You are here:

Cooking for Parties/For Charity - Meal Suggestions for Large Group

Advertisement

Expert: - 1/10/2009


Question
I am planning to volunteer at our local Ronald McDonald House, providing a complete meal, once a month, for the parents that are staying there.  There are approximately 30 people I'll need to feed.    
QUESTION: Can you give me meal suggestions for this size group that would be a "hit" and please most palates?    

This organization asks that volunteers deliver meals (no cooking on-site). I plan to deliver the meal exactly when they need to start serving - I live 10-15 minutes away.

Thank you for all suggestions - I'm very excited about giving to others!  

Answer
Pasta dishes are always big crowd pleasers and are relatively cheap to make and serve.  Here's a recipe for a great meat sauce that everyone seems to love. You can serve it over any kind of pasta and you will need to make 3-4 batches to serve 30.
Spaghetti/Pasta sauce.
1-11/2 lbs ground beef
4 15oz cans any cheap tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 tsp Basil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 TBS Italian Seasoning blend (Spice Islands)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp fennel seed
1/4 c. sugar (trust me)
1 tsp accent
crushed red pepper (for hot and spicy, optional)
Brown the beef, add the rest of the stuff, bring to a boil. Cool, boil,
cool, boil. When ready to serve, cook you favorite pasta shape according to
the directions on the box. Reheat the sauce and ladle over the cooked
drained pasta.

Cooking for Parties

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

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.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.