So i’m going to be doing a lot of large format cooking coming out for our kid’s birthday and I thought it would be fun to get your input and help with ideas. Around 40 people including kids.
No i’m not ordering pizza, they can do that at their parties. And we decided that I’m also not going to be making pizzas fresh as it’s going to keep me working too long and is prone to failures at large scale.
So far I know we’re definitely making a huge pot of uzbek plov (i have a 24 quart one if i really wanted to feed the village).
I think I’ll bake breads in the morning.
I’ll fire up the grill early and smoke slabs of ribs and chicken quarters. When that’s done i’ll grill up a mess of veggies and simple things like shrimp when people are here.
I’m also considering making a large batch of pasta since i have all this tomato sauce i just created and kids like that.
I’ll probably have large bowls of cucumber yogurt herb type salad, something something eggplant dip or hummus … i dont know.
Garlic bread to go with the pasta. Scales easily, stupid-easy to do. Can be done with grocery-store italian loaves.
If you want desserts, sheet cakes / brownies / blondies / bars are easy to do in multiples and feed masses. The basics (chocolate, yellow, carrot if you have THOSE type of friends) usually suffice. They can also be done a day or two ahead of time with little degradation if properly stored.
Hit the farmers market for a fruit plate if you wanna be all “El-Lay” about it.
To me, it sounds like you have a great spread and enough for 40 people.
I always like cool (temp wise) salad option(s) when I’m at a summer party, so +1 on the cucumber/herb/yogurt salad (which also sounds like it would be nice on a hot day w/ the cooked item). Had a watermelon/spinach/pomegranate-seeds salad recently at a party, and I also thought that was pretty refreshing.
What does you kid like for dessert and how old are they (and their friends)? It’s been awhile since I had one, but, if a sheetcake will suffice, Costco used to have a really good one, frosted and ready to go. If you have a good bakery nearby, a variety of cookies are usually good for kids, IMHO. Easy to eat and already portioned small for the kids. Berry tart on a bed of whipped cream (and maybe w/ a storebought crust to save you time) could work, too.
Some flavored fizzy water from Trader Joe’s? I thought the pineapple one I had recently (which comes in small cans; not sure if they have been in larger bottles) was shockingly good and didn’t have any sugar (!).
Small bowls scattered throughout w/ chips, pretzels, nuts (assuming choking hazard and allergies aren’t an issue), and even some w/ pitted olives?
If this is going to be outdoors, do you have food net coverings? The bugs were seriously swarming at Labor Day BBQ I went to on Sunday (and I have the bug bites to prove it).
Given what you’ve got going, it’s hard to believe that there’s “the rest”! Sweet stuff? Cake? I only question because my kids did not like cakes–cup or otherwise. I’ve had to make “donut cake” and, once, a three-tiered rice krispie treat cake. Maybe paletas or ice cream sandwiches in a cooler with dry ice? With all you’re doing, I can’t imagine you want to make the desserts too. Although I am lazier than most on here.
I really like easy make ahead salads that can sit at room temp…so no mayo-based dressings. I saw a green bean and potato salad that Lidia Bastianich makes recently that might work. I’ve been doing a crunchy ramen salad, cold soba noodles, and Nancy’s Chopped Salad a lot lately.
Smores bar. Put out all types of chocolate bars, nutella spread, peanut butter, nuts, dried fruit, marshmallows and edible containers. Instead of just graham crackers you could include thick potato chips for salty sweet contrast. Chocolate chip cookies. Oreos. The combinations are endless and way more fun to mix and match. This post may or may not have been inspired by alcohol and THC.
Well that’s because cake isn’t really up for discussion. He’s turning 10 so my lady is obviously getting some big ole custom cake. Might augment with some other armenian bakery goods i suppose.
thanks for the cool ideas… .given that this is a sourdough crib with rave reviews every time i’m going to baking those off in the morning. not much more is needed than olive oil to dip in
We just did a bingfen and silken tofu bar for a party. the tofu with ginger syrup was big hit with the adults and the kids loved the bingfen even though most have never had it. It was a mix Asian and non Asian crowd and so many of the non-Asian kids loved it so much they came back for seconds.
I use a version of Chrissy Teigen’s recipe…it reminds me of the slaw you get at some Hawaiian-inspired places with one adjustment
I use half of the ramen noodles as suggested and reserve the other half to put in before serving. Toss in and you have some soft bits and then some crunchy bits.
Try toasting those in some butter until golden brown - toss in sesame seeds to toast, too. Whole nother level of flavor. (Remove from heat/skillet as soon as most are golden - the carryover heat will quickly scorch.)
Reminds me of the crispy rice paper salads in Vietnam where rice paper is cut into strips and then tossed into salad eventually soaking some of the dressing to have soft and crispy bits
I think slaws also lend themselves well to acidity. Depending on your BBQ marinade (if any), an acidic slaw dressing might make a good accompaniment to the BBQ.
