How many dishes should be served at a buffet 60th birthday celebration ?

Answer 1

At least 8..

2 Veggie
2 Meat
1 Soup
1 Salad
2 Appetizer
you also may want to offer and alternative to birthday cake.

Answer 2

It depends on your budget and how much of it you plan to cook. For me, I prefer to have fewer great dishes than a lot of mediocre. There are a few key things that will make it excellent. Make sure you go to the best bakery around to get the rolls. Serve them with herb butter or olive oil and balsamic. Make a really great salad that keeps with your food "theme". For example if most of your food is going to be italian have dishes of italian olives, fresh parm., papperoncini, etc. to top it with.

You should keep appetizers simple. In my experience people tend to fill up on appetizers and don't eat the food you are spending the most money on. Fruit and cheese trays are light and tend to go over well. Stear clear of the carbs, they fill people up!

For the main dishes keep in consideration everyone's dietary restrictions. Considering that it is a 60th birthday everything should probably be low cholesterol. I would suggest two baked, grilled or roasted meats/fish. For the sides rice, roasted potatoes and pasta with seafood. Get a birthday cake, but also get some pastries for those who don't like sugary cakes.

Answer 3

As many as it takes to feed all the invitees.

Answer 4

1 big block of spam
1 big bowl of yellow mustard
1 big tray of bread
1big bowl of lettuce

Answer 5

as many as it takes to get all the persons favs there

Answer 6

It really depends on how many people.

Answer 7

A nice but healthy menu..
BRUSCHETTA

4 slices Italian loaf (200 g - 7 oz)
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper, if liked


Clean the garlic cloves.
Toast both sides of the bread slices, lightly.
Rub a cut clove of garlic on one side of each slice and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if liked. Brush with the olive oil.

Bruschetta con pomodoro
4 slices Italian loaf (200 g - 7 oz)
2 fresh ripe tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper, if liked

Wash the tomatoes and boil them for 1 minute; in this way you can peel them easily. Peel them, remove their seeds and chop. Drain them very well in order to eliminate their juice. Clean the cloves of garlic.
Toast both sides of the bread lightly.
On one side of each slice, rub a cut clove of garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if liked. Arrange the chopped tomatoes. Brush with the olive oil.
Serve warm.

Torta di verdure miste (Assorted vegetable pie)
450 g (1 lb) fresh vegetables
2 tablespoons dried chives
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs
8 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
230 g (8 oz) puff pastry
100 g (3 1/2 oz) scamorza cheese, cubed
150 ml (5 fl oz - 1/2 C) light cream
Salt
Pepper, if you like



Preparation times for this recipe can be very different according to the kind of ingredients. If you use fresh vegetables (you can choose among peas, carrots, potatoes, string beans, zucchini, sweet peppers, broccoli, ... but with the same cooking time), you have to consider cleaning, washing and cooking; but you can also use frozen vegetables.
Clean, wash and cut into little pieces vegetables. Put them in a saucepan with oil, aromatic herbs and some water. Season to taste with salt and pepper (if you like) and cook, half-covered, over a gentle flame until tender; add other water only if necessary. Let them cool and then mix with beaten eggs, Parmesan and light cream.
Preheat oven to 200 °C (400°F). Line up a deep oven dish with puff pastry after oiling it. Prick the bottom with a fork and spoon in the mixture of vegetables. Sprinkle with scamorza (or other kneaded paste cheese) and bake for about 30 minutes.
Let the pie rest for some minutes and serve.

Affettati in cestino di pane (A bread bowl with salami & prosciutto A bread bowl with salami & prosciutto)

700 g (1,5 lb) simple bread dough
4 tablespoons dried chives
100 g (3 1/2 oz) boiled ham, sliced
100 g (3 1/2 oz) San Daniele or Parma ham (prosciutto crudo), sliced
100 g (3 1/2 oz) salami, sliced
6 little artichokes in oil

Prepare the simple bread dough following the instructions. Add 4 tablespoons dried chives to the ingredients. Let the dough rest in a warm place for about a couple of hours.
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Divide the dough into three parts. Using a long pasta rolling pin, roll out one part of the dough on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 2 cm (3/4 in). Using a pastry brush, oil the external base and side of a dish soufflé. Press the dough on the base and up the side of the dish. Try to shape in the best way the edge.
With the remaining dough create little round loaves or plaited ones.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. This time is enough for your bread bowl; probably it is necessary more time for loaves.
Let the bread around the dish soufflé cool very well before removing it.
At this point arrange the rolled up slices of prosciutto and salami inside the bread bowl together with artichokes in oil.
Serve with loaves.

Spiedini sulla pagnotta - Appetizers on the round loaf

4 Kiwi fruits
Half a melon
6 green figs
400 g (14 oz) fresh prawns or 200 g (7 oz) precooked frozen prawns
150 g (5 1/2 oz) "prosciutto crudo" (ham), thinly sliced
200 g (7 oz) salami, in a piece
1 round loaf
50 skewers

These appetizers are to be made just before serving in order to avoid fruit loses its freshness. But you can anticipate preparation time for some ingredients.
For example the round loaf can be scooped, taking a bit of the soft part away but you can let it entire. The skewers are to be stuck into the bread. The round loaf can be placed on a round dish or on a wood trencher.
Salami can be cut into big dices; you can divide the slices of "prosciutto crudo" into two or three pieces; chill both till final preparation.
Fresh prawns can be boiled in salted water until shells turn pink (1-3 minutes) or grilled (10 minutes); when they are cold, twist and pull the head from the body, peel away the shell from the body and, using a sharp knife, slit the back along the entire curve to remove the intestinal vein; pull out the black thread with a knife or the fingers. If you have little time, buy precooked frozen prawns; boil them for 1 minute, let them get cool and then peel away the shell from the body.
On the contrary fruit must be cut just a little before serving. Don't buy fruit too ripe; it is difficult, in this case, to put pieces on the skewers without breaking them. See our picture for the size of the pieces.
The ingredients must be alternated on the skewers; combine them in the following ways: figs with salami, melon with prosciutto, prawns with kiwi fruits. You'll have three kinds of appetizers!


Fried Zucchini Flowers Stuffed with Ricotta Cheese and Fillets of Anchovies

12 Zucchini Flowers
12 Fillets of Anchovies
200 gr of Ricotta Cheese
125 ml of Cold Beer
80 gr of Flour "00"
1 egg
salt
olive oil
Wash gently the flowers in cold water and remove the pistils and dry them.
Stuff every flower with 1 tablespoon of ricotta cheese and half fillet of anchovy.
Batter:
Mix flour, salt and a egg yolk and all the cold beer. In a little bowl whip up the egg white and then add to the mixture. Now you can cover every flower with the batter and put them in a pan with oil. Fry for a couple of minutes, put them in blotting paper and eat!

GORGONZOLA BALLS
Ingredients: Gorgonzola & Mascarpone cheese, Grana Padano cheese (or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese).
.
Grate Grana Padano and put it on a plate. Put Gorgonzola and Mascarpone in a ball and begin to stir and work with a spoon until you get a creamy homogeneous cheese. Now you can take a small amount of cheese and roll it into the grated Grana Padano to form a small cheese ball. Repeat the procedure until you finish Gorgonzola.
.
RICOTTA AND ZUCCHINI MUFFINS
(for 6 muffins)

Ingredients: 100 g white-wheat flour, 100 g Ricotta cheese, 50 g zucchini, 2 Tbsp milk, 50 g butter, 2 tsp dry yeast, 1 egg, 2 Tbsp sugar, fresh basil, 1 pinch of salt.

Preheat oven at 200°C. In a first bowl mix together flour, yeast, fresh basil, salt and sugar. In a second bowl mix melted butter, egg, milk, ricotta and salt, beat well. Very thinly Julienne cut zucchini. Mix now all the ingredients together and stir briefly. Put the mixture into muffin forms and bake in oven at 200°C for about 30 minutes or until golden color.

Savoury Muffins

1 onion, finely sliced
2 rashers bacon, finely sliced
1 medium sized potato, grated
200g self raising flour
100g grated cheese
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
75ml milk

In a pan, cook off the onion and bacon until onion has softened and bacon has coloured. Mix in the grated potato, season with freshly grated salt and pepper and then set aside to cool.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, add the cooled onion/bacon/potato mix and stir well. Add the grated cheese and mix again - using a fork helps you separate any clumps that form.
Beat the egg and milk in a small bowl, then add to the dry ingredients. Stir it through until it's just mixed - you don't want to overwork the mix or it will toughen.
Grease and flour your muffin tins and spoon in the mix, just below the level of the rim.
Cook in a preheated moderate oven 180°C/350°F for about 15-20 minutes depending on the size you've made.
Turn out onto a wire rack.

Caprese starter
Ingredients
Mozzarella cheese 500 gr.
Tomatoes 400 gr.
Basil a few leaves
Extra virgin olive oil 4 tablespoons
Salt and pepper to taste

Slice the tomatoes and the Mozzarella cheese and wash and dry the basil leaves well. Arrange the slices of tomatoes on a serving dish and alternate them with the cheese slices.

Break the basil leaves into pieces with your fingers and sprinkle them over the dish. Season with your extra virgin olive oil and add salt and pepper according to your taste

Salmon temptations
Ingredients
Smoked salmon ½ cup
Mascarpone 80 gr.
Mayonnaise 1 spoonful
Butter 1 spoonful
Whisky 1 spoonful
Lemon juice 1 spoonful
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Left over bread as required

Clean the salmon and remove the skin and any eventual bones. Then cut it into small pieces.
Whisk all the ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Then put it into a bowl.
Let it rest for a whole afternoon so that the ingredients amalgamate well.
Serve in small bowls together with croutons or chips.

Zucchini croquettes

Description servings: 4
calories: medium
category: starter
cost: medium
difficulty: easy
preparation time: 35 Ingredients
Zucchini 600 gr.
Grated Provolone or Parmesan cheese 100 gr.
Eggs 2
Bread crumbs 150 gr.
Oil for frying abundant
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Wash the zucchini under running tap water and cut off the ends. Boil them in a pot with salted water for 10 minutes. Let them drain and pass them through a vegetable grinder. Put the mixture into a bowl.

Add the eggs, cheese, salt, pepper and a tablespoon of bread crumbs to make the mixture harder. Mix well until smooth. Make number of croquettes, all the same size and roll them in the remaining bread crumbs with care.
Fry the croquettes in plenty of hot oil until they are golden brown. Put them onto absorbent kitchen paper to drain off the oil and serve hot.

Sweet potatoes and fennel seeds panini

Ingredients: 500gr white flour, 7gr dry active yeast, 2 tsp sugar, 2 Tbsp fennel seeds, 1 Tbsp salt, warm water, 1 medium mashed sweet potato

Cook the potato and mash it. Sieve the flour, make a hole in the middle and add yeast, sugar, salt and the mashed potatoes. Add warm water as much as needed to make a soft dough. Work it for at least 10 minutes. Leave it to raise in a warm place for 1 hour. Take the dough and re-work it for another 10 minutes. Divide the dough into equale pieces and shape them into panini, or if you prefer make one whole loaf bread. Brush the top with a little of water and sprinkle with fennel seeds pushing them slightly with your fingers. Arrange the panini and let them raise for 1 hour more. Cook them in a pre-heated oven at 200 C for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Spicy Cheese bites
Ingredients: 250gr white flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp mustard powder, 1 tsp hot chilli pepper powder, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 120gr butter, 120gr grated Cheddar cheese, 2 eggs plus 1 to use for brush, various spices

Mix all ingredients by hand or use an elctric mixer or blender. Take the dough out and work it on a floured surface until smooth. Roll the dough about 3mm thick or use a pasta machine to make rectangular layers using the number 3 thickness. Transfer the layers to a baking sheet, brush with a bit of egg mixture and sprinkle with your favourite spices. Using a knife, gently cut the layer into triangles. Use poppy seeds, sesame seeds, oregano, chilly pepper to have a very hot bite or anything else you like. Bake at 200 C for about 10/12 minutes. Cool well before serving. Store in a airtight container and use within 2 weeks.


Fagottino with Provolone cheese
Ingredients: provolone cheese dolce, fillo pastry, honey, walnuts, leek to tie, butter

Brush the fillo pastry with melted butter. Put a bit of provolone cheese in the middle of each. Make a little bag and close it with leek. Bake at 200 C (390 F) for 4 to 5 minutes until the cheese melts and the little fagottino gets brown. Decorate with honey and walnuts and serve hot or the cheese will become hard and it wont be as soft as it should.

Artichoke-Parmesan Crostini Italian Recipe

Ingredients Serves 18–20 toasts
1 loaf baguette, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups marinated artichokes, drained
2 tablespoons scallions, minced
1 1/2 cups Parmesan Reggiano cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Grill the thinly sliced bread or place them under the broiler until toasted. Turn and toast the other side.
Rub the bread with the garlic cloves on both sides and set aside.
Combine the artichokes, scallions, 3/4 cup of the cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oregano in a non-reactive bowl and mix well. Place 1 tablespoon of the artichoke mixture on each slices of bread.
Sprinkle the remaining grated Parmesan Reggiano on top and place under the broiler until the cheese melts.Top with chopped scallion tops and serve immediately.


Mushroom-Thyme Crostini Italian Recipe
Try these as a casual snack with wine before dinner, or plate them up with a sprig of fresh thyme as an elegant first course.



Ingredients Serves 24 slices
1 loaf baguette, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2–3 tablespoons butter
2–3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, crushed
4 cups mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup red wine, drinking quality
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup Parmesan Reggiano cheese, grated

Grill the thinly sliced bread or place them under the broiler until toasted. Turn and toast the other side. Rub the bread with the garlic cloves on both sides and set aside. Combine two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat and cook until the butter melts. Add the onions and sauté until soft—approximately 4–5 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté until soft—about 30 seconds. Watch closely and lower the heat if needed to prevent the garlic from burning.
Add more butter and olive oil if the pan seems dry and sauté the mushrooms until soft—approximately 3–4 minutes.
Stir in the wine.Add the salt, pepper, thyme and ¼ cup of the cheese. Give the mixture a good toss and continue cooking until the wine is absorbed. Adjust the salt, pepper, and thyme to taste.
Place a healthy tablespoon of the mushroom mixture on top of each of the toasts and top with the remaining cheese.
Place under the broiler until the cheese melts—less than a minute.


Crab Crostini with Baby Shrimp
Serves 6 slices
6 slices baguette-style bread, sliced thinly
1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced scallions
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
8–10 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lump crabmeat
1/4 pound baby shrimp
Grill the thinly sliced bread or place it under the broiler until toasted. Turn and toast the other side. Set aside. Combine the half of the cheese, the sour cream, mustard, scallions, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, Tabasco sauce, salt, and pepper in a medium mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.
Check the crabmeat for any small pieces of shell and discard them.
Gently add the crab to the mixture. Don’t over mix; you want the lumps of crab to remain intact.
Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours so that the flavors meld.
Remove the crab from the refrigerator and spoon it onto the toasts. Top each with a portion of the remaining cheese and a few baby shrimp.
Sprinkle a small amount of the cheese over the shrimp and place under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, until melted and bubbly

Camembert Cheese
and Ham Tarts
Recipe
These savory tarts take just a couple of minutes to prepare, and are spectacularly delicious when eaten fresh and warm from the oven. Feel free to assemble the tarts up to two hours ahead, then pop them in the oven at the last minute.



Ingredients Serves 22–24 tarts
24 raw or pre-baked miniature tart shells
4 ounces Rouge et Noir Camembert, cut into very small pieces
1 cup finely chopped ham
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
~ chili sauce

Preheat oven to 325 °
Combine the Camembert, ham, walnuts and chili sauce in a bowl.
Fill the pre-baked tart shells and place on the prepared baking sheet.Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden. Serve warm

Beef Carpaccio
Serves 1–2
15–20 Basil
1/2 pound filet mignon, sliced paper-thin
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 Nicoise olives
2 teaspoons capers
6–8 shaved strips Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese
drizzled extra virgin olive oil
.
Arrange the basil and meat on a plate or platter and sprinkle with pepper.
Cut the olives in quarters and scatter over the meat. Scatter the capers over the meat.Using a vegetable peeler, shave strips of Parmesano Reggiano cheese over the platter. Drizzle with olive oil and serve at room temperature.

Prosciutto and Melon
Ingredients Serves 12 slices
1 ripe honeydew or cantaloupe melon
12 slices paper-thin prosciutto ham
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Cut the honeydew or cantaloupe melon in half and remove all seeds.Remove the rind and cut into 12 uniform wedges.Wrap each wedge with a piece of prosciutto. Sprinkle with pepper.Arrange on a platter and serve.


Foccace - Pizza Breads
1 cup lukewarm milk
1 package yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
Approx. 2 ½ cups flour

In a room temperature glass or crockery bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk, then mix in the sugar, salt, and oil with a wooden spoon. Add the flour until the dough forms a compact ball. Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick and place on an olive-oiled oven tray. Press firmly with your fingertips to make indentations in the dough. Cover with a clean tea towel and let it rise to double in height. This should take only 1 hour if you keep the tray in a warm, draft-free place. This is the basic Foccace dough. Below are various toppings to add to the risen bread before it is cooked in a hot oven for roughly 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

Toppings:
Olive Oil: Pour olive oil over the dough and spread it around with your fingers to cover the entire surface. Then sprinkle the dough lightly with salt. The fruitier the oil, the tastier the bread.
Olive Oil and Rosemary: Prepare the dough with the previous topping and then sprinkle it with chopped fresh or dried rosemary.
Onion and Cheese: Cover the dough with cooked onions and then sprinkle with grated cheese.
Tomato: Cover the dough with a tomato pasta sauce and then drizzle olive oil over the top.
Raisons: Add raisons to the dough just before you roll it out to rise. After the rising, cover the dough with olive oil and salt as described for the Olive Oil topping.

But also
Pasta salad
Rice salad
Panzanella etc etc




Pizza dough with baking powder

500 g (1.1 lb) white flour
7 g (1/3 oz) baking powder
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
300 ml (10 fl oz - 1 1/4 C) warm water
2 pinches of salt
2 teaspoons sugar

With this kind of yeast you can make pizza even if you haven't got brewer's yeast.
You have to melt the yeast in half a glass of warm water (30°C - about 80°F) with salt and sugar too.
Put the flour in a bowl or on a work surface. Make a well in the centre and pour in the melted yeast with its water and then olive oil. At this point, slowly, draw in the flour from the edge of the well, stirring and adding the warm water gradually, until a soft dough forms. It's difficult to say how much water you need. The quantity can vary every time. It depends on the flour, on the temperature and on other variables. Sometimes you'll have to add much more water; or you'll have to add some flour if the dough is very sticky. But don't worry! You'll become very good in a short time. You only need to try a few times. Knead the dough on the floured work surface for 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic and there is no trace of the dough on your fingers. Cover with a napkin and allow to rest for at least 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size in a warm place, faraway from draughts.
If it is cold, you can put a bowl full of hot water under the dish with your pizza dough


INGREDIENTS

Starter

2 Tsp. Yeast - active dry or 4/5 small cake yeast (14 g)
1/4 Cup Water - warm (59 ml)
3/4 Cup Flour - unbleached all-purpose (100g)

Dough

7/8 - 1 1/4 Cups Water - (207 - 296 ml) [See Note 1]
2 1/4 Cups Flour - unbleached all-purpose (300g)
1 Tsp. Salt (5g)

Note 1: Using 7/8 cup of water will result in a less wet, or soft dough; a dough which is easier to make and work with when making the pizza. Using 1 1/4 cups of water will result in a very wet dough. Wet doughs are harder to work with, but result in a crust much more like pizza in Italy. If working with a wet dough is unfamiliar, The Artisan has posted a piece on working with wet doughs. This can be accessed via the link provided here. Working with Wet Doughs. To return to the recipe from the referenced link, please click the BACK button on your browser.

PROCEDURE

Starter

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water and allow it to stand for approximately 5 -10 minutes. Add the 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, and mix until the flour is absorbed. Cover the starter with a cotton towel and allow it to remain at room temperature for 1 hour.

Dough

Mix the salt (1 tsp.) with the flour (2 1/4 cup). Add the additional 7/8 to 1 1/4 cups of water to the starter. The water should be at room temperature. Add the flour/salt mixture, and continue to mix the ingredients to the consistency of a soft dough. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.

Divide the dough into 3 portions. Shape each into a ball. Dust a piece of canvas (untreated, 100% cotton), or a proofing board (1/4 inch thick lumber core plywood works well) with flour. Place the 3 portions of dough on the flour dusted surface. Cover with a cotton or linen towel, and allow them to rise until double their original size. this usually takes approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours. (Depending upon how soon the dough will be used, the kneaded portions can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap, placed in a plastic bag and stored in the refrigerator for several days, or frozen for up to 2 months. If refrigerated or frozen prior to use, allow the portions to come to room temperature before they are rolled out).

As the dough is rising, place a baking stone in the oven and set the temperature to 500 F. Allow the oven to heat for 30 minutes.

Fold the edge of each portion of dough toward the center, kneading it gently, while maintaining a round shape. Place each portion onto a floured work surface. Work with each portion individually. Roll the dough into a circular shape of about 10-12 inches.Drizzle at least 1 Tsp. of Olive Oil over the pizza, spreading it with your hand or a paper towel. All of the surface except for an inch around the edge should be covered with a thin layer of olive oil. The coating of olive oil serves a number of purposes: It coats the dough thereby making it impermeable to the water in the tomato or other toppings. thus the pizza has less tendency to become soggy and to stick to t he peel. Additionally, the olive oil heats faster and assists in the cooking of the ingredients.

The initial topping, except in "White Pizza", should consist of 3 - 4 tablespoons of crushed fresh or canned tomatoes. This should be spread thinly over the olive oil with the back of a large spoon or your fingers. (In authentic Italian pizza, the tomato base is thin enough to see the dough underneath, especially where the back of the spoon has spread the sauce.) For vegetarian pizza you have to add mozzarella cheese and mix of vegetables grilled (you grilled them before) variable quantity of courgettes, asparagus, and artichokes, spinach and other you prefer, add also Extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper an hot spicy if you like