What to serve for a crowd?

June 20, 2013 11:50 AM

We're expecting 25-30 people and we need a main dish for an outside lunch-time gathering where it'll be 95+ degrees. There's isn't a grill or electricity where we're meeting so we need things we can bring pre-made. We'd like to keep costs down and prep to a minimum (though I'd probably trade prep for costs).

We've thought of a sandwich or chili bar but there must be other ideas. Anything we make will need to be driven about a mile. Assume we've got most of the standard kitchen appliances available at home. Thanks for any ideas!

posted by jeffch to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

I would go with a taco bar or a salad bar. If it's going to be that hot, nobody's going to want chili. Tacos thrive in hot climates, though can be messy. You need to heat your tortillas, which is a lot of tortillas, but alternately you could do a nacho bar with sterno-heated cheese and beans and everything else in bowls on ice.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:59 AM on June 20, 2013

I'm thinking Pasta Salads are probably the best. If you make them with vinegar and oil dressings, they can sit out and not be problematic.

So:

Antipasti Pasta Salad:

Strips of cheese
Strips of ham
Strips of Salami
Arugala
Bow Tie/Farfalle Pasta
Black and Green olives
Roasted Red Peppers
Artichoke hearts
Olive Oil
Vinegar
Seasoning

It's pretty easy to throw together and will weather nicely.

Primavera Pasta Salad:

Lots of blanched veggies: Peas, Carrot cubes (or thawed frozen peas and carrots) broccoli, cauliflour, squash, roasted red peppers.
Sea shell or Rigatoni Pasta (or Farfalle)
Pesto Sauce
Liberal sprinkling of parmesian cheese

For the vegetarians out there.

Serve with green salads and crusty bread.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:00 PM on June 20, 2013 [2 favorites]

A pop-up chafer can keep anything serving temp while away from electricity.
posted by dobi at 12:09 PM on June 20, 2013

Picnic?

Go with a classic. Fried chicken is good cold. You could simplify with breasts and thighs. You could complicate it with a couple of dipping/spreading sauces.

Pair with a big, cool vinegary tomato, cucumber, and parsley salad.

Falafel bar might work, too. Make the falafel at home, bring with the salad above, along with your favorite falafel sandwich additions. One advantage of the falafel is you won't need a lot of eating utensils.

Heck, combine the two -- fried chicken or falafel pita sandwiches.
posted by notyou at 12:13 PM on June 20, 2013 [3 favorites]

Vietnamese summer rolls. Leave out the shrimp, and you don't need to worry about any part of it going wonky in the heat. So crisp and fresh and delicious on a hot day. I pack mine in damp paper towels in tupperware.
posted by apparently at 12:51 PM on June 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Couscous salad - couscous, chopped preserved lemons, lemon juice, spring onions, plenty of mint, plenty of coriander, serve with grilled aubergines and courgettes - delicious at room temp.
posted by kadia_a at 1:00 PM on June 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yeah, picnic food is classic for a reason. Pasta salad (maybe with mushroom tortellini for more heft), rice salad (or bulgar/quinoa/barley salad, your cold basic cold grain salad is easily subbed), bean salad - anything that gets its flavors from oils and vinegars rather than dairy products. Mark Bittman has great basic recipes for all of these. Any variation of cold sesame noodles (you can bulk up with veggies/tofu to make more substantial as a main dish; chicken too, except I'm not sure about spoilage).

If you're looking beyond main dish, a watermelon or two stuck in a cold fridge for days and forgotten until just before you throw stuff in the car is...well, the closest thing to perfection I can think of in this kind of situation. Especially because a regular sized watermelon feeds a LOT of people.
posted by theweasel at 2:27 PM on June 20, 2013 [2 favorites]

I have faced this challenge a few years running for an annual event, and by far my most successful offering was cold fried chicken. People love it and you don't get it often any more. To keep prep to a minimum, buy the giant 12-packs of frozen fried chicken in the grocery store. You just bake 'em for about 45 minutes, then cool in the fridge overnight. Ridiculously tasty.

We've served this with biscuits, celery and carrot sticks, and some blue cheese dip. Everything (excepting biscuits maybe) can be packed in the cooler and kept safe 'til mealtime. If you want you can add salads - cucumbers sliced and tossed with a little vinegar, tomatoes with balsamic, other easy veggie things. It's a hit.
posted by Miko at 2:27 PM on June 20, 2013 [2 favorites]

Salad Niçoise, Greek Salad, Gazpacho, Black bean and corn salad, or chicken Caesar salad, served with bread. Tabouli is easy to make a bit ahead. Cold noodles with sesame & peanut sauce and a cucumber salad.
posted by theora55 at 9:48 PM on June 20, 2013 [1 favorite]