USVI-On-Line

It seems there are quite a few people on the forum who entertain, so I thought I would ask a few questions. I volunteered to coordinate food for a reunion of friends from college, but its really not my strength, so I am wondering what I was thinking! I did some searches online, but I'm not finding helpful info. Here are my questions. Any input is appreciated!

There will be around 25 people - still waiting to hear back from a few people. My biggest challenge is to determine quantities of things, since I normally just plan food and cook for my hubby and myself. I have some logistic challenges as well. I want to make/buy things ahead of time, but the reunion is Sat and we are leaving the house to drive there on Friday morning. We will have everything in coolers while we visit family on Friday. I'm trying to keep this as easy as possible, but stressing about it right now.

- We are having veggie tray, hummus and pita, and cheese and crackers for snacks. I have no idea how much to get for 25 people. Thoughts?

- I would like to cut up some of the veggies on Thurs, but I don't want things to be slimy/soggy by Sat afternoon. I am thinking I can cut the celery into sticks, and cut brocali and cauliflower into bite size pieces on Thurs. I think the peppers and cukes should be cut on Sat morning. I will use the little carrots so no cutting there. Thoughts?

- For the main dish, I plan to have a crockpot of BBQ pork and slider rolls. I will also have chicken (already cooked rotisserie chickens). We don't want to cook on a grill because everyone will be socializing (haven't seen each other for 10 years) and that's really the focus. I don't want one person to be stuck at the grill.

- So...for quantities - should I plan 2 pieces of chicken, or 2 sliders per person? I'm thinking some people may eat more than that, and some people will eat both. I'm concerned about having too much food if I plan for 2 pieces of chicken and 2 sliders per person. Any input on this?

- I am going to buy some side dishes from Wegmans - capellini with veggies, and a salad of black beans, corn and peppers. We will pick these up on Friday morning, so they should still be fine for a Sat noon meal. The capellini salad and bean/corn salad come in a 3 lb dish that says it feeds 10-12. So I am not sure if two side dish salads is enough. Thinking I should get another side dish too. Perhaps I could take fixings for a Greek salad and prepare it Sat morning. (We are staying in a little cottage with a kitchen on Fri night.) Or should I get another pre-made salad.

- Dessert is going to be easy. I am making my yummy oatmeal choc chip cookies ahead of time and freezing them. I will also have watermelon, grapes and cantaloupe. I selected these 3 fruits because I thought it would be easy to wash the grapes and cut up the melons on Sat morning or Fri evening. I'm a little concerned about trying to do too much at the last minute on Sat morning, so probably will do this on Fri evening. I cut up melons into chunks at home and put them in tupperware, then we eat them over the course of several days and they stay good.

Thanks for any input!

AquaGirl, I don't have any advice or recipes but...what's the address of this party?
It sounds like you have some wonderful foods planned. I'm sure it will all go well. Enjoy!

Ok - here's my feedback. Your food selection sounds great - easy to eat, many "finger-type" items. I would NOT get another salad - you have plenty of food listed. I do think at this type of function that people do more snacking rather than eating like it is a full meal. You might want to take some zip lock bags for any leftovers. Other than that it sounds like a great time!

Oh - one other suggestion. . . . .get the liners for the crockpot so you don't have to worry about cleaning it up after the get-together.

You can definitely cut the broccoli and cauliflower early. Keep them in ziplocs they will be fine.

Are you saying that you are going to have the pork and chicken in your coolers all day on Friday (and possibly Friday night)? I would be concerned about that from a food safety standpoint unless you have a source to continually refresh the ice. Maybe I am misunderstanding but that really jumped out at me.

I would plan 6 ounces of cut vegetables per person. So, around nine pounds total. I would get about 5 lbs. of hummus, since you are serving with pita as well.

Is the rotiserrie chicken going to be cut up for you, or are you going to have to carve the chickens?

I don't think that planning two pieces of chicken and two sliders (assuming these are the small slider rolls, not full-sized buns) is too much food, especially if this is a reunion of both men and women. But then I am always more inclined to lean towards having too much food than running out of something.

I would not bother making the Greek salad. Making salad for 25 is a lot of rinsing, chopping, and peeling-- using up time you might not have. If you want a third dish, I would just select another side from Wegmans since you are already going there.

Finally, buy lots of ice! Have fun.

Thank you for the input - just what I needed to make me feel a bit better about it.
Nancie-PA, come on by if you're in the Luray, VA area

Thanks for pointing out the food safety aspects. That has been one of my worries. We are quite picky about storing food, etc. which is why the logistics of this were bugging me. We are leaving the house Fri morning, visiting family during the day (and therefore need lots of ice in the coolers!), then staying in a cottage on Fri night. So the meat and cheese can go in the frig on Fri evening, even though it will be a pain to unpack and repack the coolers. I would rather be safe than risk an issue. I made some big hunks of ice by putting water in big bowls and freezing them. These won't melt as fast as ice cubes. We will pack the coolers Fri morning totally full of ice, plus have ice packs. There are also places to get ice during the day and down the block from where we are staying.

I decided to pick up the pork BBQ early and I froze it, so it would start off cold. I was planning on thawing it in the frig at the cottage overnight on Fri, then put it in a crockpot on Sat morning. I am picking up the chicken this evening, and will have it in a cooler packed with ice and ice blocks. I had asked the owner to cut them up into pieces. I did NOT want to be carving chicken, for sure.

I came to the same conclusion about making a salad. Too many things going on, and it would take up way too much time. I will pick up another salad at Wegmans on Fri morning - they have various interesting veggie and/or pasta salads. I want to reserve Sat morning to wash grapes, cut up cukes and zucchini, and canteloupe, and do other last minute stuff I didn't think of. I have 2 big tubs of hummus, so it sounds like its about right.

I've borrowed coolers from our neighbor, so that I can pack things in plenty of ice. I need to get out platters and bowls now. I plan to put the veggies and dip on a big tray.

The reunion is both men and women. One person is bringing sloppy joes and slaw, so that will be another main dish.

Thanks again for your input!