Wedding buffet make-ahead dishes ideas please

hilstep2000

Do you know anyone with a cash and carry card? I'm a Guider, and my warrent gets me a day pass for Makro and Booker. Basically, you can get all the catering gateaux, pate, meats, colesaw,potato salad, and the small packets of butter there. Also huge packs of chicken drumsticks and nuggets.

Addiscomber

*debbie* wrote:

Thanks Addiscomber, aren't you amazing to know what was in the magazines, AND to know where to lay your hand on them now! :T

LOL - I haven't found them yet! I know there was one about a Christening, but buffet food is buffet food whatever the occasion. Actually I have 2 huge ring binders with each article in one of those plastic sleeve jobbies. I am trying to do a database of the recipes by main ingredient so that I can find ones for what is in season. At current progress I will not finish it in my lifetime :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

My biggest tip would be to beg freezer space from family and friends, and get as much done in advance as you can, otherwise you will be a nervous wreck. I once helped to cater for a smaller number, but the person insisted on fresh fruit salad "as it is so easy, you only have to chop up the fruit". Maybe, but she wasn't the one who had to chop it, and it doesn't keep and for her numbers that was a staggering quantity of fruit to be chopping up on the day :eek:

Addiscomber

I have found just the right article, with guidelines for feeding up to 100. The menu is based on recipes for 12. I cannot type out all the recipes or I will still be here come February :eek: but will give the guidelines as best as I can. I will set out the type of thing, how many to make and an idea of the quantity of the main ingredients so that you can compare to whatever you consider making, then I will give the mathematics of multiplying up, and some general quantity information for all sorts of extras and general tips for coping. (I am including tips for summer celebrations so that this will be a useful reference for others in future.)

This entire menu can be prepared in advance and frozen except for the mixed leaf salad, and some of the dressing, but the dressings can be prepared a few days before and kept in the fridge.

Canapé starters – allow about 4-5 per person

Quick meatballs with mustard dip
24 from 500g plump pork sausages, Dip based on 150ml double cream

Savoury straws (cheese straws with extra flavouring!)
24 from 250g puff pastry and 60g parmesan

Smoked turkey and cranberry canapés
24 base from 125g flour and 60g butter, topping from250g sliced turkey and 125g cream cheese

Crostini
20 from 20-23cm bought pizza base, 125g feta cheese and other topping
(personally I would stick with buying things like the base– you need some short cuts to cope, in your circumstances the OS bit is the not using outside caterers, no need to making it extra hard on yourself)

Main courses – allow 2 medium portions, or 3 small, a portion of salad and 1-2 rolls per person. Quantities are for 12 portions in each case

Chicken with golden rice salad
9 chicken breasts, 500g rice, 1kg vegetables plus odds and ends

Tortellini with orange dressing
2 x 250g packets tortellini with cheese or spinach dressing, 2 each red, green and yellow peppers
dressing based on 150ml sunflower oil plus flavourings

Mixed leaf salad
4 different types small to medium lettuces/leafy things,125g walnuts,
300ml French dressing

Smoked salmon cheesecake
23-25cm flan tin cuts into 12 medium or 16 small portions


Desserts – allow 2-3 small servings per person

Brown sugar meringues
16-20 from 125g soft brown sugar and 2 egg whites

Honey ice cream
About 12 scoops from 300ml custard and 300ml double cream

Almond cake
20 portions from 1kg (2lb) loaf tin

Zebra ginger log
24 portions from 4 x 150g packets ginger-nuts and 600ml double cream

Fragrant fresh fruit salad (which can be frozen- I wish the person that I helped had had this recipe!!)
6 apricots, 750g plums, 275g blueberries, liquid from 4 oz brown sugar

Drinks
A refreshing glass of Red Wine Cup is a perfect prelude in summer, as is Pimm’s and chilled white wine. (The wine cup is 12-15 glasses from 1 bottle wine and 1 large bottle lemonade.)
In winter welcome your guests with a warming glass of mulled wine.
Make sure that there are plenty of soft drinks for drivers and children.. Sparkling water and fruit juices are popular.
To chill large quantities of wine, line plastic bins with plastic sacks and fill with ice and water. Keep bins in a cool place. Unless the weather is very hot, a bag of ice (28lb) should chill a case of wine in about 1 hour. Remember, ice can be delivered to the door – see Yellow Pages.
Allow about half a bottle of wine per person.


Multiplying up the quantities
As a rule, the more people you are feeding the less you need to allow per head. We have given approx quantities for 12. But for 25 people multiply by two, for 50 multiply by four, for 75 multiply by five and a half, and for 100 multiply by seven. In our buffet we have allowed a few extra portions of main courses and desserts so that people can have second helpings. Provide plenty of baskets of rolls – hot if possible – as these will satisfy the hungriest appetite.

Cooking for large numbers
It is best to prepare individual recipes individually as many times as necessary. It is not a good idea to multiply ingredients in a recipe more than twice, because mixtures become too cumbersome, and you need vast pans and a large number of tins to make and bake them. Also cooking times may vary significantly if the volume is increased.

Presentation
Try to have helpers to lay out the food – it will take longer than you think.
Lay the table so that guests can first pick up plates and cutlery, then move on to the food. It is easier to serve yourself if there are several smaller serving plates than one large one. If possible it is a good idea to set up a buffet table for each 50 guests to cut queuing.
Although a buffet means serve yourself, you may want to employ helpers to replenish plates and glasses.
Keep some food in reserve so that dishes can be replenished and look fresh.
Arrange the food and drinks in separate areas to avoid congestion.


Useful quantities to serve 12 portions

Starters
Soup – 2.5 litres
Smoked salmon – 1kg
Prawns – 1kg

Main courses
Whole chicken – 3 x 1.5 to 1.75kg
Turkey – 5.5kg
Boneless chicken or turkey – 2kg
Beef/lamb/pork – 3-3.5kg on the bone
Beef/lamb/pork – boneless 2.25-2.5kg
Beef/lamb/pork – mince 2.5kg

Fish
Whole with head – 2.5kg
Fillets – 2.25kg
Prawns (for a main course) – 1.5kg

Rice and Pasta –750g

Potatoes – 1.5kg

Green vegetables – 1.5kg

Salad ingredients
Salad leaves – 3-4 heads
Tomatoes – 750g
Cucumber – 1 large
French Dressing – ¼ litre
Mayonnaise – 300ml

Butter for sandwiches – 175g softened for 12 rounds

Cheese to serve with bread and biscuits – 350-400g

Cream
For dessert – 600ml single cream (I presume this means for pouring over and is extra to what is in the recipes. High cholesterol here we come :rotfl: :rotfl: )
For coffee – 300ml single cream

Milk – 450ml for 12 cups

Coffee and tea
Ground coffee – 125g for 12 medium cups
Instant – about 90g for 12 large cups
Tea – about 30 g for 12 medium cups (You can tell how long I have had this saved when did you last see loose tea?? Do they even still sell it?)


Best of luck.
Addiscomber

leni

how about finding a local hotel and having a look at their menu selections per head for a cold buffet and then doing that multiplying by 150, or do enough food for 100 meat eaters and 50 for vegetarians (or 75/75)

Phatmouse

http://www.lowriefoods.co.uk/

We use this place for catering, its in Newcastle but you need to look for something similar.

examples
10kg of chicken = £8
1 Wheel of brie = £3
Whole hams = £6

Check out yell for wholesalers in your area.

Phatmouse

Buy packets of pizza base and make loads of bite size pizzas, mix puree with basil and add a small peice of mozzerella, very cheap for asda, half an olive if you like.

Small quiches, tuna and broccoli are good, make them in yorkshire trays.

Meat, slices of ham, chicken, turkey and beef.

Selection of cheese (nice stuff)

Potato salad, with thinley sliced radish, chives lemon juice and creme fresh.

Salad

Chicken drum sticks (always a winner)

Pate & petit pains or whatever they are called.

leni

voluvonts and mini sausage rolls are easy to make and always go down well
crab sticks
bread sticks and dips

*debbie*

There are so many fantastic helpful ideas here, I was really stuck on how to work out the quantities, but you've helped so much with this, and also with loads of great ideas.
Thanks all round!!

janeawej

Hi
I am getting married in September and have decided to cater for the buffet ourselves, there will be approx 70 people I want to do a hot and cold fork buffet, apart from the usual, quiches, sandwiches, sausage rolls, meats etc has anyone got any ideas for dishes that can be either made and frozen or made 2 days in advance please
Thanks Jane :beer::beer:

Softstuff

All of the following can be made in advance and frozen (I do this for Christmas, that way I can take a box out for any event):

Chicken dippers (chicken pieces breaded)
chicken and spring onion rolls (like sausage rolls, but with chicken mince, and diced spring onion with a little soy, garlic and ginger rolled in puff pastry)
Veg samosas
Curried chickpea pasties (like little cornish pasties with curried chickpea in)
Mini toad in the hole (a cocktail sausage in a yorkie)
Spring rolls
Mini pizzas
Cheese whirls (a thin spread of mustard and grated cheese on a sheet of puff pastry, roll up, then cut 1cm bits, turn them and smush them a bit on a baking sheet)

Pasta salad if you use a dressing rather than mayo freezes fine, as does rice salad.