Need easy menu ideas for a party on Sat. night...

[Sabrinah]

I'm cooking dinner for 16 adults and 15 kids. I don't have a clue what to serve. I've been looking through cookbooks and old CL issues for ideas. I'm a novice cook so I need something SUPER easy yet tasty. I was thinking of making the Oven-Baked Chicken Thighs from last month. Any good recipe for mashed potatoes to go with the chicken? I'll probably need another main dish (beef or fish?) and appetizers. I've never cooked for so many people and if I can't come up with something, I'll have to order pizza (and I hate pizza!).

[This message has been edited by Sabrinah (edited 05-31-2001).]

[alli]

Good for you Sabrinah for cooking for so many people! Do you have a grill? Marinating chicken, or any other meat is always an easy and tasty idea. You could also roast cut up potatoes with garlic and olive oil in the oven, serve a fresh salad. With so many kids have ice cream and let them make sundaes with whip cream, cherries, caramel sauce.(what ever your budget allows)
I made a toffee dip and served fresh fruit and it was a hit! Hope this was helpful, good luck and have a fun time.

[kwormann]

What about lasagna, salad and garlic bread? Or spaghetti would be even easier and would feed a large crowd. There are some great sauce recipes!

Kim

[Leslie w]

I like the lasagna idea because it can be made ahead. If you want to go with chicken then oven baked thighs are a good idea but I also liked the Honey Pecan Crusted Chicken recipe from a couple of years ago. I'm sure it's on this board somewhere. That can be made ahead and tastes good cold too. If you wanted to go with mashed potatoes here is an easy do ahead recipe for a mashed potato souffle:

To your usual mashed potatoes add 3 eggs and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cheddar cheese. Mix together, place in a greased 2 qt casserole dish, chill in refrigerator overnight and bake in oven for 1 hour the next day. I forgot the cooking temp but I usually do it at 350. Easy and delicious.``

[judyf]

How about flank steak. It is very easy to make-just marinade with garlic,soy sauce and maybe alittle ginger and/or seseme oil, then put it on the grill or broil it in the oven. Sometimes, I slice it up and have the guests make sandwiches with it.

[schuh]

One of my favorite dishes for a large group is barbequed beef. You can make it ahead and then reheat it (a crockpot is great for this if you have one) so you're not cooking frantically at the end. There was a CL recipe not awhile ago but if a search doesn't turn it up, I can provide a good recipe. Serve it on buns. Side dishes could be a pasta or potato salad, green salad, and fruit salad. The nice thing about the side dishes is that most fussy kids will eat some fruit. You could also do mac & cheese as "insurance" for the kids.

A fun dessert: "make your own sundaes." Put out a few flavors of ice cream, sauces, sprinkles, perhaps cut up some candy bars, whipped cream in a can, nuts -- whatever. That way it's no work for you and everyone gets something they like.

[munchies]

How about the chicken strudel from a month or two ago? This is easy to make and put together. I made one using chicken and broccoli (rather than spinach). I'm sure you could also make other things -- like turkey and veggies, or ham and peppers, etc. This isn't as "make-ahead" as the other suggestions, but it's worth a thought.

Heather

[Sabrinah]

Thanks for the feedbacks. I love the top your own ice cream idea. So far, I'm thinking marinated salmon grilled (steak would be too expensive), green salad, potatoes, oven-fried chicken, and fruits. Wonder if that's enough food. Feel like I should have couple more dishes...mac and cheese definitely sound good for the kids.

[schuh]

I'm just wondering ... what did you make and how did it go? I think you were very brave to take on that particular challenge, especially being a novice cook!