Left Over Buffet Food

recovering_spendaholic

Yesterday I had a family buffet party to celebrate my DD's Communion and it was a really hot day!! I did a big platter of cold meats, a salmon and various salads and french bread. there are two giant tubs of coleslaw and waldorf salad left, along with one platter with ham and beef on it. I didn't keep the stuff out on the tables for long as the weather was so hot, and the two left over tubs of salads never left the fridge!! I was wondering if I could make sandwiches with the leftover meat and then freeze them and use them for packed lunches. If I even suggest this to DD's they will say they are not eating leftovers for packed lunch so I will have to be a bit cunning and make and freeze when they are out! But:

will the bread go all soggy when it defrosts?
Will the meat be okay and not give them food poisining?
When should I take them out of the freezer for lunches - late night before or on the morning?

On a separate note I debated long and hard over whether or not to get a Costco Communion cake (£10) or whether or not to make one from scratch. I was all set to make one and had the design all sorted when my exDH (the DDs' father) decided to have a guilt splurge and bought a cake from a cake designer place for - wait for it - £150!!!!!! It was lovely and must have assuaged his guilt well as it was much admired and DD was ecstatic! IT was white and had a big intricate church on the top of it and was decorated with sugar roses and swansdown feathers and mother of pearl, BUT - I was amazed to find that the church bit was not edible (only for decoration) and the cake base was absolutely no different in taste and texture from a Costco cake, which I think is really artificial tasting and yukky. I think it was a real rip off, but hey - it's his money!!! I also felt a bit miffed as the cake was drooled over and all my hard work on the buffet, decorating the house and preparations were largely ignored!!

dolly_day_dream

If the meat was fresh then there is no problem with freezing it in sandwiches. I used to do this all the time when my children were at the stage of requiring sandwiches. I used to wait until the ham etc scraps were on offer at the supermarket and make up batches of sandwiches and rolls and freeze them. If you don't want them to realise take them out the night before but you could tell them that you are trying to make their sandwiches as fresh as possible because if you take them out in the morning the sandwiches are defrosted nicely by dinner time and taste as if they have just been made and not hanging around all morning. I have never had the bread go soggy but do make sure that you wrap them carefully.

I am sorry that all the attention went into the cake. I do understand how frustrating it is to take all that time and trouble to put together the whole day when all he did was spend some money. If it is any consolation your daughter will remember who was there for her. Maybe not obviously right now but in the future. I actually feel sorry for my ex-husband today because it is fathers day and none of his children have made the least attempt to send him even a card. Yes I have reminded them but at their age 19,24 and 26 they are masters of what they do. These are the same children who came home from university to see me on mothers day. What goes around comes around.

Prudent

dolly_day_dream wrote:

I am sorry that all the attention went into the cake. I do understand how frustrating it is to take all that time and trouble to put together the whole day when all he did was spend some money. If it is any consolation your daughter will remember who was there for her. Maybe not obviously right now but in the future. I actually feel sorry for my ex-husband today because it is fathers day and none of his children have made the least attempt to send him even a card. Yes I have reminded them but at their age 19,24 and 26 they are masters of what they do. These are the same children who came home from university to see me on mothers day. What goes around comes around.

Agreed! My dd always refuses to do anything for her dad because he has always put her second to his own activities.