Christening buffet - limited time

suki1964

There's loads of things you can make long before the morning leaving you with just an hours throw together on the day

However you need to find fridge and freezer space amongst the family

Quiches can be made now and frozen

Salads such as coleslaw, pasta, rice can be made up to two days before

Sandwich fillings such as egg mayo, tuna, chilli chicken can be made the day before. You can also butter the bread the night before, putting it back into the bread bags, butter sides together, and re sealing. Sandwiches then take minutes to put together and cut on arrival

Sausage rolls, cocktail sausages can also be cooked the night before then just warmed up in the oven

Cakes and desserts all can be made in advance. Sponge freezes well and frosting can be done the day before

Platters of sliced meats and cheese will take minutes to display. Buy bags of salad leaves and just tip into bowls. Jars of pickles just need decanting with a serving spoon dunked in. Tubs of cherry tomatoes. Things like scallions, peppers etc can be washed and sliced/chopped the day before Get the individual butter portions if serving bread or crackers.

Get your family ( extended) to help so it's not just you prepping. Give someone cakes to finish, give another bread to butter etc

CathA

When my brother had his little one christened, all the guest were asked to 'bring and share'. First half of the alphabet (surname wise) bought sweet stuff, last half bought savoury. It was a great idea, as at least people could bring the stuff they liked to eat so not much was wasted!

honeythewitch

missbiggles1 wrote: »

As the OP says she's "doing the food herself", is there any point telling her how she can buy stuff ready made?

I think the generally accepted meaning of doing the food yourself is not having caterers, not making it all from scratch.

pigpen

missbiggles1 wrote: »

As the OP says she's "doing the food herself", is there any point telling her how she can buy stuff ready made?

yes.. because if time is an issue it is easier and no more expensive when you add in all the factors... things she may not have considered.

Having organised 10 Baptisms with different budgets and 'after parties' I have a varied bit of experience to share and doing the food from scratch myself was incredibly time consuming and no cheaper than the buffet at the local pub.

VfM4meplse

missbiggles1 wrote: »

As the OP says she's "doing the food herself", is there any point telling her how she can buy stuff ready made?

I think this is a mistake. The OP should plan the logistics and purchase the necesssary items but delegate someone to take responsibility on the day itself. There must be a good friend / well-meaning relative willing to lead the operations so she can enjoy her LO's day.

Can you imagine Kate fretting about sausage rolls at Charlotte's christening?

[Deleted User]

Would you have access to the oven in the kitchen? if so would the idea of Jacket potatoes with a variety of cold fillings and lots of salads be something you'd consider? Fillings could be grated cheese, tuna mayo, egg mayonnaise, chopped ham and egg , bean salad, guacamole and you could serve the potatoes cut open and put bowls of butter on the table for people to add that and then the filling of their choice. It would be much less work for you on the day to pop washed potatoes into the oven and all the fillings and salads could be made the day before and fridged. If you wanted to have hot fillings too baked beans, chilli, Bolognese sauce etc. would hold very well in slow cookers.

Tiddlywinks

60 - 80 people for a Christening? Wow - that's a lot of well wishers.

There's no way you can really expect to prepare all of that and serve it one the day all by yourself.

Even the storage of chilled and frozen items or of pre-cooked food the night before will take up so much space.

I'd be very tempted to put in a special order with a fish and chip shop, Dominos, Subway or a local bakery. Or find someone who is a Costco member and order some food for collection - they do hot Pizzas or cold buffet foods.

For that number of people though, I'd be getting in a professional.

JIL

missbiggles1 wrote: »

As the OP says she's "doing the food herself", is there any point telling her how she can buy stuff ready made?

I took it to mean she was doing the food herself as opposed to using a caterer.

suki1964

Night sky, if you and family can't do a buffet for 80 people, pay my flight, put me up for the night and I'll do it


Sorry tiddlywinks, I really am not knocking your post as such but seriously a buffet is so easy as long as you know what's being served and you have a plan of action.

I done a buffet for my own wedding. Five mins before I left the house for the service I laid 70% of it out and turned the oven on ready for the reheating of hot stuff. By time everyone had got a drink, found a bowl of nibbles, found a seat, was all ready. Easy peasy and no stress at all. Left me to enjoy my day

Pollycat

suki1964 wrote: »

Night sky, if you and family can't do a buffet for 80 people, pay my flight, put me up for the night and I'll do it


Sorry tiddlywinks, I really am not knocking your post as such but seriously a buffet is so easy as long as you know what's being served and you have a plan of action.

I done a buffet for my own wedding. Five mins before I left the house for the service I laid 70% of it out and turned the oven on ready for the reheating of hot stuff. By time everyone had got a drink, found a bowl of nibbles, found a seat, was all ready. Easy peasy and no stress at all. Left me to enjoy my day

Suki - I don't know what line of work you're in but if you're not a caterer, you're in the wrong job. :rotfl: