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Cook Talk

Graduation Open House
Wyatt
05/22/20
Hello,

I'm having a graduation party for my son in late June, hopefully after things open up from quarantine. So far, we've invited 275 guests, but I have no idea how many will actually come due to social-distancing. I think I should plan for around 200?

4 open houses are occurring on the same day. Mine is 4-8pm.

It is a chips and dips menu. Here are the estimates that I tried to figure out from your site:

Warm - Cheesy bean dip – ?
Warm - Spinach/Artichoke dip – ?
Warm - Buffalo Chicken Dip – ?
Tortilla Chips – 16 lbs
Pita Chips – 10 lbs (I assume that homemade is cheaper?)

Warm – Pizza (Marinara) Sauce Dip - ?
Bread Sticks - ?
(Or would sliced bread French bread be cheaper – 10lbs?)

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus – 2 gallons
Ranch Dip – 1 gallon
Baby Carrots – 10 lbs
Celery - 10 lbs

Watermelon slices – 10 lbs
Either grape clusters (10 lbs) OR strawberries (10 lbs)

Cheese Cubes – 8 lbs
Olives – 3 lbs

Cake – (8) 9x13 pans (Not sure on this as I usually see people have leftover cake.)
Maybe a candy like M&Ms in smaller paper soufflé cups- ?

Tea – 10 gallons
Lemonade – 10 gallons
Water – 5 gallons

Here are my prep and serving thoughts:

Prepare many dips ahead and freeze in foil pans. (Which ones would freeze the best?) Thaw before event, then warm dips in oven. Place on a rectangular electric food warmer tray for serving. Serve hummus room temp and Ranch dip cold. Does this plan sound good?

Should I have soufflé cups for dips, and if so, what size? I will get forks, but what about knives/spoons?

Thank you!

ELLEN
05/22/20
This is a fairly challenging estimate, so II am going to do for 200. IT WILL TAKE A COUPLE OF DAYS.
Wyatt
05/29/20
I don't know if this is helpful for you or not, but here are the quantities that each single recipe makes:

Cheesy bean dip – 4.5 cups
Spinach/Artichoke dip – 4 cups
Buffalo Chicken Dip - 4 cups

Also, my son was interested in possibly adding meatballs to the list. Not sure if I'll do it or not, but could you please add that to the quantities in case I do? Thanks!

ellen
06/08/20
You gave this some thought.

Because of the timing, you may have folks hungry, which means looking for dinner, when they arrive, And these are teens, which eat at least 10% more than adults, so these quantities are going to look like a lot.

Also, with all the hot dips, I am concerned about oven space. Strongly suggest you convert 2 dips to cold or at least crockpot, esp if you do meatballs.

Amounts
Dips at least 1 quart per 10 people, total volume with multiple flavors, so 20 quarts= 5 gallons for 200. Divide by your local preferences, this varies from region to region Since your recipes make about a quart, you are looking at 20 recipes.

At least 8 pounds chips per 100

Meatballs, cocktail size, 15-18 pounds per 100, 3 to 4 quarts sauce per 100.

Consider freezing dips flat in baggies. Easier to store, thaw.

Warm – Pizza (Marinara) Sauce Dip - ?
Bread Sticks - ?
(Or would sliced bread French bread be cheaper – 10lbs?)
I would not include unless on the meatballs.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus – 2 gallons
Ranch Dip – 1 gallon
About right
Baby Carrots – 10 lbs
Celery - 10 lbs
2 ounces veg per person, or a least 1 pounds per 10 ready to eat. Consider having cherry tomatoes, bell pepper strips or mni bell peppers for color- you would have celery left over.

Watermelon slices – 10 lbs
Either grape clusters (10 lbs) OR strawberries (10 lbs)
Watermelon is very short, I figure at least 1/3 pound per person. Take a serous look at the fruit tray page

Cheese Cubes – 8 lbs. This is less than 100 ounces. I usually figure 12-16 pounds per 100...
Olives – 3 lbs- I usually allow 1 gallon per 100. These cost about $12 per gallon at restaurant supply

Cake – (8) 9x13 pans (Not sure on this as I usually see people have leftover cake.) A 9x13 cake cuts at most 15 pieces. Consider adding bars, cookies, or more cake. You want about 2 sweets per person
Maybe a candy like M&Ms in smaller paper soufflé cups- ? Put hem n he cookies and bars?

Tea – 10 gallons, part unsweetened
Lemonade – 10 gallons
Water – 5 gallons
Consider adding a coffee urn? Or a least a drip set up?

Ice at least 1/ pound per person.

Remember that delivery pizza is a safe backup option.

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