Please help me plan a party!

Parents Forum Parent Cafe
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We are planning to host a party for about 40 friends and neighbors, all adults. I would love suggestions for foods and even recipes! I would like to have almost all food prep ahead- except for heating up. I am thinking of 5 or so apps, a salad, veggies, 2 main dishes, 2 desserts. Buffet style. We will have a full help yourself bar, maybe with a couple pitchers of premixed by us cocktails.

We will not have table space for everyone to sit down at tables to eat at once, but will be enough chairs, sofas and such, so will not be serving anything that needs to be cut while eating.

I have hard plastic plates and plenty of regular silverware and glasses.

The salad will be some kind of mixed or chopped salad. I learned from a caterer that is the best way for everyone to get lettuce and other items and not just end of the line getting lettuce.

Although I am open to purchasing prepared catering, will not have caterer present. I don’t want to start a new norm or any one upsmanship. Although the composition of the group varies, the last couple parties like this by others have had Italian main dishes like lasagna/veggie lasagna and meat pasta/shrimp pasta so don’t want to repeat those. Not too concerned with budget.

Please post any ideas for me and others planning something similar!

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Does everyone eat pork? One of the easiest main dishes for a crowd is a spiral ham. I did a dinner once and did a spiral ham and a Turkey breast. That worked too. Large salad, and we had several other salads to choose from…that brocolli one, potato salad and Cole slaw. Add some good bread and butter and you are done!

You could also do pulled chicken or pulled pork…both easy and can be done in a crock pot.

My favorite and most requested appetizer (you will see…I’m not a gourmet cook). Take a block of softened cream cheese. Mix in a packet of good seasons Italian dressing mix. Blend well. Get some of those cocktail rye or pumpernickel (the small size things). Peel two regular cucumbers and slice sort of thin but not too thin. Spread the cream cheese stuff on the bread. Put a slice of cucumber on, and sprinkle with dill weed. It’s quite delicious and very very easy.

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I hosted a large-ish gathering for Labor Day weekend. Hubby didn’t want to bbq for hours, and I wanted something appropriate for summer. I made a crockpot of Sloppy Joe’s from scratch (no Manwich, haha) and it was easy and excellent. No one had eaten Sloppy Joe’s for years. I just served it with baby potatoes tossed with fresh thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I also served mozzarella and tomato salad, simply mixing fresh marinated mozzarella balls with halved cherry tomatoes and fresh basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. It was really easy to prep. I had everyone bring food so there was plenty. It was probably one of my easiest gatherings. (This was an outdoor party, btw, so I didn’t care about spillage.)

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Swedish meatballs with rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes, veggie balls or salmon croquettes as your second main course?

If you are going the shredded meat/sloppy-joe route, crock-pot pierogis are an easy side dish

Would ethnic go over well? Greek, Indian, or Mexican-inspired dishes? A fondue party?

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For appetizers these are my go to:

Flat bread pizza with fig jam, goat cheese, caramelized onion and fresh rosemary. You can buy premade flat bread crusts so it’s super easy.

Grilled cheese sliders with tomato soup shots. (I make mine with pretzel bread buns and you can use store bought red pepper and tomato soup to save some work).

Wonton cups with ground pork, shredded cheese, green onions and ranch dressing.

Hot crab dip with tortilla chips.

I second the spiral ham as an easy main

Pasta salad - tri colored rotini, tomatoes, green onion, get cheese with Paul Newman’s original dressing.

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If you are not too concerned with budget then check out goldbelly. You can order a lot good restaurant or specialty food delivered, including dessert. If you have whole foods nearby I would get prepared food. If I were to do it in nyc, I would order from freshdirect. They have a lot of platers and premade food. I once ordered a complete prepared thanksgiving dinner, except for putting them in my oven.

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I know you mentioned a concern of keeping the party in line with others and not having a caterer - but we just went to an amazing simple gathering (food wise with little waste) - paella cooked fresh on the spot, salad, fruit, cookie platter and pitchers of sangria. Yes there was a caterer stirring the paella - but it all seemed so simple, fresh and not overdone. Plus - as mentioned above - no food waste at all.

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If it isn’t too fancy and you don’t mind doing a little cooking during, I like fajitas (mixture of chicken and beef). You can prepare beans and rice before and have them kept warm in the oven. Also throw the tortillas in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil. All of the toppings can be pre-done in bowls in the refrigerator. You just have to grill the meat. I like it because it doesn’t cause many dishes while the guests are there, only tongs, a knife and a cutting board. You can add some additional sides. Fruit salad works nicely. For drinks, some Mexican beer, a couple of pitchers of margaritas, and mixed flavor case of Jarritos sodas keeps the theme.

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One of my go to dinner party main dishes is gumbo. Easy to make and easy to serve to a crowd…gumbo, rice, cornbread and maybe a salad of some sort. Guests always seem to think it is a huge treat.

Two go to appetizers

-Stuffed mushrooms
-Greek salad on a toothpick: cube of feta cheese, a grape tomato, kalamata olive, piece of basil. Maybe a piece of red onion. Sometimes serve them flat with a drizzle of viniagrette. Other times I serve them standing up with no viniagrette.

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This is a great thread! I’m getting some good ideas for my next big meal!

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I’ll give it a shot.

I’ll start by wondering if you should change up your offerings a bit

2 mains, homemade subs (one hot, one cold or one vegetarian ) cut in 3 inch servings
1 soup shooters
2 salads
3 appetizers
2 desserts - 2 pies and then a sheet pan or two of a good brownie. Ice cream chilled on ice for topping

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If you live in a cooler climate, a chili bar might be fun. (I’d definitely include tater tots and possibly mini crescent roll dogs.)

And maybe some of these:

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I have a couple of go-to’s for a crowd:

For a more casual/mid-day good weather gathering:
Grilled chicken and salmon, a Caesar salad, a spinach/cranberries/pecan salad, pasta-pea-pesto salad (recipe: throw a bag of frozen peas and fresh spinach into a bowl, top with just cooked pasta and pesto. The pasta will cook the peas and spinach.) It’s a great menu as everything can be done ahead and everyone can come up with their mix and match meal based on the offerings, but they all go together nicely. It’s really great for showers and “salad crowds”. It’s also very adaptable to allergies as things can be put out on the side for people to add themselves (pecans, croutons, etc).
Dessert: fruit salad, chocolate dipped fruits, a simple angle food cake and a flourless chocolate torte (it’s a light meal so I do a more elaborate dessert table)

For a winter/hardier lunch:
Pulled pork, rolls, coleslaw, potato salad, cucumber salad (I usually make one mayo based, one vinegar-based, and try to do something a bit unconventional for the 3rd) If you want a second meat you can do brisket or chicken. I always make the pulled pork myself but sometimes use my caterer for the brisket.
Dessert: Dump cake and/or brownies

More of a sit-down type dinner:
Pork loin (marinate in balsamic, garlic, parsley and rosemary. Make sure to dry it and rub off herbs before browning as they will burn. Brown in a cast iron skillet/move to oven to cook, or throw it on the grill. While it’s cooking, make a sauce of 1/2 beef broth/1/2 red wine, and a few springs of rosemary. Simmer until reduced by half. Add butter at the end to give it some body and sheen. ), roasted sweet potatoes, green beans with a lemon-almond crumble.
Dessert: mini pastries from a local bakery

Sports crowd:
Sausage and peppers, lasagna, green salad, stuffed mushrooms.

I tend to recycle these menus over and over as they are pretty fool-proof, people love them and most of the work can be done ahead. I can also adapt them to almost all allergies (I am gluten and dairy free so can adapt almost anything).

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I should not of read this before breakfast… Lol…

Baked potatoes bar with fixings. Costco baked potatoes are inexpensive for a large bag of 10.

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I’ve never seen these potatoes! Pre/baked?

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Haha… Large baked potatoes, about 9/10 per bag. $7.99 at my local Costco. These are huge bakers potatoes. Their really good also. Not prebaked in the produce section. Probably next to the 10,lb bag of onions… Lol

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Add a buffet of do-it-yourself sandwiches. Only use top quality meats such as Boar’s Head (makes a significant difference).

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depending on the room you have available, consider hiring a musician. At a recent milestone birthday party they had a low-key singer that was enjoyable, and at other parties over the years I’ve seen a piano player or a string quartet.

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Totally agree on the music. I had a pianist and a singer (they were a duo) at one large gathering at my house (fundraiser for a local nonprofit). Everyone loved the music.

If you want to really enjoy the party and your guests, I’d have it catered. I like to cook, so I’ve often done all of it myself for various gatherings. One time, (college graduation party–for my D and her roommates.) We were local (about 40 mi. from campus); others weren’t. I had a great time. Servers passed food around, bartender served drinks, and I didn’t have to clean up afterwards (that was the part I liked the most).

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There are women in my area that help with parties by serving and/or bartending. They help with clean up. They don’t really prepare food but had some extra hands. Totally worth it.

Also we have success with signature cocktails at gatherings. People just really like a mixed drink. Doesn’t have to be overly fancy just something.

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