Need Menu Ideas for a Large Party

Hi C.,

Gordon Food Center is also a great place. (and no membership needed like Costco)

For my daughters 1st birthday we had about 45 people here and only 1 grille, and it worked out just fine. You just grill up a bunch at a time, and people just get them when they're ready.

Fruit salad is good. If you do any sort of creamy salad, do a double bowl thing with the bottom bowl filled with ice to keep things cool.

You can also do a crock pot full of Swedish meatballs or something like that. You can always find a bag of those at Meijer or Gordons. If you do a bunch of sides like that, people will eat fewer burgers.

I love the burgers from Gordons. Seriously...from the FREEZER to the grill and they taste great! So, you don't have to worry about thawing out a bunch of burgers and potentially having a lot left over that might go bad before you eat them. You could also consider asking someone to borrow a grill for the day. A neighbor?

Corn on the cob. Typically pretty cheap and easy.

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I just did a party for about 50 people and I got roasted chicken from Kroger Deli and it was fabulous! They did barbeque roasted chicken (74 pieces) for about $50.00 They also had regular roasted and fried for the same price. I think that about a dollar per person for meat is pretty reasonable for meat and they were awesome about having it ready when I needed it and even helped me load it in the car.

Good Luck!

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C.

My favorite party main course is beef tenderloin....which sounds crazy expensive, but I know you can often get them on sale throughout the summer for as low as $6.99 per pound (as opposed to $25-$30 per pound). Check with Hillers and Papa Joes (2 I know that do these sales and tell them the date, maybe they will work with you in price ahead of time). Served the way I am about to suggest, you will need about 6-7 tenderloins for 100 adults (about 4 pounds each).

The reason I love this dish is because you serve it thinly sliced on a bed of arugala alongside sliced pieces of baguette (have bakery/market slice for you). People just add dijon or horseradish sauce (2 t prepared horseradish to 1 cup sour cream)....and they have a really nice/upscale sandwhich and the beef ends up going a long way. THE BEST PART..............is you can marinate it (in A.M. in red wine, little olive oil,garlic and rosemary) and cook it the afternoon before! (425 degree WELL-preheated oven til internal temp is 130-135 degrees...about 20-30 minutes) Just slice up the morning of the party and put aside in fridge until before the party (at which point you put it on platters of arugala (find in produce aisle, it's a peppery lettuce). The other beauty of beef tenderloin is that it tastes great hot, cold or at room temp!

Add several salads (pasta, green, fruit, bean, slaw) and some appetizers (hummous, other dips, chips, nuts, etc.) and you should be able to do the whole party (don't forget drinks/desert)for about $500 or less. You DO have 100 people, so it will be hard to do it much cheaper. The only thing I would suggest, is to ask siblings (if you have any) to pitch in. We did this for my dad's 70th, but I had the main course catered ($$$). Adding in alcohol and a fabulous cake, it ended up costing me/my 3 brothers $150 apiece for a 40-person party. If you are going to have kids, I suggest ordering pizzas specifically for the kids to cut down on cost. They would prefer it over the beef anyhow.

There is a great imitation "mayo/salad dressing" called Vegannaise sold at Whole Foods. In their "original" flavor, it makes a great cole slaw (with cider vinegar,sugar and salt) and won't go bad like mayo will since it is Vegan :)

Be sure to look for sales on wine and then buy by the case for an added discount. You can start shopping for great alcohol prices well before August and just store.

Good luck!

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Hi C.,

When I have a large group to feed and want something easy to prepare so I can actually enjoy the party...I make beef briskets. It is a two day process...which I know sounds like a lot of work...but it couldn't be easier!

I suggest you buy/borrow one or two electric roasters...much easier and less costly than using your oven...plus you won't heat the house up. (And they travel easy in case you're having the party at a hall, etc.)

Day 1
Trim excess fat from the briskets

Put the briskets in a roaster (you can fit a few in each...they shrink quite a bit during cooking).

Sprinkle each with salt, pepper, celery salt and garlic salt/powder. (you can add any other seasonings you are fond of) Sprinkle each with beefy french onion soup mix, one envelope per brisket.

Add enough water to almost cover the briskets.

Cover and cook at 325 for about 4 hours. (You may need to add water as you go. This will be your au jus when you serve the brisket.)

Remove briskets, let cool and then slice (against the grain, about 3/4" thick slices) and place back into the liquid. Cover and put in fridge over nite.

Day 2
Scoop and remove any excess fat from the top. Put roaster back on 325 and let simmer for another 4-5 hours.

Add water if needed, and I usually add a couple more packets of the beefy onion soup mix.

You're better off to cook it too long instead of not long enough. The longer it stays in the roaster...the more delicious and tender it gets. It can stay in there all day as long as it is kept hot.

It really is easy and leaves you free to deal with your side dishes and enjoy your guests.

I buy 3/4" sliced bread (the brand I've found is called "Big Texas") and people love to make an open face "hot beef sandwich" by putting the brisket on a slice of bread and drizzling it with the au jus. (I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!)

Everyone I have made this for has been floored at how good it is. Honestly...we are not big beef eaters in my family...but my brother made these briskets for a family gathering and it has become a staple ever since.

I get my briskets at Costco...good price...great selection. If you have a meat market, you could check with them, too. I think it is usually about $3.99/pound at Costco.

An easy side is lots of mashed potatoes...they keep well in a roaster or crock pot also. (Make them a little more moist than you usually would).

Good luck!
L.

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Hi C.,

we crock-potted several pork loins (good prices at Sams club)with hot sauce and a bit of vinegar then shredded with forks. We did it ahead and froze it the put it back in the crock pot for the event with BBQ sauce...home made is very inexpensive and you can control the amount of sugar that way also. This worked very well and we were able to get a lot of the work done ahead.

coleslaw is a simple side with pork. Gordons has good pre chopped cabbage at a good price. Overall tho I find Sam's club to be a lot less expensive.

how does all that sound?

M.

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C.,

I just had my sons graduation open house and prepared food for 150. I got pretty much everything at Gordon's food Service. You can buy pulled pork in 5 lb. or 6 lb. tins and just heat it up in the over and serve it in a roaster. It's very good and a fraction of the cost of a roast hog. I also made silver dollar sandwiches using little sandwich buns purchased at wal-Mart (discounted) for $1.50 for a dozen. The ham and turkey and cheese I ordered from Gordon's for a very good price. They have large containers of potato salad, macaroni salad and cole slaw which are reasonably priced. It really doesn't cost that much to make your own pasta salad as pasta is cheap. Add some broccoli or cauliflower and some Italian dressing and you have an inexpesive dish. Baked beans are inexpensive. Fruit salads and cut up veggies are expensive although Gordon's does sell frozen fruit salad, it is not as good as fresh. However, you could make a relatively inexpensive fruit salad using watermellon, grapes, canned pineapple and strawberries which are in season now. Gordon's is the place to go for hosting large parties, they carry everything you will need.

S.

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A pasta & salad bar go along way......If you don't have some kind of chaffing dishes, crock pots, roasters, try and borrow them. The nice thing about this is it can all be made ahead of time. You can cook the pasta the day before, aldente, (not quite done). Just before the party, microwave for a minute or two, then put into heated dish of your choice. Have different kinds of sauces to choose from, Marinara, meatballs, alfredo, etc. It goes along ways. Go to Costco or Sams, and buy huge bag of lettuce. Then make the salad bar with all different choices for toppings. I would give 3 choices of dressing, look for what's on sale.....Garlic bread, and desert, and your done!!! The best thing again is it can all be done ahead of time. Sauces can be made weeks in advance frozen. Salad stuff can be chopped up a day or two in advance. It works great!!! Good Luck

Holy Hog! I take it you would have it catered to cost that much. If you want to stick with the roasting a hog idea, contact me on how to do it. You can rent a roaster from Holiday Market, and you can get a #110 hog (which is all you would need) from Kaps in Eastern Market for $1.39 a pound. You can do it yourself for half that at most onceyou get charcoal and the roaster, I believe. I am not sure how much a roaster costs to rent. Then you make a few salads and you are good to go! Roasting yourself takes a long time, but believe me, a case of beer will keep your husband and his buddies busy, and they will actually enjoy it! Contact me: ____@____.com and I will try to help you out with this. Your other option would be to get some chaffing dishes (disposable) from Gordon's with the sterno, make hotdogs and hamburgers earlier, and keep them warm with the pans. You could also throw in some chicken breasts. Or you could just go all cold food and have a tray of sandwiches. Have a variety of sandwiches and salad and avoid cooking altogether. Just some ideas. Good luck.

C.,
The best thing I can say is "ask for help", that's a lot of people to feed on just you alone. Ask everyone to bring a dish to pass, i.e. potato salad, baked beans, salads, meatballs, chips, sodas, etc...
Are you having the party at your house? maybe you could borrow a neighbors grill for the day and invite them along also.
Hope everything turns out good for you. have fun!

Watch for sales around 4th of July weekend- hot dogs and burger usually go on sale as well as chips and all things bbq. So, if you go that way, you can buy a bunch a head of time and freeze for a couple of weeks.

Try party subs from subway, or if you have Q-doba or Taco Bobs were you are you could get a taco bar. I'm not sure how much it would be to feed 100, but it has to be cheaper than $500. Also you could ask family members who live in the area to bring dishes to pass, just tell them desserts or salads or whatever, I'm sure people would be happy to help. Also, you could always do a bunch of snack foods instead of a big main course, this might be a little cheaper. I had to feed about 50 for my wedding reception (it was very casual) and we just got chips with dip, cheese and crackers and little sandwiches, and it went over really well and wasn't expensive at all. Good luck!

A SIMPLE side are meatballs. We buy frozen ones from Meijer, dump them in a crock pot and pour BBQ sauce on them. So easy, pretty cheap and they are gone EVERY time.

Have you looked into Chicken from somewhere like Kroger? I saw some pretty cheap prices advertized and herad that they taste great.

You could always do something like mini hot dogs, mac-n-cheese or chicken nuggets for the kids and just make them ahead and keep them in warmers.

Have fun, people will love what ever you have to offer :)

Mostacolli.

Cook the noodles.
Cook a bunch of ground beef.
Add jarred/canned pasta sauce.

You do all of this ahead of time/day before.
Heat it up in a big electric roasting oven and leave it in that for serving.

This will feed a ton of people.

Pair this with hot dogs/hamburgers or chicken.
I also suggest asking family members to each make a side item. Then you will really be set!

As others have suggested, Gordon's is a great place. They have cards that will tell you how much of each thing you need to feed the number of people you are serving.

If you do the hamburgers and hotdogs, just buy the tin containers to put them as you cook to keep them hot. You could just stick them in your oven to keep them warm then too.

Hi C., A very good side dish is spaghetti salad. It is a cold dish and goes a long way. Doesnt cost much to make alot. The first time I heard about it I thought yuck, but tasted it and now I make it all the time. Contact me if you want the recipe. My family loves it!

check out this website!!!
http://www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/plan/quan100.html

Here is a link to my small-medium sized events menu. I haven't catered anything yet, however, I have cooked for like 50 people all by myself. If you want to cook them yourself, let me know and I'll email you the recipes. If you can't view the document, then give me your email address and I'll invite you to view.
http://docs.google.com/View?docID=dgxksb3z_6fdnhhqq9&...

H.

I am actually having a 60th b-day party for my in-laws on Saturday. I have had hosted 4 parties in the last 3 years at my home with approx 60 people at each. We are having a luau theme party this saturday so I know how expensive the pig is. Here are some food ideas that have worked great for me!

Hamburgers & Hot Dog - get at costco or sams - best value unless the hot dogs go on sale at Meijer (4/$5 or buy one get one free)
Maybe borrow a grill from a family member or friend - that is what we do and it works wonderful.

We are doing pulled pork in addition to the hamburgers/hot dogs - It is always a hit at the last party I did in the fall. My Aunt is actually taking care of this for me but I have helped before with it and it is easy. Not much work the day off.

Also stay away from creamy side salads - nothing with mayo as those tend to not get eaten (people are afraid of it being outside sitting in the sun). It is easier to do non creamy salads.

We have also done nachos and cheese - got he nacho cheese from Gordon Food and the nacho chips from them as well - best value I have found.
We put a little water in the bottom of a crock pot, put the entire can of nacho cheese (it is big) into the crock pot, turn on low stir once and a while. You will want to turn it on at noon for a 3pm party - then people can have nacho and chips also.

Don't forget about veggie tray, fruit salad is always a major hit.

We skipped the cake this time, since it usually gets forgotten so we are doing cookies, brownies, eclairs, cream puffs, some sugar free stuff.

It can be very hard - how ever plan it out and you will be fine. Get the silver/tin pans with the sterno to keep the things warm. Take the time to check out prices around town. Don't stress about the party - enjoy it also!! If you have any questions just send me a personal message. I have done so many parties it is crazy (three 30th b-day, graduation from college, baby shower, baptism, 1st, 2nd b-day party) I love having parties but it can be stressful

Good Luck and what a nice daughter you are to do something so special for your dad! He will be so surprised!

K.

What about Sloppy Joes? They are easy to make and you can make them in a large roaster/crock pot. I've done parties for 60-80 and it was a hit. Good luck!

I don't know about a menu, but I would check out Cattleman's for whatever meat you need. They are SO reasonable. There is one in Detroit and one in Taylor. Well worth the trip. You can buy a big thing of meat and they will cut it however you want.

Where do you live? I'm near Lansing and we have this great little meat market called Hannah's in Sunfield and they sell these awesome seasoned pork roasts - just put 2 or 3 in a roaster and let them cook. It is my favorite item to cook for a large gathering. If you're not near Sunfield, check at your local meat market and see if they have the same - I think they are priced around $1.89 per pound, or so. Figure about 1/4 lb per person, you'll probably need at least 5 or 6 roasts. Anyhow, it's an idea. You can do it! Good luck

I would do a taco, or baked potato bar.

buy, borrow, or rent electric roaster pans or chafing dishes to keep the filling hot.

toss a bunch of foil wrapped potatoes in a roasting pan (or your oven) (if you are going for 100guests I'd do 125 potatos because some people might want seconds, or some potatoes might not be the greatest) A couple of big bags of frozen broccoli, cheese sauce (big cans from Gordons, Sams, or Costco) You can either make your own chilli or buy it premade in cans, shredded cheese, sour cream, butter. side dishes are easy for this one, Green salad, a nice fresh fruit salad or a couple of big ol' watermelons cut into wedges.

For Tacos, you can make your taco meat right in the roaster pans. You'll figure 2 tacos per person with 2oz of meat per taco so buy 10-15lbs of meat (I would go 15lbs to be on the safe side) Shredded lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa. Then side dishes perhaps a beans and rice casserole, Green salad and fresh fruit to round it out.