Tea Party Food for a Crowd

You might not have 50 people in your home for a tea but you might one day be in charge of a fundraiser tea or the Mother and Daughter Tea at your church. It can be really confusing to know how much you’ll need to serve your guests and how many ingredients to purchase to make each dish. Here’s a chart of amounts for cooking for 50.

Soup – 2 ½ gallons
Salad – 6 pounds of bagged salad mix, with 6 sliced cucumbers and 4 boxes of cherry tomatoes
Salad dressing – 1 ½ quart
Tea sandwiches – 1 of each kind per person
Quiche – 8 nine-inch pie plates or 50 individual mini quiche
Chicken or ham salad – ½ cup per sandwich if served on a roll – 1 ½ gallon chicken salad or ¼ cup per sandwich, if using ½ slices of bread - ¾ gallon chicken salad
Cheese – 3 pounds
Deli meats – 3 to 4 pounds
Crackers – 2 pounds
Potato salad or coleslaw – 1 ½ gallons
Fruit or veggie dippers – 16 dozen pieces
Dip – 1 ½ quart
Fruit salad – 6 quarts
Strawberries – 2 pounds large
Grapes – 4 pounds
Melon – 3 pounds
Pasta salad – 7 cups dry pasta
Nuts – 2 pounds
Pickles – 2 quarts
Lemonade – 3 dozen lemons, 2 pounds sugar, 3 ½ gallons water
Coffee – 1 ¾ pounds
Punch - 2 ½ gallons
Tea – Brewed – 38 cups water, Loose – 1 cup, Bags – 50
Cakes – 9x13 – 3 cakes
Assorted bars – 2 per person, 36 pieces per 9x13 pan
Cookies – 8 dozen
Ice cream – 2 gallons

It is always better to have too much than not enough to offer each guest. Extras can always be frozen, divided among the helpers or un-opened, un-served items can be donated to a soup kitchen.

My Top Ten List of Favorite Kitchen Helpers

I remember my grandmother’s using a big, scary butcher knife that looked as though it had been through the Civil War. Except for a candy thermometer, she never had most of the items I consider essential to my cooking and baking. She’d probably shake her head at my over-flowing kitchen. But I’m all about making life in the kitchen as easy as can be and the items I’ve listed below either improve efficiency or make things easier.

Stand mixer – My mother-in-law has had her Kitchenaid since the ‘40s and I’m sure it could go several more decades. Mine is much newer but just as strong. It is so wonderful for mixing up bread dough as well as making simple mashed potatoes.



Heat-proof spatulas – My husband put one of these in my Christmas stocking a few years ago. Before that, I’d been using the old rubbery kind, the kind that chipped, melted, got hard and whose heads often separated from their sticks at the most inopportune time. My new spatulas make baking soooo much nicer.

Food Processor – I know women who say that they’d rather just chop things with a knife because they don’t want to have to wash a food processor. I just throw mine in the dishwasher and it isn’t any more a problem than a dirty bowl. I’ve had the same Cuisinart for about 30 years and it is still growing strong. My food processor grates cheese and mixes up dough as well as slices and chops. I would be lost without it.

Silpat liners – What a relief to throw away my rolls of parchment paper. Nothing sticks to a silpat and even boiling caramel can be poured directly onto them. The sizes available fit into my baking sheets, unlike parchment which has to be cut. And they clean up with a quick wipe.

Whisks – Again, don’t buy the supermarket kind. They are flimsy and the wires often tangle. Oxo sells whisks with soft, comfortable handles that I love.

Candy thermometer – You can get by without a candy thermometer but you’ll risk grainy fudge and limp candies. It is such a simple thing to heat your candy mixture to the proper temperature and not have to fuss with all that soft-ball and hard-ball, mixture in cold water business.

Tongs – I never used kitchen tongs until I saw how the TV chefs used them. Now I use mine at every meal. For turning, for grabbing, for reaching things on the top shelf of the cupboard, nothing works better.

Good knives – Yep, they are expensive but once you’ve used a quality knife you won’t go back to the cheap kind. Look for knives that can be sharpened and then learn how to sharpen your own knives.

9 x 13-inch baking pans – I have four. My favorite has a domed lid which allows for lots of fluffy icing. I have metal ones for baking and heavy ceramic and glass ones for cooking main dishes and casseroles.

Microplane grater – In many surveys I’ve read, the microplane is everyone’s favorite kitchen gadget. They really do make grating lemon or orange peel a breeze. They also make the prettiest dusting of chocolate over desserts. I use mine for onion and garlic when I don’t want big pieces. I don’t know who the first person was to come up with this idea but I’m grateful to him/her.

So there’s my list. What’s on your kitchen favorites list?

My World Wednesday: Gravy

I have a confession: I can’t make gravy. Growing up we had gravy every time we had mashed potatoes, all kinds of delicious gravy from chicken to roast beef to turkey. I can remember well my mother’s standing at the stove whisking a slurry of corn starch and water into the meat drippings.

When I first got married, I tried making gravy. Instead of nice, smooth, rich gravy, I had goopy, lumpy, greasy ickiness. My husband, who normally eats everything in sight, wouldn’t even touch it. For the next several years, I used gravy mix that came in packs. Just add water and you have gravy. Only it was really terrible too.

Next I tried jarred gravy. A step up from the packets but there was always an off taste that screamed not-homemade. For years I bought this kind of gravy whenever I had guests for dinner. Maybe I could pull off passable gravy and maybe I’d have to reach for the jarred stuff. I never took a chance.

My husband and I eat our mashed potatoes plain or maybe with a pat of butter. We’ve given up on gravy. The only problem with that is one must have gravy for Thanksgiving dinner. Really. I think it is a law.

On many Thanksgivings, I’d always ask my mother to make the gravy at the last minute. She was usually dressed up and it wasn’t very nice of me to ask her to risk getting gravy all over herself. But as always her gravy was good and everyone poured it on.

Then a few years ago Woman’s Day magazine had an article on fool-proof gravy. I tried it and it worked. The gravy was beautifully smooth, tasty and the recipe made a lot. And most of the work was done in advance. I’ve used the recipe ever since.

Since the holidays are coming up and your family might be expecting gravy, I want to share the gravy recipe with you. If your gravy isn’t the best, try it this way. I usually start this as soon as the turkey goes in the oven. It simmers gently while I'm doing other things and since nothing else needs the stovetop at that time, it doesn't cause congestion.

Turkey neck and giblets
6 cups chicken broth
2 large onions, sliced
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup dry white wine or water
½ cup celery leaves
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
¾ cup flour
Turkey drippings
Salt and pepper to taste

Put the first six ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 2 hours.

Remove the giblets to a cutting board. Strain the broth into a large cup measure, pressing the vegetables to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the veggies. Add extra water to the broth if needed to make 6 cups. Chop the giblets and neck meat. Refrigerate them.

Mash the butter and flour with a fork until blended into a paste. Break it into 4 chunks.
Bring the broth to a boil, reduce the heat to low and gradually whisk in the flour mixture, 1 chunk at a time until well blended. Whisk until thickened and boiling. Boil for 3 minutes to cook out any floury taste. At this point, I usually take the gravy outside to cool and wait until needed. If it isn’t cold where you are, of course, stick it in the fridge.

After the turkey is cooked, pour the pan drippings into a 2-cup glass measure. Spoon the fat from the top and discard. Add enough water to equal 2 cups. Pour the mixture back into the roasting pan. Stir in the giblets and neck meat. Heat over medium-low heat scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan, until hot. Season to taste. Serves 12.

Vote Today!

You know what he wants you to do. So pack up your patience, your umbrella and folding chair, a couple snacks (but no tea, you don't want to have to pee) and go vote today!

Lists, Lists and More Lists

Painting "Women Make Lists" by Joan Snyder

When preparing for a tea, a party, when hosting a fundraiser dinner or a dinner for friends in your home, lists can help you keep your sanity. You won’t have to suffer that feeling of having something in the back of your mind telling you that you’ve forgotten something. With lists, you’ll know for certain what you must do and when.

Start your list keeping with the names, addresses and phone numbers of the guests you’ve invited. You’ll be able to see who has responded, who is definitely coming to your party and whom you need to phone. You can then give the list to your honored guest, in cases of a bridal or baby shower, so she can have a handy way to address her thank you cards.

The next list should be the food list. Decide what foods you want to serve and write them down. By listing them, you can see if you have too many similar foods or ingredients. You don’t want every dish to be rich with cream cheese or sour cream; watch out for that. Mix up the flavors, the colors, the ingredients. Try at least one new dish.

The shopping list is very important. After you’ve chosen the foods you want to serve, write down every ingredient you’ll need. Don’t just guess. Pull the recipe to be sure you have everything written down. It will be a snap to see that you’ll need two dozen eggs total and you won’t over or under buy.

It's not a list but I suggest printing out all the recipes you'll be using for your party. It often takes valuable time to locate a specific recipe if you have lots of cookbooks and cooking magazines. With all the recipes at hand, you'll be able to quickly check baking times, ingredients and special instructions. Just be sure to double check that you've typed everything correctly.

Once you have your shopping list, break it down into lists of the individual stores you’ll be visiting. A wholesale club is great for bulk purchases but their selection is limited. A place like Walmart has good prices on many things. Your deli, your bakery, your farmers’ market might all be on your shopping list. If you are familiar with the layout of the store, arrange your shopping list aisle by aisle. This will save missing something and having to retrace your steps. Cross off each item as you put it in your cart.

The to-do list is where you can write down all those ideas that come to you when you’re doing something else, like sleeping. Keep this list close by and when you remember that you need to borrow that platter from your Aunt Betty, write it down. It is a comfort to see items being checked off this list and knowing you haven’t forgotten anything.

The next list is the master food list. It has the following categories: the food item, the day you’ll prepare that item, a block for checking off a completed item, any special to-do instructions, the pan you’ll cook the item in, how you’ll store the item from the time you prepare it until the time you’re ready to serve it and the dish you’ll use to serve it. As you fill this in, you’ll probably adjust your timing. It is easy to get too many foods that need to be in the oven at the same time so switch them around or make them and freeze. The same is true with refrigerator space; make certain you’ll have room for everything. With this list you’ll be certain you have enough space, time and serving pieces.

The final lists are daily time sheets. You’ll need these on heavy cooking and baking days and the days before the party. Include not only the time schedule for the food but also things like getting out the punch bowl, ironing the tablecloth, going to the florist and even getting your hair cut. On party day, you’ll know exactly when the main dish goes in the oven, when the dessert must come out of the freezer and when you need to put the water on to boil for tea.

You’ll see your lists evolve and change as you decide to drop or add dishes. Keeping the lists on your computer works well but you’ll need hard copies that you can carry around with you. I keep mine together on a clip board.

You can even keep a list of things that went well and things you’ll do differently in the future. Don’t throw your lists away after the party. They will be great resources for future parties. For example, I keep my Thanksgiving lists from year to year since that menu rarely changes. I don’t have to write a store list and I know that the baked corn goes in the oven at 11:15.

If you too are a list keeper, you’ll understand my methods but if you never keep lists, you’ll probably think I’m a little compulsive. Give lists a try though and you’ll see how much they help you get ready for your party and reduce your party anxiety.

Happy Halloween

The Internet goblins are hard at work today and my connection is a mess. I can't post pictures so I'll simply say HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

More Birthday Party Details

The menu for my mother’s 75th birthday party was not extensive and there wasn’t a drop of tea to be found. But I did use several of the recipes that I’ve featured on this blog. Here’s what we served:

Barbequed pulled pork sandwiches
Chicken salad on croissants
Sweet and sour meatballs
Slow baked beans
Macaroni and shrimp salad
Cole slaw
Pimento cheese and crackers
Veggies with dip
Chips, pretzels and nuts
Pickles and olives
Deviled eggs
Birthday cake
Brownie bites
Pumpkin cheesecake cream puffs
Pink swirl cookies
Daisy chocolates
Fall mints
Sweet local cider
Coffee

Space was a big concern when planning the menu. I used three chafing dishes and they take up a lot of room. In addition to my large dining table, I needed three card tables, my sideboard and a high stool for holding the coffee pot.

The other thing I needed to consider was how to heat everything. My cousin, who lives just a couple blocks away, offered her oven and I had an extra crock pot. But what I found most helpful was using electric roasters. I’ve had one for years but bought a second when I saw them at Sam’s for $39.99. I’m so glad I did this. Those roasters really do take the place of an oven.

Last Christmas my basement fridge stopped working (with all my Christmas dinner supplies in it.) We finally replaced it before the party with a scratch and dent model from Home Depot. My husband had waited all year for just the right fridge. I think he was considering kicking a showroom floor model so it would have to be discounted. :)

My decorations were also simple. I had one large florist’s bouquet on the dining table, two pink cyclamen on the room divider and small arrangements of pink roses on each of the five tables where people ate. Mother received a beautiful arrangement from John’s daughter Pam and that sat beside her on a small table. As you can see in some of the pictures, Mother had a pretty pink corsage too.

I wouldn’t normally use plastic table covers but since I knew there would be at least two seatings at each table, I wanted a quick between-diners clean up. I used a white bottom cover and a pink runner for each table. In addition to the roses, each table had pink candles and glass water pitchers. I also used milk glass containers full of pink M&Ms.

I had many gracious offers of help with this party. But I wanted everyone to just be able to relax and be a guest. I relied on only a few people, my brother, Neil, his girlfriend, Kim, Mother’s friend, John, and John’s daughter, Pam. My niece and nephews blew up all the balloons, parked cars for guests, sliced rolls and served as taste-testers. And most importantly, my husband was my biggest help and support. He did everything I asked without one complaint, from lugging in huge tables to moving all our middle parlor furniture to the second floor to running for supplies time after time. I thank them all.

After the party, we had food left over. Monday my husband took chicken salad croissants and cake to work for his guys. Tuesday he took in pork barbeque and shrimp macaroni salad. My friend Luda said yesterday, "So you made your mother happy, you made your guests happy AND you made all those guys happy." Not to be immodest, but I think I did!