I have catered a few weddings and other parties, but my arsenal of "large group friendly" dishes is short. I basically define these as on the affordable side (no Gouda for mac n cheese, etc), as well as good the cookability scale (does not require a ton of prep like hackleback potatoes, bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos, etc).
Obviously we have all done things like pulled pork, chicken, lasagna, etc as mains. Mac n cheese, beans, cheese potatoes, etc as sides.
Anything fun out there that you guys like to make for larger groups??
We always make a pot of Mexican style beans & this is our recipe given to me many years ago from a great lady from Mexico that would care for our kids & housekeep for us for years.
BEANS A LA OFELIA
THIS RECIPE WILL MAKE A HUGE AMOUNT OF BEANS (OPEN THE WINDOWS!)
SO ADJUST ACCORDINGLY
5 POUNDS DRY PINTO BEANS 48 OZ. SALT PORK, SLICED WATER 5-7 TABLESPOONS BOLNER’S FIESTA PINTO BEAN SEASONING (IF AVAILABLE IN YOUR AREA) 1 TABLESPOON OIL ONIONS (ABOUT 5 MED diced) TOMATOES (ABOUT 10 ROMAS diced ) SERRANO or JALAPENO CHILIS (TO TASTE-ABOUT 5 CHOPPED FAIRLY SMALL ESPECIALLY IF USING SERRANOS) CILANTRO (2-3 BUNCHES, CHOPPED)
PICK THROUGH AND WASH BEANS WELL PLACE IN BIG POT AND ADD ENOUGH WATER TO COVER BY ABOUT 8 INCHES ABOVE BEANS ADD ½ OF AN ONION AND THE OIL BRING TO A BOIL, TURN DOWN TO MEDIUM-LOW (SLOW BOIL) AND COVER THE POT AFTER AN HOUR OR SO ADD THE SALT PORK (IT MUST COOK FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS) AND THE PINTO BEAN SEASONING. AFTER SALT PORK HAS COOKED AND THE BEANS ARE TENDER, ADD THE VEGETABLES TURN OFF THE HEAT AND COVER THE POT LET ‘EM SIT COVERED FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES AND THEN EAT ‘UM
!! CHECK THE WATER LEVEL FROM TIME TO TIME & BE SURE TO ADD SOME BOILING WATER OF THE LEVEL IS LESS THAN AN INCH OR SO ABOVE THE BEANS
For large groups, it's generally "what can sit and be served well from a chafing dish". Minimal cooking effort, if possible.
Bread course:
buns, muffins, popovers. Nothing that requires being sliced by the customer. Grab-n-go choices
Veg course:
Giant bowls of salad with tongs, dressing on the side. No need for a salad bar, if people don't like carrots, they'll just have to eat around them
Steamed corn on the cob, cut into "reasonably sized chunks", perhaps two or three chunks per ear? Put into steam pan, perhaps some seasoning/butter. steamed until ready
potatoes - always a winner, and usually mashed or whole for best portion control options. If whole, then just butter/sour cream. No baked potato bars to clean up after
green beans - hardest part is to prevent overcooking. nobody likes overcooked steam table beans
Main course:
Steamed crab legs with drawn butter. Who doesn't like a buffet loaded with crab legs?
Coleslaw is easy and scalable. It also goes with a lot of main dishes.
I also agree with WillTravelForFood that baked potatoes are easy and inexpensive.
During cool temps, some soups work well, but require a bowl. I like soups because they are usually better if they have a day or two to sit, so you can make them ahead of time. The exception would be cream soups which should be made day of IMHO.
Mexican food in general works well:
Refried beans are simple and inexpensive (especially if you make them yourself).
Mexican rice and/or corn is also simple.
I've also made large quantities of Enchiladas They are quick to make, inexpensive, and there is an endless variety. I think they work well for groups of 150+.
If you have the right equipment, fajitas are reasonably easy. I did them once and they were a hit. I fed about 80 people.
The one thing I did once that did take a lot of time was sopapillas - everyone loved them, but they need to be cooked fresh so they require a fry person, which takes away from the help. Plus honey is a little expensive.
I avoid catering seafood and using any peanuts because people can have fatal allergic reactions to them.
PaynTrain Enchiladas have been rolled prior then sauced and baked the day of the event. The fajitas were prepped the day before. I grilled the meat, onions, and green peppers the morning of the evening event. The tomatoes were quickly seared on a stove at the event since I had the opportunity and some flexibility.
I can do paella for 30 - 40 people and it's a really fun, interactive cook. The prep is pretty straight forward with chopping up a bunch of onions and peppers and whatever protein you want (I do chicken thighs and bunny). The rest is simply gathering the remaining ingredients and bringing it all together (the fun part!). It's a knack to get the soccorat perfect, but that comes with time.
The downside is tooling up with the pans and cookers. The pans aren't terribly expensive and I can do a 24" on a Weber kettle (feeds up to 20 people), but any larger than that requires a dedicated paella cooker or some equal fabrication.
It's a crowd-pleaser cook that I really enjoy doing and it's not super complicated.
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