)

If I were hosting a party, I would give serious thought to my guests and their consumption. i.e. If I were responsible for alcohol, I would count up who might be a light drinker, who might be a heavy drinker, and who might be an in between. Then toss an extra bottle or two in the kitty just to have more on hand.

To preserve the salad, you can shred and assemble everything, but don't add the dressing. Salad will keep for a day or two in the fridge. You can eat it as salad, or alternatively use it on your left over ham sandwiches, if you have any.

Also, if you make a spinach salad instead, and dress your potato salad without mayo, you have everything you need for a casserole, for the left over pot roast or ham.

I know I am not helping with your head count or portion size, but I hope I am helping you think ahead re: your left overs.

Good luck to you and yours,
F. B.