100 wedding guests

[Chufi]

I need advice!

Friends are getting married and they asked me to 'help' with the food. They are on a budget and want to do most of it themselves (exept for the wedding cake). I am known as a good cook who also loves to cook for crowds. But my biggest crowd has been hors d'oeuvres for 50.. so I think this crowd of 100 is going to be a real challenge.

The groom is a very good cook. He spends all his summers in Italy and loves French and Italian 'country'style food. His birthday parties are feasts with whole pigs being roasted, big pans of pasta on the table, chunks of bread and tomato salads. But he is also very chaotic and not very well organized (at his parties, there are usually some people with an empty plate because there was just not enough pasta). - which means I am going to do most of the organizing.

So.

What would be easy dishes for a crowd this big, that can be prepared ahead? I could use tips for mains as well as appetizers. The party will be at the house of the bride's parents, there is a small kitchen, but I think we will have to rent a stove or something.

Oh boy. And by the way.. the wedding is 3 weeks from today.

Edited December 2, 2004 by Chufi (log)

[GG Mora]

When my husband and I got married, we were on a tight budget and had about 100 people we wanted to invite. We rented a big tent and tables and chairs and made three giant pans of paella, stuffed with lovely seafood. Accompanied it with a beautiful green salad and rustic country bread. Good local microbrew on tap or sangira to drink. For appetizers, we laid a spread of cold / room temp. tapas. I made my own wedding cake. We spent less than $1000.00.

[Chufi]

paella! now that sounds like a great idea and very much their style, too.

thanks!

[robyn]

I need advice!

Friends are getting married and they asked me to 'help' with the food. They are on a budget and want to do most of it themselves (exept for the wedding cake). I am known as a good cook who also loves to cook for crowds. But my biggest crowd has been hors d'oeuvres for 50.. so I think this crowd of 100 is going to be a real challenge.

The groom is a very good cook. He spends all his summers in Italy and loves French and Italian 'country'style food. His birthday parties are feasts with whole pigs being roasted, big pans of pasta on the table, chunks of bread and tomato salads. But he is also very chaotic and not very well organized (at his parties, there are usually some people with an empty plate because there was just not enough pasta). - which means I am going to do most of the organizing.

So.

What would be easy dishes for a crowd this big, that can be prepared ahead? I could use tips for mains as well as appetizers. The party will be at the house of the bride's parents, there is a small kitchen, but I think we will have to rent a stove or something.

Oh boy. And by the way.. the wedding is 3 weeks from today.

←

In light of what you've said - I think the first thing you have to establish is the budget for the food and the things to serve the food - and who's going to give you the money to pay for it. I would think a minimum of $30/person - so you're talking about $3000 rock bottom. When someone offers to give you at least that much money - it's time to talk about menus. Otherwise - you're just looking for a big headache. Robyn

[rooftop1000]

hi hi

When I did the 65 ppl in the backyard wedding I fortunately worked for a gourmet caterer who did chile rubbed pork loins filet of beef and grilled veggies with a room temp orzo dish for me for 600 bucks...

but spiral sliced hams, smoked turkeys, quiches, a hot or cold pasta, tossed and fruit salads with great breads and rolls with funky condiments like chutneys relishes flavored mayos....

Quiche for a group is fun to do if ya just make a pitcher of the custardand line up your pie shells with goodies in them ...crab meat plum tomato fresh herbs brie

ham swiss bacon cheddar smoked salmon goat cheese carmelized onion...etc

DONT FORGET someone to clear plates or throw away plates even if it will be buffet hire at least 2 people even if they are neighborhood teens to clear the tables...and set up....our biggest expense was actually service ....but I actually got a chance to eat, it was nubbins from the end of a beef but i got something

tracey

[Chufi]

thanks for the suggestions.

I had a meeting with the bride and groom last night and this is what we decided on:

appetizers:

goats cheese topped with red pepper marmelade, on slices of baguette

blini with smoked salmon, sour cream, chives and salmon eggs

chorizo puffs

cheese puffs

little squares of spicy meatloaf, served on bread, probably with some onion confit.

first course:

a buffet of different kinds of quiches, green salads, and some fish platters (shrimp - smoked eel)

main: (this may sound odd but it's what the groom wants..)

choucroute served on warm rolls with mustard, sausages and baked ham

for the vegetarians: choucroute on rolls served with sauteed mushrooms

dessert:

Storebought meringue and chocolate cakes

Biscotti.

Everything will be home made except for the cakes. I will make the appetizers, the mother of the bride will make the quiches, and the rest will be made by the groom and me together (all will be prepared ahead and will only need reheating)

On the evening itself I will be in charge of all food and wine related things: plating, serving, opening wine, etc. I will have a couple of high schoolstudents (groom is a teacher) to be my slaves for the night.

This is going to be a real challenge but I am actually looking forward to it!

Edited December 5, 2004 by Chufi (log)

[Chufi]

I have done catering for large parties before, but for some reason I was never very good at planning and preparing ahead. This time I am really doing it right.

200 blini are already in my freezer, as are 3 huge meatloaves. I am feeling soooo organized. I think that with the proper planning, advance preparation, enough storage space and (very important) enough helping hands to do last minute work and help you serve, almost anything can be done!

I plan to take pics of some more of the preparation and of the day itself. If all goes well I will be very proud of myself and if all goes wrong.. you'll probably won't hear from me again..

[Rachel Perlow]

If you would like the "slices of baguette" for the goat cheese and meatloaf to be crunchy, they can be done ahead of time as well. Slice the baguette thinly (on the bias looks pretty, but straight across is a more dainty portion), around 1/3 inch thick. Brush or spray the slices with olive oil, and toast in the oven at 325 F, checking/turning every 10 minutes until they are completely hard and dry (but not browned), should take about 25 minutes total. If you like, rub with cut garlic cloves.

I wouldn't normally think to make these oven baked croutons more than a day ahead, but I made some about two weeks ago and just had the last few pieces today with lunch (topped with tuna salad), and they were just as crunchy. They were stored in a plastic bag, but I bet an airtight container would be better.

Uses: as bruscetta for topping with marinated diced tomato or bean salad; cheese; or as the croutons in French onion soup (which is why I originally made them).

[Chufi]

The wedding is over.. and it went really well. For weeks, I have been shopping, planning, cooking and freezing. The day before I was very nervous and worried. But it all went very well, people were happy and well fed, it was a great party.

I made everything well in advance (including the croutons, thanks Rachel for the tip) except the biscotti which I made the day before, and they were the only item that I was not too happy with.

On the night, I had help - 4 boys were in charge of opening the door, hanging coats,and all the drinks. I had 5 girls in the kitchen with me and I was so glad they were there. Feeding 120 people is very time consuming.

The most fiddly thing to make were the blini - reheat pancakes, top with salmon, creme fraiche, chives, spring onions, salmon eggs. 200 times!

here are a couple of the girls topping croutons with goats cheese, peppers in balsamic vinegar, and basil:

throughout the house, there were several tables set like this, with salads, cheese boards, fish platters, ham, and quiches:

The most hectic thing to do (which is why I don't have a pic of it) was plating more than 100 plates of choucroute with braised pheasant, mustard-spread rolls, and different kinds of pork. Also heating all that stuff on a small domestic hob was no easy thing.

But.. it was a great experience and the happy faces of the bride and groom and the compliments of the guests made it all worth it!