I am throwing a suprise 50th birthday party for husband next month & need some advice. I have invited approx 165 people but realize that not all will show up, although I am going to assume for now that 100 will be in attendance.

Here is the menu that I have come up with so far:

*Baja Mexico Style Tacos-Carne Asada, Chicken & Pork("the taco lady" prepares these for us on site, cooked to order)
*Beans & Rice
*Tortilla Chips & Salsa
*Cheese Sauce & Chips for Nachos
*Green Salad with 3 dressing options

I was wondering what other types of salads would be acceptable to serve with this type of meal? If I did fruit &/or veggie trays, how many would you suggest?

A mexican style fruit cup with melons, jicama, cucumber, strawberries, pineapple, mango. Lime juice, chili pwder and salt on the side. For amounts see the fruit tray for 25 on the fruit tray page and make 3-4 times that amount.

This is a high end menu, a nice change from many other requests. However, you have too many entree items for 50 people (good caterers go with two or three). I would do sausage and peppers, ribeyes and chicken thighs and ditch the burgers and dogs.

Also treat the shrimp cocktail as an appetizer, and consider adding a cheese tray or some bites of some kind to keep people occupied during the grilling- about 4 bites per person.

With 50 people, here is how most caterers would estimate it: 5 ounces cooked ready to eat beef per person, which is 1/2 pound raw PLUS 1 chicken thigh per person PLUS 3-4 ounces sausage per person. This may seem like a lot, but people take more and some of each when there are such attractive choices.

I would get small thick rib-eyes.

Shrimp cocktail quantities are covered in the appetizer planning table. I have a really excellent antipasto tray on site, but if you are mixing a pasta salad with antipasto accent, you need a bit less than 2 gallons.