ellen
05/29/08
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OK, here's the thing: I love shishkabob, but there are two big problems with doing them for this many people:
1) The time it takes to thread all the stuff- we are talking hours here.
2) If you grill them ahead, they dry out as they are held and are not too tasty. If you try to grill them at the time, it takes 2-3 experienced grill cooks working continuously the whole time to do them, and many people still end up waiting.
Would you consider either a pulled pork sandwich or a cubed pork sandwich on a roll, or a marinated made-ahead and frozen chicken breat such as my Dijon wedding chicken? Tasty, MUCH simpler, can be done ahead and safely reheated.
Ame
05/22/08 Reception 200 people
Shish Kabobs - Marinaded & Grilled -
Chicken Breasts and/or Pork - cubed -
How much of each, per pound, would I need? We were thinking that if we use less meat, and more veggies it might be cheaper. And is it cheaper to buy some pork roasts, and cube them, or pork chops instead, and do the same? We aren't planning to use beef or shrimp, only because they are a bit expensive right now. Also, what size cubes would work best? 1 in.? 2 in.? We've already purchased 3-44 oz. bottles of ketchup, but I was thinking thats a bit boring. What would be the best, and cheapest, condiment? Finally, how many kabobs would I need per person?
You want at least 5 ounces cooked ready to eat meat per person, which is 2 pounds raw boneless for every 4-5 people, usually makes about 2 skewers. 1 inch cubes, you really don't want to wait the half hour or longer it takes to do larger. Not sure what the ketchup is for? I would use a soy sauce based/ teriyaki type marinade with ginger and onion for either.
I would do the veggies, zucchini, onions, large thin slices of carrots as roasted veggies as a veggie side dish. We can sometimes find the red bell peppere for $.98 a pound, check restuarant supply grocers and produce markets for real bargains. Grilled pineapple is an attractive trim for the plates, and you can use canned slices, much simpler.
Zucchini - cubed. It's 98 cents a lb. right now, so how many lbs. would I need, and again, what size slices? We were thinking 1 1/2 to 2 in. and 2 or 3 per skewer.
Onions - I'm not entirely sure this is a good option as onions tend to fall off and fall through when they are grilled. How many lbs. would we need, and would they need to be larger onions, or would the small ones work better? What would be a good substitution for onions?
Red Bell Peppers - They are on sale 10 for $10 at a local store, but depending on the amount we need, that may not be cost effective. Other then for the addition of color, we're comfortable omitting them. We were thinking we'd cut them into 1 in. x 2 in. cubes. About how many lbs. would we need?
Pineapple - We've found some whole pineapples on sale at 98 cents a lb. as well. Is it cheaper to buy them whole, peel them, core them, slice them and cube them? The cubed pineapple in the can might work just as well, but are the cubes in the can big enough to stay on the skewer? Would getting them whole be better if we need bigger cubes?
Potato Salad - I found on the site that we'll need approximately 7 gallons for 200 people.
Correct. Take a look at the Nepalese potato salad at the bottom of the section- it is colorful, unusual and truly delicious.
Jello Salad - We are going to use jello that I already have, no sugar needed. We also know of Cool Whip on sale, 10 for $10. We might add some fruit coctail, and perhaps nuts. How much of each item would I need? Would it be the same amount, per gallon, as the potato salad?
It takes 17 small packages of jello to make jello salad for 100 people.
Sausage balls - We've found a wonderful, totally cost effective recipe to make plenty for 200, and then some.
Good. Send it in and I will post it!
Rolls - From the amounts for 100 page, and assuming not everyone will take a roll, is 12 to 15 dozen plenty, or should we go ahead and get all 18 dozen?
If you go with the sandwich idea, allow 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 sandwich size rolls per person. If you need dinner rolls, allow 1 1/2 larger or 2 smaller per person. Provide real butter.
We would also like to serve honey and butter for the rolls, but we haven't quite figured out if the honey is entirely necessary. I think not, my fiance thinks yes because he wants it. How much of each would we need?
3-4 pounds per 100 people. How about part plain and part whipped with honey?
I'm also making my own cake. I've been making them for years, sometimes for pay, sometimes not, and I've learned how to make them cheap, but yummy and pretty. But I had a question. I'm not going to do buttercream, because we'll be outdoors. I've never made a cake for an outdoor event. What is the best frosting for this situation?
I think you want an icing called "Royal Icing", or else fondant. See my favorite baking site, baking911.com.
My grandparents would like us to serve coffee and cookies after the meal, but we're not sure we really want to incur the extra expense if it's only for a couple of people.
Yes definitely, see the beverage palnning page for amounts- MANY people like it with dessert. If you do cookies, make them smallish ("3 bites") and allow for 2 per person. If you make more than one kind, though, you must allow 1 of each kind, up to 4, per person.
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