Feeding the crowd on a budget
So this past weekend I met up with a bunch of friends who are still attending college. Being one of the few at the party who graduated and currently work full time, I bought groceries and cooked dinner for everyone. The crowd I was feeding was 25 fraternity guys who haven't had a home cooked meal in several weeks. So needless to say I needed a lot of food. I decided on making some baked ziti. I used 10lbs of pasta, 4lbs of hot sausage, 2lbs of mozzarella, 1lb of parmesan, 48oz of riccota, and about 2 gallons of sauce. The total bill was about $40 for everything, about $1.60 per person. Everyone loved the food and it was gone in about 20 minutes. I figured it would have been plenty of food but we could have easily used another 3-4 lbs of pasta. So SE, what I want to know is, what is your go to crowd pleaser and about how much per person does it wind up costing you?
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8 Comments:
I think you did it economically and smart. I would have done at least 5 different things to make sure everyone had something and maybe to show off a little. What you made, spaghetti, or burgers is prob'ly the best way to go. I can't cook chinese or pho though.
Pho sounds like I'm totally missing something and might have been a good call.
carolrsfMISSESTEXAS at 12:13AM on 11/24/08
Monte's Ham from Saveur Magazine!
You buy the cheapest ham you can find and bake it to perfection. It has never failed me. Oh, and you can use the leftover bone to make pea soup.
Link to recipe
LearP at 12:18AM on 11/24/08
Depending on who the people are, chili can be a crowd pleaser, and dried beans are darned cheap if you put beans in your chili. An all-meat chili would be pricey, though.
Pasta may actually be cheaper, but I've never done the math. And it depends on what you put in there. A baked dish with the cheese is more expensive than just noodles and sauce.
dbcurrie at 12:24AM on 11/24/08
Congrats on surviving feeding 25 frat boys! It seems like you cooked the perfect meal for the crowd you had. I tend to over think and plan this huge menu that involves a ton of prep and massive amounts of ingredients and time. I need to stop that as I have 20 people coming for 3 days this week and have been planning the menu for 2 months(blush)
luv2cook
love2cook at 12:27AM on 11/24/08
baked pasta dishes are always my go to for a crowd, I also tend to fall back on a huge pot of beans. I love AB's recipe for once and future bean I usually put that on the night before and at the last min i throw in some cut up sausage, I like Emeril's apple chicken sausage. (I buy it at Sams and its not a bad price and cut up makes it look like alot more)
huneybumper at 8:28AM on 11/24/08
If you have the time (5 hours, at least) you can turn pork butts and brisket into a really good meal. Roasted root veggies and lots of potatoes round it out. We do this a lot for catering, and can account for about a pound of food per person for about $5. Cheaper cuts of meat are fantastic, but need a little extra TLC.
Keight at 11:55AM on 11/24/08
You did fantastic! The ham idea sounds great, too..............
kathall at 7:34PM on 11/24/08
I think the baked ziti was a good option, you just needed to add some salad or roasted veggies or a desert to expand your options.
missjess at 9:13PM on 11/24/08