Desperate Non-Housewife

[cjsmith]

How did I get myself into this?

In two and a half weeks I'm hosting anywhere from thirty to sixty people (RSVP percentage is still low). There will be a lot of "walk around and talk to people" going on as I do not own anywhere near that many chairs. The start time is advertised as 7pm. I have NOT specified pot luck, and it's a bit late to change my tune. There will be wine. That much I know how to do.

WHAT DO I FEED THESE PEOPLE?

I do not "cook". I can make a basic meal, but it ain't party food, and in general it will impress no one. Plus I'd like to be able to enjoy myself; last time I "cooked" for guests I spent all day and evening in the kitchen and merely heard rumors later that others had had a good time. So I'm looking for something requiring no or little or simple preparation, and something that can be fully prepared well ahead of time.

- They'll be mingling and carrying both food and drink. Finger foods?
- Some may arrive as early as 7. Something substantial?
- It'll go on all evening. Foods not requiring heat or chilling?
- There are a LOT of people. Foods I can distribute over several tables throughout the place?

Any ideas meeting these basic criteria are very welcome. :)

edit: Likely closer to 30 people. If all our maybes and nonresponders show, we get 40; if our nonresponders all bring guests, 50 tops.
edit2: The party was billed as an "informal gathering", holiday, no gifts.

Comments

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

Places like Costco and Safeway have "party platters." So do many of your favorite restaurants. I'd be thinking about that..

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm liking that idea a lot. I find that for this sort of thing you can either work your tail off or you can throw money at it. I am fortunate enough to have money to throw.

[dpolicar]

Wow. A meal for 30-60 is a pretty substantial commitment even for folks who cook.

Some thoughts... are you willing to spend money to solve the problem? Go to Trader Joes and wander around buying things that look interesting. Frozen appetizers can just go in the oven and are ready to serve. Cheese and bread and prosciutto and olives and mustard. Baby carrots and ranch dressing. Chocolate-covered whatnots. Similarly: order pizza or chinese food or something like that. Etc.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're right; fortunately it probably won't be "a meal". (Oddly enough, I can make a meal for thirty more easily than for two. We routinely cooked for 25-30 in French House. But this is a party, not supper for a pile of ravenous students!)

Throwing money at the problem sounds excellent. Thanks for the ideas of things to shop for!

[butterfly-smile.livejournal.com]

WOW, these are things I LOVE!!
I would do finger foods.
Have tables all over so that so many people do not have to be hanging around one table.
Do simple things.
Please ask away for any help.
If you want some help, just yell.
What time of the day is it?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

DEFINITELY many tables; I really like that idea. I've got four obvious rooms to use, three of which already contain tables. Simple finger foods all over the place will at least keep people from all piling up in one small area.

It's in the evening.

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

Lets see, pulling out the con party simple stuff list. Most of this can be bought at Costco - Some can also be found at Smart and Final. Pre-made cheese trays, spreadable cheese tubs, bree (baked or other wise), humus (Costco has a great combo pack), spinach dip, pita, sour dough bread (pre sliced), crackers, veggie trays, extra baby carrots. Got More Budget, Sushi and deli (meat) trays. If you do the meat trays include a nice mustard or two, and mayonnaise (tricky, but can be put on ice).
All those frozen appetizer goodies in the frozen section. Pop them in the oven and set the timer.
I also like Shrimp (shell off, tail on) from Race Street Fish. Though any of those quality Grocery Stores should have good shrimp. Serve on ice with a good Shrimp dipping sauce (Race Street has those too).
And Dim Sum is fun (best gotten frozen from Ranch 99 or Lyons Grocery store). You will need a Bamboo Steamer, but they don't require much attention. Don't get Pot Stickers, those are tricky and need watching. The Buns and Shumai are very easy.
That should keep you busy.
Plastic is your friend. Do Not use Paper Plates, either use the real stuff or heavy duty plastic. Paper falls apart.
Enjoy! Don't work too hard!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ooo, con party experience! That's excellent! Thanks for all the many many ideas. Y'know, it never would have occurred to me to look for shrimp or sushi because I can't eat seafood. Huh. My GUESTS might be able to.

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

finger foods! chips, pretzels, cheese cubes, veggies&dip.

cocktail meatballs in sauce kept warm in a crockpot (maybe keep that one near the kitchen?). ditto for artichoke spinach dip with bread. mini-quiche (from costco/sams) heat up quickly. i'm partial to layered taco dip (beans, sour cream, cheese, lettuce etc) scooped up with tortilla chips. or do a chili-cheese dip in a crockpot.

definitely scatter things about to keep people moving around, or everyone'll be in the kitchen with the food. i mean, they'll do that anyway - i've yet to find a solution, other than moving ALL the food out of the kitchen.

can you enlist a couple close friends to help keep things cleared up and food moving? you need to not kill yourself over this!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I have only one crock pot, so maybe I will have to skip the cocktail meatballs. Or, well, okay I admit it: I don't know how to make cocktail meatballs.

Definitely scattering stuff. I'm fortunate enough to have tables in several rooms already.

Not sure who to ask for the grunt work. I might be able to do that much myself, as long as ALL the food is ALREADY MADE and just needs to be carried.

Thanks!

Cooking for Lots

[mama-hogswatch.livejournal.com]

I actually LOVE to cook and wouldn't consider making a "perfect" meal for 30. Good lord, you're right. You DO want to enjoy your party. (AS far as "impressing people".... Jesus, they came to see you not admire food, didn't they?)

Cooking a whole meal for 30 people is a lot of cooking even for a professional. If it were me throwing the party, the menu would look like this:

• Veggie tray with veggies bought already cut up and arranged pretty around a bowl with some sort of dip. Ranch is always good, but dill, onion and cream cheese whipped together is great if you must be "impressive".
• Cheese and cracker tray. This is simple and quick to do. There are a lot of fancy cheeses around that make this look "impressive" if you must. I'm very fond of a mozzeralla and prochutto roll. It looks GREAT and is easy to slice up.
• A fruit tray with some sort of yogurt dip.
• Depending on how substantial I wanted to make the food, I have no problem going to a warehouse store and buying one of the packages of h'ors d'oeuvres in phyllo dough. This does require cooking, but if you have a timer you don't have to pay THAT close of attention. The instructions on heating are on the box.
• Some sweet stuff. You could make cookies, but bakeries make some cool ones.
• An array of drinks and if you don't own an ice bucket, you can make one by taking two bowls of graduated sizes, packing larger one with paper towels and nesting the smaller one inside. You can use salad tongs for ice tongs if you don't own any.
• If you arrange the napkins in a fan shape, the party automatically looks more impressive, even if you didn't spend THAT much time on setting it up.

A spread like that is a perfect party spread, will make everyone happy and you won't drive yourself nuts getting it together. Any of the trays can be split up on festive plates or even holiday paper plates, arranged prettily and set about the room.

This is very close to exactly what I do when I throw a party.

Re: Cooking for Lots

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Yeah, a sit-down full meal for 30 is more of a pain in the rear, especially if 30 might be 60 on short notice and they won't all just eat meat loaf like we did in college. (I lived in a group of ~30 where we ate together. I can do that... for the palates of college students.)

I have no idea about impressing people. I would be surprised if, when everyone shows up, I know half of them.

I LOVE this "meal spread". This is excellent. (I particularly appreciate the tip about the napkins in a fan!) Here's a dumb question: will all that (dips & cheese & veggies & drinks) fit in one fridge, or do I make the grocery run within a half hour of the party? OK, yeah, it will, as long as it's not prearranged on platters... right?

Ice. Wow. Never thought about ice. Thank you.

[ambar.livejournal.com]

I scanned the comments so far. Only thing I would add is mini frozen quiches.

With a 'do like this, you either make ahead or make someone else do the work. I highly recommend the latter. If you don't mind throwing some more $$ at the problem, Whole Foods Cupertino has pre-made grab-and-run party trays, big things of nummy salad, etc this time of year, and the quality will be several cuts above Costco.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm liking the party trays idea. Half of me wishes I had a second fridge, now, so's I could prearrange everything on festive plates and then JUST CARRY on the day of! :)

chairs

[ambar.livejournal.com]

I recommend calling a party rental place ASAP and reserving chairs.

Re: chairs

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I think this makes lots of sense. It honestly hadn't occurred to me. I can cough up seating for 18, twenty if we're all close friends, but more than that and we're on the kitchen counters and the floor. :)

Various & Sundry Suggestions: Hire Help

[allanh.livejournal.com]

1. Hire Tony Berno (a/k/a that_dang_otter). He's starting a catering business, would be grateful for the work, and loves a challenge.

2. Go talk with the nice folks over at Whole Foods in Cupertino or the new huge store on El Camino just south of San Antonio in Mountain View. This is right up their alley.

3. If most of your guests are carnivores, Armadillo Willy's BBQ does an excellent job of both carry-out and bring-to-your-door catering.

4. Consider a combination of Safeway or Whole Foods party platters paired with Armadillo Willy's.

Frankly, for this many people, I'd hire a professional. But that's just me. For our housewarming, we're probably going with option 4. But people will be streaming in and out all day/afternoon/evening, so this isn't quite as big and formal a deal as you've described.

Does this help?

Re: Various & Sundry Suggestions: Hire Help

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmmm. How much would a caterer charge for something like this? I'm totally willing to throw money at the problem, but I'm a little scared of hiring a pro. The food alone has got to be in the hundreds, no?

thoughts

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Whoa. This is serious business. You have just agreed to cater an event for 30-60 people. Please don't try to do it all by yourself! The party platter ideas are where I went first, too. If you're doing several tables, you should have several trays, one at each table. As I'm typing, I'm imagining how much work it will be to keep these tables stocked, even with basics. Can you find friends to rope into doing that sort of job? At least two people who are NOT YOU and not associated with the event in any other way would be a good thing. Someone to make sure the dip is filled, the spills wiped, the ice replenished, the empty wine bottles removed. Otherwise, you will not have any fun and will miss the entire event.

I think finger foods are a must. 7pm does not necessarily imply "something substantial," though you will certainly get some people who show up ravenous at that hour expecting to be fed, unless you specify otherwise. Is it possible to advertise that this is only "Drinks and Appetizers"? Or "Drinks and Dessert"? That would get you off the hook for the serious protein, which is always hard to keep fresh on a table.

Mediterranean food can be good in a situation like this. Dolmas are easy to prepare in advance (or buy) and keep well on a table. Ditto with Hummous, Baba Ganoush, and Tahini. But I personally hate dried-out pita bread, so you might consider intentionally dry bread items like crackers or "melba toast" instead.

Antipasto is another good choice -- most cheeses sit well on a table for hours, as do the dried meats and the olives. Again, crackers not bread, unless you're leaving the bread uncut and allowing people to cut as needed.

Unless you have someone doing the waiter job, you probably want to stay away from the frozen appetizers, IMO. Those will need to be heated, and most of them suck when they're cold. So unless you have someone to heat them up and then pass them around when warm, don't go there.

How about some Dim Sum items? Again, the ones that are good cold or room temperature would be best.

Dessert: Cookies. You don't even have to do roll and cut (though you could). You can make a whole pile of different kinds of bar cookies, and possibly some freezer cookies. Drop cookies would be after that. My mom and I used to make cookies to give out every Christmas, and we'd make dozens and dozens, usually 6-10 kinds every year. So I would happily detail a number of different kinds of cookies that are easy and elegant to make up in advance. It's x-mas, so cookies are completely to be expected. They keep well on a buffet table all night, and are naturally good finger food.

Another good dessert choice was mentioned by someone else -- goodies from Trader Joe's. They have an amazing assortment of chocolates, for instance. But they'll cost some $$, so if you're on a budget (and aren't we all?) the homemade bar cookies will serve you better, I think. You might consider adding some of the chocolates or candies in addition to the cookies, though, for variety.

OK, I gotta go feed me and the family. Feel free to pick my brain further on any of these topics.

Re: thoughts

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm, hummus... there's a good way to get somewhat-filling finger food that will sit well for hours without heating or chilling. Thanks for the wide variety of food ideas. It's good to plan ahead for things that will be okay an hour after they've been put out there.

Cookies can be made IN ADVANCE, which is a big big win. Yay! (Further ideas for types of cookies are always welcome, though I'm a big time cookie baker anyway and will be all right if you don't get back to this thread.) If this were a smaller group I'd even make some roll-and-cut and do a "frost your own" area, but it's probably too messy for a space that'll be this crowded.

Thanks!

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

1) Relax. There were like 90 people at our last party. I was freaking out for a solid week beforehand. It went fine.

2) Trader Joe's is your friend! Hummus. Pita bread. Veggie platters. Chocolate-covered pretzels, in milk & dark. Dry roasted nuts. Crackers. Artisan bread. Fancy cheeses, all kinds. Fruit - things you don't have to peel, like grapes.

3) I'm not a big fan of those little frozen quiches & things, though. Well, I lie - I love them like crazy. But I don't think they work for big parties. They're relatively expensive, they come in small packages, & they don't fill you up.

4) Ditto for ice cream, also it's messy, you have to provide bowls, & you'll end up with huge amounts of leftovers because people won't remember to look in the freezer.

5) DON'T FORGET THE ICE. Fill a cooler with ice for drinks.

6) Don't worry about buying beer - get like 3 six-packs, & maybe a bottle of wine, but people will bring alcohol.

7) Do buy non-alcoholic drinks though. Get stuff you like, because there will probably be leftovers.

8) If it starts at 7, you better have a couple of rounds of solid food. Pigs in blankets have been a solid hit for me: you get little cocktail sausages, Pillsbury biscuits, wrap each sausage in half a biscuit, and bake according to the biscuit directions. Serve with barbecue sauce. Cheap and fast.

9) Bring the food out in shifts, don't put it out all at once.

10) Get paper plates & plastic utensils. This is not the time to love the Earth. ;) Also, lots of paper napkins.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

1) Relax. There were like 90 people at our last party. I was freaking out for a solid week beforehand. It went fine.

THANK YOU. I think I needed to hear something grounding like that right about now.

5) yeah, I woulda forgotten about ice if you and someone else hadn't mentioned it. Heh.

8) Pigs in blankets, hmm? Interesting. What ARE "cocktail sausages" and where does one find them?

And 10), amen. I'm with you on that. Besides, I can get throwaway plates and napkins MUCH prettier than what I normally eat on. :-)

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

P.S. What is the party?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

It's a whole bunch of pilots and flight instructors, mainly people Rob knows through teaching and through his flying club. I have met many of them by now, but I won't have met their partners. I'm trying to remember if we billed it as a "holiday party" or not. Probably.

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

This isn't cooking, more of assembling. Pinwheels are just flour tortillas where you spread cream chese (I like veggie, but some are made with cream chese mixed with other stuff) and roll them up and slice them so they look like pinwheels. I also like taking deli ham and roast beef and spreading it with cream cheese then rolling it around a baby pickle. I made a variation where I wrapped a pickle and some ham in a pinwheel. Yummo!

Also, you can buy frozen meatballs that would be wasy if you have a crock pot floating around. Dump meatballs in crockpot. Cover with a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce and a can of crushed pineapple. Add water or more sauce to make sure you fill the crockpot enough.

And fondue! But make it stuff you don't need forks for. Like dipping tortilla chips or pretzels.

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree with the party platter idea. But if you want to say 'i made it myself', you can cut up your own cheese and sandwich meats and veggies and fresh fruit. A plate of chocolates, and you're all done. :)

[stormecho.livejournal.com]

These are a lot of good ideas for anyone into party holding to take notice of.

Another idea, if you want to really feed them, which I don't see used often, but I think works is catered Chinese food. We once had a local restaurant come by. Cleared away a table. They set up the sternos with 4 huge trays of fried rice, lo mein, etc. It's hot, everyone got a substantial meal and we still had leftovers. It goes a long way, and it wasn't terribly expensive. We had maybe 25 people. You discuss the menu ahead of time - many options. Just a thought.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wonder about that sort of option. I've seen catered Indian work well too. If this thing started at 6 I'd have that phone call made so fast my head would spin. :-)

[aliceinfinland.livejournal.com]

Nothing to add except next time, maybe you could make it potluck.

I just did a dinner (actually luncheon) party which was so not worth it, for the reasons you mentioned in your original post. It was small but still it took a whole day just to shop for the hard-to-get ingredients and I was fussing with kitchen stuff the whole time and most of my recipes didn't quite work. As Peg Bracken would say, I don't make the effort often enough to have done my homework and know how to pull it off when the occasion comes. People would have been happier and certainly I would have been happier with wine and light munchies and maybe some ravs (Chinese groceries have them frozen, even here).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Peg Bracken is so right: I too don't do this often enough to be smooth at it when the time comes. Well, this time we're buying supplies (several boxes of wine glasses at least, perhaps more stuff I haven't thought of yet) so we may well create more opportunities!

[dangerpudding.livejournal.com]

I only skimmed the comments already left, but costco and trader joes are good ideas for most of it. Maybe do one or two things that are clearly homemade and interesting? Depending on the date, I'd be happy to come help out - cooking, clearing up, making sure food keeps moving. I understand the problem of spending your whole party doing that when you really want to be enjoying the people.

Oh, also, fondue is pretty easy and is fun/interesting. We have a stack of fondue pots around, if it'd be helpful.

[dangerpudding.livejournal.com]

For 'dressing things up', Whole Foods tends to carry edible flowers - lovely, not common, can be used as garnish or added to salad.

Even if the dates don't work for me to help out with the event, I'd be happy to help as needed/possible with menu planning, shopping, prep... I've got more experience at feeding large groups then seems reasonable, often. :)

(I did thanksgiving dinner for 12 on 27 hours notice. I can and have done dinner for 20-40 in an hour - admittedly in a kitchen set up for such a thing. It's an adventure! )