dinner for 12 ideas
My boyfriend's birthday's next week & I'm throwing a surprise party for him.
(He thinks it's a romantic dinner for two, but there will actually be about 12 of us.)
I'm traveling all weekend & won't be back until late Monday night, so I won't be able to do any prep then. Tuesday's the party, but I'm working all day until 5-the friends will be over around 7-the birthday boy will be there at 8. Factoring in time to clean, shop. and cook...well, there really is no time.
A sit down dinner is impossible (my dining room table is big, but not that big-and hell, i don't even think I'd have enough place settings anyway) So, what I'm looking for is something simple...I was thinking a variety of easy, delicious, crowd pleasing appetizers served buffet style? Drinks (beer) & dessert (apple pie and homemade drumsticks...as featured recently on SE)...are covered. Any advice?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
20 Comments:
Ina had a good suggestion to do 6 appetizers: 3 cooked, 3 not. That way, you have to do half of the work for twice the results. She always puts out a nice cheese platter or something that everyone can nibble on. I'm trying to think of what would go with your idea? Maybe a cold pasta salad or something homey like that but doesn't take a lot of effort? You can't go wrong with a veggie platter either. That always makes people happy.
meem21 at 12:39PM on 08/12/09
First thought is antipasti -- olives, cheese, sundried tomatoes, salami, crusty bread -- maybe some bruschetta or crostini? A girlfriend of mine makes a delicious pasta salad with pesto, ricotta, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parmesan and fresh basil that can be served warm or cold. Tortilla espanola, chorizo, manchego. Fresh fruit w/ a variety of cheeses. A variety of deviled eggs w/ different fillings?
gbania at 12:40PM on 08/12/09
Had another thought -- gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches (variety of cheeses, breads and meats or roasted veggies inside) cut into small pieces. Or maybe pick up a bunch of quesadillas and taquitos from your local (authentic!) taco joint?
gbania at 12:44PM on 08/12/09
@gastro - OH HOW sweet. Thats a nice surprise :)
My first thought was the same as gbania.
Foodie-groups are kinda hard to impress when theres a lot. So I'd put qualtiy as a priority and do some antipastis
Buy some really good cheeses (some spreadable and some hard), nice breads, preserves, dried meats/salamis, hams, maybe some slaws/rough salads...so many options and since you're a bit hard-up for time it would be perfect.
You might have to consider a table for your spreads and some trays but then you can just have cocktail napkins and less dishes. *bonus*
bestofluck :D
hungrychristel at 12:46PM on 08/12/09
First off what does your bf like to eat that is easy and do you have a crockpot? There are dozens of things you could make the night before and turn it on the morning when you head to work and it will be ready by the time you get home to serve, like Chiles, verdes, BBQ rids or chicken, chicken adobo, Hawaian/Asian chicken, ect. , have some rice at hand to have with, same with marinara , pesto, Alfredo sauce and have pasta and garlic bread on the side for that.
pjracz10 at 12:51PM on 08/12/09
Fajitas/Tacos are always easy to scale up to a large group and fairly easy to make.
hungrytraveler at 1:12PM on 08/12/09
Would you be able to enlist the help of a friend to help out with some of the food? I know you're throwing the party and all, but it seems like there's a lot that needs to be done.
If you can make some stuff, and order something good from outside to bulk it up. Do the ppl attending know this isn't going to be dinner -- just so they don't come starving?
A quite cold salad of tomatoes, artichokes, mushrooms, and peppers w/ or w/o shrimp with a vinaigrette won't take long. The chopping make take 20 minutes or so though.
Cassaendra at 1:36PM on 08/12/09
You've still got half of this week.
Make a giant pan of lasagne (or 2 or 3) and freeze it. Thaw when you get home (or ask a friend to keep it in their freezer and thaw it- so the surprise stays a surprise). Make a big salad with pre-washed lettuces, add some fresh baguette or good Italian bread, butter and herbed olive oil for dipping, fresh cheese and antipasto tray (salami, olives, marinated artichokes- keep it simple), some fruit, serve wine and store bought dessert or cake.
Make a big pot of chili, taco meat (shredded pork or beef), sloppy joes, spaghetti and meat sauce, beef bourginon or other dish and freeze. Buy buns, cook pasta, bake potatoes, etc. when home.
Or make up a big bunch of appetizers that freeze well.
Or buy a big bounch of chicken thighs, freeze in marinade. Start thawing when you get home. Grill along with foil roasted potatoes, a big layered salad, tortillas, salsa and chips, a couple of deli salads (or ask dear friends to bring a dish to pass) order and pick up a cake on the way home Monday.
CJ McD at 1:36PM on 08/12/09
Make a couple of giant pans of enchiladas and a pot of pinto beans. Freeze them (or ask a friend to freeze- so the suprise stays a surprise). Day of return- pick up salad fixings or pre-shredded coleslaw and whip up some lime-cilantro-jalepeno-cabbage pepper slaw, open a jar of corn and black bean salsa with tortilla chips, serve fresh fruit (melon?), grill or microwave corn on the cob (if available), set out cotija or queso fresco to sprinkle on top of enchiladas, serve store bought desert.
p.s. If too hot to turn the oven on, heat them up on the grill. Make ahead in disposible foil pans for ease of clean up.
CJ McD at 1:44PM on 08/12/09
italian ...make a pasta dish, possibly a shrimp scampi as that is light, yummy & quick. you can also do chix parm with it on side. buy the chix pre-cooked so all you have to add is the sauce and cheese to make. make garlic bread and a salad. maybe ask a friend or two to help. have two friends each bring a salad so there are two salads on the table. for dessert buy a pie crust, instant chocolate pudding and whip cream. it takes 5 minutes for the pudding to set so you can make the pudding in the morning before work then put in pie crust when you serve it. a cute idea is to give everyone a mini pie crust and the bday boy his own pie.
a taco bar is also always an easy and yummy dinner.
jaf at 1:54PM on 08/12/09
Two more ideas-
-Buy a big ham and pop it into a crock pot or cook in a Nesco or oven when you get home. (Takes about 1-2 hours in the oven.) Serve sliced with good rolls, butter, mayo, mustards, sliced cheese, etc.
-Toss a relish tray together.
-Make a quick batch of baked beans jazzed up with a little suate'd onion, pre-cooked bacon and brown sugar.
-Make a 7-layer salad the night before and refrigerate. Set out cheese, fruit crackers.
-Serve fresh fruit and store bought dessert.
Or
-Order to make Italian Beef this week. Freeze and reheat when you return home. (crockpot it great for this)
-Serve with good Italian rolls
-Simple antipasto tray (pepperocini, salami, olives, artichokes, nuts)
-Fresh fruits (melons, grapes, a bowl of sliced, sugared peaches or oranges)
-Sliced cheeses (fontina, provolone, etc.)
-Toss a ceasar salad
-Wine and wine spritzers
-Store bought dessert and/or gelato
CJ McD at 1:57PM on 08/12/09
Fajitas work very well for this. Some nice trimmed flank steak cut into strips, some chicken, some fish if you have time, all marinated and ready for a hot pan. Hot tortillas, salsa, sour cream, cheese, frijoles, rice, and a salad on the side. Make some fresh salsa and guac and have it ready when guests arrive, with some good tortilla chips.
My other go-to dish is sausage, gravy and mash. Get some good pork sausages and braise in a pat with a pint of ale, onions and garlic on low heat for a few hours. You can make your mash early, and leave it on very low heat with a pot of cream poured over the top. Finish your gravy (use some of the liquid from the sausages) while they finish braising. Serve with whatever veg...I'm partial to either peas sauteed with crushed mint and black pepper, or sweetcorn sauteed with lots of butter and hot red peppers and garlic.
Also, always add cheese and butter to mash...it greatly improves the flavour and texture. And never skimp on pepper!
One other thing...lasagna and other red-sauce-based dishes always taste better the next day, so they are perfect for making ahead.
NotAmerican at 2:20PM on 08/12/09
I know I said make a giant pan of lasagne, enchiladas, etc.
Then I re-thought that. Make 3-4 smaller pans. They will thaw and cook faster, allow you to rotate easier in the oven/grill.
Same for freezing- make a big pot, but freeze in smaller batches for quicker thawing.
---
Everybody has such great ideas. That's why I love this site. Love it.
CJ McD at 3:27PM on 08/12/09
I'm with hungry traveler on this, only I'd do it as taco salad rather than tacos. Bowls of prepped lettuce and other veggies, corn chips, doritos, quacamole or avocado, beans, sour cream, a couple salsas, french dressing, russian or 1000 island dressing, grated monterey jack, ground beef and/or turkey cooked with taco seasoning or chili powder, garlic, and cumin. Bowls for people to make their own salads.
Except for cooking (or reheating/nukeing) the meat there's nothing you have to have hot at the time of the party. All the prep can be done ahead, and requires none of your work at the time of the party. If you've got friends who can bring some of the prepped ingredients either as a potluck or with you repaying, that makes it even easier.
lemonfair at 3:52PM on 08/12/09
wow-how will i narrow it down? you guys are spectacular!
i'm actually leaving on my trip tonight, so i won't be around for the rest of this week and i don't have anyone else to assist me, so it'll be a singlehanded endeavor.
i do own a crockpot & thankfully my boyfriend and his buds are not picky eaters.
i figured i'd have everything laid out on my dining room table and on the long countertop i have in my kitchen.
gastronomeg at 4:09PM on 08/12/09
If all else fails, order four large pizzas and make a salad.
Have a great trip!
CJ McD at 5:24PM on 08/12/09
Are you doing this solo? Can you get a few volunteers to help decorate while you tend to the food? Because even if the food's been prepped ahead of time, you've got to do the last minute heating/arranging of that food and there's a hundred other details that, hopefully, someone else can tend to while you do this.
Option 1: outsource. Order trays of food from his favorite (or yours) restaurant. You can add a salad or side and drinks or dessert. You can pick up the food on the way home from work and then get things setup for the buffet table. Even better, maybe they can deliver it all to your doorstep.
Option 2: the weekend before you travel, make a big batch of something that can be frozen and then reheated. Ideas for the big batch of something: lasagna, gumbo, chili con carne, stew (beef, vegatable), mac n' cheese, get my drift? While the entree is heating in the oven, serve crackers, cheese, veggie sticks and drinks to your company.
I strongly recommend Option 1 and here's why:
Given that you have 2 hours to get ready, buy as much as you can, so that you don't run yourself ragged cooking when you could be mingling and enjoying with your boyfriend. It's his birthday and I'm pretty sure he would rather eat store bought food and spend a wonderful evening with his honey, than have you in the kitchen the whole time getting everything ready.
AnnieNT at 6:07PM on 08/12/09
i like the idea of a cheese board, with some fresh and dried fruits, nuts, olives, good bread and a variety of cheeses; maybe some pate if people would like that, and you could buy some premade tapenade or other spreads (or make one really quickly in a food processor). hummus with some pita chips and crudite is good as well, or tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa (mango salsa is a good one). chop up a bunch of tomatoes, toss in some mozzarella and fresh basil, mix with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper (alternatively, add a few spoonfuls of pesto) and toast some bread in the oven and you've got bruschetta that everyone will devour and that takes no time to make. add a pasta salad or a quinoa salad that can be quickly assembled with a few ingredients, and it's filling enough for dinner and comes together pretty quickly.
billyburgwife at 10:40PM on 08/12/09
As many said, my 1st thought was Lasange trays, but "pot-luck casseroles" are sooo tired (although easy and previously prepareable), but what about a roast meat of, some sort with condiments for self-constructed sandwiches. Just one hunking roast of beef, pork or turkey some fresh vegies, spreads, cheese and a surprise of a kinda sweet/spicy chutney. Bring some chips or vegie stick, maybe fruits for dessert and your OK.
Otherwise, I did a exotic thing for 20: "wrap your own sushi! For vegans to carnivores: Big pot of sticky rice, flavored with and little rice vinegar and sugar; Nori sheets; Soy Sauce; then your choice of combos of: cucumber sticks, chopped scallions. avocado slices, sprouts, toasted sesame seeds, raw or canned tuna, crab or Krab meat, even grd meat seasoned with soy sauce, thin egg omelet pancakes strips
Not Yukio at 12:58AM on 08/13/09
Oh, and I've forgotten to mention, about the "Wrap Your Own Sushi" party:
You include Wasabi (Japanese green Horseradish) , even slices your favorite cheeses, or even mayonaise! Really anything. I've seen parties allowing sticks of Spam or Vienna Wieners even fresh fruit (in Hawaii)! If availabe some fish roe. The way your guests do this is; hold the Nori (seaweed sheets) in your hand, spread some rice on it, load max. 3 items, fold the Nori over it into a slightly loose roll, dip into soy sauce and enjoy! You might pair this with beer or white wine and of course strange Oriental music.
Not Yukio at 1:09AM on 08/13/09