Help! Catering ideas needed for a Baptism reception at home

Judi101

Can you borrow plates, cups etc from family nearby? It will be a pain to wash up but would be cheaper. How about roping in family and friends to make you some stuff? I always manage to rope in my mum and sister to bake as well. Best of luck

Mummy_Jo

Thanks again. I think that the jacket potatoes might be worth seriously thinking about. I mentioned my idea to a friend yesterday who came up with the same idea. Buying catering size tuna and mayo from Makro making up tuna and mayo, homemade coleslaw (made a few days before) and grated cheese. Not a lot of effort but very filling.

I do really like the idea of a hog roast too but have no idea how to find out about it. I will ask around my friends but if anyone has any ideas I would appreciate it.

Family are a bit thin on the ground. Hubby is in the RAF and our nearest family are two hours away. They are obviously coming but have a lot of travelling to get here as do most of our friends. I have a couple of local mates who are going to help but as we no longer live in quarters at the base since we bought our own property recently I don't know that many people that well.

I've been told that Wilkinsons is a cheap place to buy paper plates etc.. Anyone know any different? Also guess I will need paper tablecloths as well.

Thanks for your help

Gabs_3

Don't you have a couple of friends/relatives who would take over the catering for you? When my cousin had her son baptised I did the buffet for her and she just paid! It meant I missed the church bit but given I'm an atheist I wasn't to worried, and it meant she could relax and enjoy the day.

fishy3

another thing you could try is your local catering college... the students often need to do events for their portfolios and general experience..
hth

Mummy_Jo

Thanks for your replies. Sorry I haven't been online for a few days. Building hassles! But that is another story...

I've been to the local butcher to see how much he would charge for cold meat and its 65p per slice of ham and 75p per slice of turkey. I think that's ridiculous. So I shall not be doing that. I've got a couple of friends who live closely (most are travelling a few hundred miles) who have offered to bring a pudding or a salad but there are so few it doesn't make much difference.

I'm resigned to the fact that I'm going to do most of it myself. Does anyone know if I make sandwiches the night before if they will still be okay to eat or will they be soggy? Same goes for things like volauvents etc.

I've asked my parents to stay at our house to help look after the kids but she is not much use in the kitchen though.

I think I'm going to do
Hot roast beef sandwiches as per the earlier posts
Jacket potatoes with tuna mayo, coleslaw and cheese
Corned Beef and potato pie - might make it and freeze in advance
Quiche - can you freeze quiche ok?
Sandwiches
Salads
bought pork pies etc - catering size from MAKRO

Any other suggestions that are quick and easy?
I am also going to try and ring the local college just to check out that avenue too

Thanks for all your help

jessc_2001

Hi, just thought I'd give my 2p...

- Sandwiches can go soggy if made much before as can vol-au-vents - but they shouldn't take much time at all to fill if you've got the fillings ready.

- I seem to remember that anything with egg (cooked or raw) should NOT be frozen, something to do with bacteria... or something! So it would not be a good idea to freeze quiches.

- Have you considered making mini-pizzas? They're just scaled down versions of big ones and they can be made the day before, kept in the fridge and then warmed through...

Hope this helps!

Lillibet_2

It's perfectly safe to freeze quiches (& also egg, although whole egg should not be frozen, only beaten egg (raw or otherwise) or can also be mashed (as in a snack egg) if cooked.)

The sandwiches in addition to going soggy may also go dry (a contradiction but it is possible to have both...don't ask me how!) Personally looking at the array of food you are providing, I would drop the sandwiches altogether, there is pleanty of other choice & you don't need the hassle of making them on the morning.

Good luck;)

pookienoodle

Hi,
i second the fact that its perfectly o.k to freeze egg products so quiche is ok ( portion it up before you freeze it , freeze on trays and then once frozen transfer into tubs )
also you can pre make rolls or sandwhiches and then freeze them(again pre cut them) just don't use wet fillings.
you can then take them out in the morning on the day and they will defrost and be chilled for when you need them.
rolls freeze better than sandwhiches but they are both fine.

do you have lots of room to sit down and eat? as things like jackets can be difficult to eat standing up.
as jessc-2001 says mini pizzas are quite good and you can also make these by topping shop bought garlic bread slices with pizza topping and cheese and ham.
the most important thing is keep it simple, don't spend to much time fussing on the day and relax and enjoy the day.

piglet6

I'd be tempted to drop the sandwiches as well, but in case you do want to keep them, the main ingredient to leave out (to stop sogginess) is tomato. Sandwiches with tomato in them are the main culprit for sogginess if made too far in advance!

Also, the best time would be to make them in the morning, but all the ingredients could be prepared the day before (and kept in sealed tupperware boxes), and this includes buttering the bread. If you butter it and put it back into the packets (stacking it all one way, i.e. all buttered-side up, so there is butter between each slice, rather than putting two slices buttered sides together) the butter helps to keep the bread moist (not soggy!) and stops the edges going dry and curly. Don't worry about being able to see butter too much on the wrong side of the bread. By the time the sandwiches have been made for a couple of hours, the butter on the outside will have disappeared into the bread, just leaving the bread soft and the extra butter not visible.

On a personal note, may I recommend baked beans as one of the jacket potato toppings - very cheap (in comparison to grated cheese, say) and a favourite with most folks I know...my family would probably have a mixture of beans and cheese, which would mean using a lot less grated cheese and keep the cost down for you!

Piglet

Lady_E

Just an idea.....if hubby is in the RAF,would his base have either a functions room or would their careting team do outside jobs ?Assuming there is catering on the base , would you be able to borrow plates etc or their oven to do the meat?
We have family who are in the Police and they availed of the Police Club for one of their Baptism parties, it was great.