What are some good recipes to feed a party of 40 to 50 people?

Question

These are adults at the party.

Answer 1

I would do appetizers such as deviled eggs, little smokies, maybe some quesadillas cut into triangles, you can do pinwheels using various kinds of tortillas spread with cream cheese and various meats-roll up and cut into pinwheels.
Various chips and dips or salsas, crackers and cheese. Take a brick of cream cheese dump a jar of seafood sauce on it and a drained can of baby shrimp and serve with crackers. You could do a taco dip layering cream cheese spread on a pan topped with re-fried beans and layer lettuce sour cream, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and taco sauce and serve with tortilla chips.

The great thing about doing various appetizers is first that everyone is bound to find something they like, and second they are fun. Guest can mingle and much. And you said it's a party!!

Answer 2

Well, it depends on how fancy of a party you're planning.

I have a huge family that enjoys family functions of this size. We've done everything from barbecues to baked chicken to lasagna to potluck. If you're doing this yourself it's just as important that you can do something on a large scale in your kitchen as it is that you don't stress yourself out completely in doing it.

Sometimes catering is the best way to go in these affairs, and that way too you can pick one or two things from the catering menu and ask your guests what they'd prefer. The caterer's can either deliver the food to you beforehand and you can serve it yourself, or they can deliver it after and help in serving and cleanup. That way you have less stress and can spend more time enjoying the party.

Decide on how many courses you are going to have, make sure you take into account anyone that might be vegetarian, lactose intolerant or who doesn't eat red meat. Soup and Salad are always a good bet for side dishes and appetizers are always great to have as well.

Most importantly, have fun with it. A stressed host/hostess does not a good party make. So whether you decide to cook or cater, it's less important what to make as it is to make sure everyone is happy with the choices.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

Pasta Bar(lasagna, spaghetti, salad, garlic bread), A fiesta (tacos, burritos, salad), A sandwich platter or super sub (about $40 for a sandwich big enough and you can serve chips, dips and punch), Wraps (veggie, turkey, roast beef with chips and beverage) All of these are pretty simple and feed a crowd well - then again you could always serve fried chicken, potato salad, green salad and beverage. Good Luck!

Answer 4

I love allrecipes.com. The site provide a box to change the number of servings and then adjusts the ingredients. You will first need to decide if it is sit down or buffet type. If you use paper plates and plastic silverware, they need to be sturdy. Remember that if you are serving hot foods, they have to be kept warm before they are put on buffet serving dishes. Cold dishes (mayo based salads, dips) need to be kept cold. I put them in a bowls that will be consumed within an hour then place the bowl of food in a larger bowl of ice. Below is from allrecipes.com with suggestions of the quantity of food required for large gatherings. Good luck

Answer 5

BBQ beef

Slow cook some roast beef (10-12 lbs) and then when it is all cooked shred it and add BBQ sauce! Serve with buns, chips, and pasta salad.

Answer 6

It's probably going to be less costly to serve a full meal rather than trying to fill up that many people w/ appetizers.

Maybe a brisket, or somked pork loin
Potato Casserole of some sort
Huge green salad w/ lots of good stuff in it
Garlic Bread
Assortment of desserts


Texas Oven-Roasted Beef Brisket

2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 bay leaf, crushed
4 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
1½ cups beef stock

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Trim brisket of majority of excess fat. Do not remove all fat (yet).
Make a dry rub by combining first 8 ingredients. Season the raw brisket on both sides with the rub. Place in a roasting pan and roast, uncovered, for 1 hour.

Add beef stock and enough water to yield about 1/2 inch of liquid in the roasting pan. Lower oven to 300ºF, cover pan tightly and continue cooking for 3 hours, or until fork-tender. Remove brisket to cutting board w/ juice wells or to a large platter and allow to rest under aluminum foil for about 20 minutes before carving.

Now trim the fat off, and slice meat thinly across the grain. Top with strained juices from the pan.
--Paula Dean, FoodTV
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Gruyere Potato Gratin

1 pound large red potatoes
3/4 cup coarsely grated Gruyere (about 3 ounces)
1 large egg
3/4 cup milk, heated just to boiling
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Butter a 1-quart gratin or shallow baking dish.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Peel potatoes and cut into thin slices (about 1/8-inch thick). Add potatoes to boiling water and parcook 4 minutes. Drain potatoes well in a colander.
In gratin or baking dish, arrange potatoes, overlapping them, in 3 layers, sprinkling first 2 layers each with 1/4 cup Gruyere and salt and pepper, to taste.
In a small bowl whisk egg and add hot milk in a stream, stirring constantly. Season mixture with salt and pepper and pour evenly over potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and bake until top is golden and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

--Gourmet magazine
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Big Fat Greek Salad

1 head romaine lettuce- rinsed, dried and chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 (6 ounce) can pitted black olives
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, sliced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 lemon, juiced
ground black pepper to taste

In a large salad bowl, combine the Romaine, onion, olives, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and cheese.
Whisk together the olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and black pepper. Pour dressing over salad, toss and serve.
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Answer 7

try either cataring or making a lot of h'ors doeuvers. crudite, maybe polenta or you can order a big plate of sushi. it also depends if this party is fancy or relaxed