Need ms ideas for buffet for 50

miecherox

Hm pizza cut in to squares is super cheap and very tasty. There are some brill recipes on the GC recipe list for dough and you can top with almost anything. Bread salad is lovely and filling too

Day old white bread in 1 inch cubes tossed together with fresh garlic, red onion, green olives, fresh tomatoes chopped and deseeded, cucumber peeled and chopped with seeds removed. Pour olive oil and red wine vinegar all over and throw in some basil leaves - season to taste. really simple and lovely and cheap if you can get some stale bread on whoopsie or whatever!! And tastes all the better for sitting for a couple of hours.

Good Luck!

Ambersuccubus

oooh, not cold pizza.....uuuurgh!!!

miecherox

Ha Ha! Come on it's not just reserved for students!

M x

babyshoes

Cold roast meats, such as your home made ham (we recently got 2 Tesco Value ones on special, then cooked them in value orange juice and honey - lovely!), beef, chicken, lamb etc or whatever roasting meat you can get in the reduced section. Serve with rolls and salads. Serve with paper plates and plastic cutlery to save on washing up!

I would put out a few carb-rich finger foods to start with, such as sausage rolls, pizza type things, wedges, potato skins etc as people are arriving, then an hour in put out the sliced roast meats along with the rolls, butter, salad etc and people can put their own roll together. Have an assortment of condiments too like mayo, mustard, American mild mustard, tomato sauce, mint sauce for lamb, apple sauce for pork... you get the idea! Also, with the green salad, serve the ingredients separately as that makes it easier to put just the bits you want in a roll, perhaps nicely arranged slices of tomato, cucumber and onion on a plate, a bowl of salad leaves, cheese, olives etc. Also be sure do a potato salad as it is yummy and filling!

For dessert, do easy things - fruit salad, perhaps jelly as someone else said, cake or cupcakes, icecream if you have access to a freezer, merangues and so on. Perhaps some guests who are close friends or family would be happy to bring along some of the peripheral stuff like finger food for the start or a cake/pud for afters.

Also remember to factor in the cost of plates, cups, cutlery etc.

Have you got drinks sorted? A big punch always goes down well, even if it isn't alcoholic, and can be made quite cheaply with a few boxes of value fruit juice, a bottle or two of lemonade, a bottle of gingerale, loads of fruit (tinned will do) and plenty of ice. If you want it alcoholic, add a bottle or two of sweet white wine such as fizzy Lambrusco rather than spirits, as people won't drink it if they think it is too potent, or alternately get completely smashed and possibly cause problems!

aliadds

Ok Bonar here are some ideas. The home cooked ham will be lovely, especially if you serve with some h/m bread. Also some coleslaw. Buy things like crisps/nuts/breadsticks. Dips aren't too expensive from the supermarket, then make crudites from peppers, cucumber, carrots, celery etc. Make quiches if possible-tomato+bacon, bacon+mushroom, broccoli+stilton. Cheese+pineapple/silverskin onions, sausage on sticks, cheese board and biscuits. Chicken legs...some plain and some in honey/bbq/curry/breadcrumbs.
Sandwiches. Roast potatoes.
And for dessert...cheese cake, apple pie, pavlova.
Just check out the supermarkets. Some things may be cheaper ready made, though it would be better quality if you could make your own!
Depends what your budget is!
HTH

mum2one

Without sounding daft it depends on how much you want to spend, if you want basic - (went to wedding party last yr - cheapie buffet)
Rolls - use finger rolls (cut in half better)
Cheese, Ham, Egg + Cress, Salmon - Cut the rolls in half

To make the cheese go further - grate - ideally in food processor - goes further
Egg + Cress add a knob of butter and salad cream - again goes further mashed in.
Salmon - mix with small bit of mayo + sliced cucumber - bulk it out

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Chicken Drumsticks

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Sausage Rolls

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Retro cheese and pineapple on sticks
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Cocktail sausages on sticks

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Vol au vonts - filling - tin of chicken in cream sauce, the other filling Cambells condensed soup - use mushroom filling

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Avoid anything like coleslaw, pickle etc - need more cultery

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Quiches - In all honestly cheaper buying ready made - without sounding daft, the price of eggs just makes everything expensive

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crisps, peanuts - buy own brand and empty into bowls spread along the table

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Sweets

Home made trifles - use small plastic drinks cups, slice swiss roll in bottom, fruit, jelly, blamonge, top up cream last - consider taking can squirty cream

Jelly - same principle plastic cups

Qateux, couple of flavours,

In all honeslty, most of the meats - be cheaper buying from Iceland, or at least price up before going to Misco

Puds etc - Iceland again

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Plates etc - just pick plain ones from £1 shop, same for serviettes.

We've done few parties and dds parties, if you need an idea of amounts etcjust pm and if I can help I will.

mum2one

The other thing is if 70 are def coming catering for 50 could leave you short, maybe cut 5 out, but not 20. xx

jexygirl

It depends how much washing up or disposables I want to do / use but I do things like this :
home made or shop bought bagguettes sliced thinly and left open are a much more sophisticated alt to sandwiches and look so much more! topped with things like egg mayo (grate the eggs instead of chop or slice as it goes ALOT further) sprinkle with parsley
ham with mustard mayo blobs piped on
beef and horseradish mayo
cheese and pickle or chopped red onion / tomato for colour
prawn mayo
homemade sausages or sausage rolls, mini quiches home made using up the whoops stuff, homemade dips with sliced carrot peppers and celery - a fave is a tub of philidelphia upturned with sweet chilli dip over the top! humous and tzatziki (excuse spelling!) are easy to make
if using forks, a tin or fresh new potatos chopped with onion mayo and parsley for a fresh potato salad,
tuna sweetcorn mayo pasta salad
A few packs of own brand savoury rice with bits added
a mixed salad bowl bulks out the table i use a cheap hm dressing
Tortilla is great - as in the potato omlette type thing, a few of those cold look good and are filling and taste way better if a couple of days old, you can add what you like and make it veggie to boot!
crackers laid out with cubed cheeses that are on offer!
home made shortbread brandy snaps and simple choccies make for a good sweet offering
its late, I had a few brandies, but hope this helps, I might even add a sober post tomorrow if i remember!!!
Jex

jexygirl

It depends how much washing up or disposables I want to do / use but I do things like this :
home made or shop bought bagguettes sliced thinly and left open are a much more sophisticated alt to sandwiches and look so much more! topped with things like egg mayo (grate the eggs instead of chop or slice as it goes ALOT further) sprinkle with parsley
ham with mustard mayo blobs piped on
beef and horseradish mayo
cheese and pickle or chopped red onion / tomato for colour
prawn mayo
homemade sausages or sausage rolls, mini quiches home made using up the whoops stuff, homemade dips with sliced carrot peppers and celery - a fave is a tub of philidelphia upturned with sweet chilli dip over the top! humous and tzatziki (excuse spelling!) are easy to make
if using forks, a tin or fresh new potatos chopped with onion mayo and parsley for a fresh potato salad,
tuna sweetcorn mayo pasta salad
A few packs of own brand savoury rice with bits added
a mixed salad bowl bulks out the table i use a cheap hm dressing
Tortilla is great - as in the potato omlette type thing, a few of those cold look good and are filling and taste way better if a couple of days old, you can add what you like and make it veggie to boot!
crackers laid out with cubed cheeses that are on offer!
home made shortbread brandy snaps and simple choccies make for a good sweet offering
its late, I had a few brandies, but hope this helps, I might even add a sober post tomorrow if i remember!!!
Jex

bonar

lots and lots of great ideas guys. just logged back in and will start writing it all down and plan now. as I said before I was starting to panic a bit!!!!!!. I heard that birthday cake was good and cheap from costco is that true, my other thought was lots and lots of cupcakes in a stack with green icing with footballs on the top ones. what do you all think,