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Cooking for Parties/60th Birthday outdoor party

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Expert: - 8/19/2008


Question
Hi Teri,
I am having a party with 35-40 adults attending plus 8 children under the age of 10. This is what I have purchased so far:
stuffed shells (50) , mini meatballs (60), breaded chicken tenders (45 pieces) sausage and peppers (10 lbs of sausage), individual spinach pies w/yogurt sauce (40 pieces)
6 loaves of italian bread.  Spinach salad. starters: mozzarella and tomato salad; vegetable tray with dip. salsa & chips, cheese and crackers. layered taco dip.

I think I over did it! I was wondering how many pounds of peppers & onions would I need for the sausage and peppers? Is there an easy way to prepare the large quantity? The party starts at 1, when should I put out the main dishes?

Do you think I should also purchase a 3 ft hero? Did I buy too much food??  HELP!!

Regards,
Liz


Answer
Do not buy the hero!!  You already have more than enough food!  Put everything out at 130 or so--they can have some nibbles until then. You will need 4 pounds of peppers and 2 pounds of onions for your recipe.  Do not make anything else!!  Next time here's the rule on catering per person:
How much you will need per person:
7 ounces of cooked meat entree
4 ounces of each side dish up to 3
3 ounces of salad greens
1 4 ounce dessert serving
6-8 appetizer bites per person
16 oz of non-alcoholic beverage
2 oz of chips per person
1 oz of dip per person
Multiply the ounces times the number of guests and then divide by 16 to give you pounds of food and the beverage by 128 to give you the number of gallons of beverage you will need.

Cooking for Parties

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Teri Davis Newman

Expertise

I am a wedding and party planner in St. Louis, Missouri and I do weddings and parties all over the country! My brides are my number one priority as I understand how important their wedding day is to them! Any questions about catering and cooking for large groups. This would include recipes, cooking techniques, what to serve, how to prevent food poisoning, food storage and food integrity. I have thousands of recipes that are scaled for large groups and gatherings and will be happy to share them! If you are in need of professional assistance for helping you to plan your wedding, party or corporate event, please feel free to contact me! I do a limited amount of weddings and parties every year in order to make sure that I have the best service for my clientele. Feel free to visit my business website at this address: WWW.EXQUISITEEVENTSUSA.COM for detailed information on what services I offer. I have price point weddings for every budget--no matter what size and I am very specific about what you get for your hard-earned money.

Experience

Catering and parties are a large part of the restaurant business. I do a lot of catering for local parties and weddings.
Education/Credentials
Graduate, Le Cordon Bleu, Tokyo, Japan

Education/Credentials
Graduate, Le Cordon Bleu, Tokyo, Japan

Past/Present Clients
Allexpert.com expert for 9 years, owner www.yahoogroups.com/reciperequest with 30 thousand original recipes on site.

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