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@ timetheos
Oh you have me on the floor!
I am not anywhere NEAR my college years, I WORK at a college!

I am a sorority chef during the school years and a private chef (and archivist to my neighborhood association) during the summers, so I make less than the other 9 months.

I am a veggie and an animal rescuer, so my budget stays tight (like a college student I guess!) despite my technically grown-up status.

Thanks though! I feel super young again, if only for a moment!
:)

Most especially if your venue won't let you cook in their kitchen, or if you don't yet have a venue, see/ask if they will let you use a grill or two outside.
Some places will, depending of fire codes and such. I have been at/cooked at more than a few who did it that way, though usually as an accompaniment to the food inside.

If you are already thinking mini pizzas and antipasti, just add more big salads of different types (pasta, green, veggie etc.) and maybe some things with breads (bruschetta, crostini etc.) and grill the rest. Meats, veggies etc. Buy cuts that will grill quickly, and offer sauces that can be added after.
If you are looking for someone to do that work while not having to ask a guest/friend and not wanting to pay a real caterer, advertise for a local chef who might want to make some extra money.
Find one with references so you can be assured that he/she can actually do the cooking of course, and knows sanitation, and let them do the grilling.
Most salads can be at room temp for awhile, as can the breads and sauces. You will have less worry about refrigeration and use of ovens that way too.

Also, if really looking for a caterer, see if you can find a small local one. I catered with a partner for several years and we did quite a few weddings for much cheaper than a big catering company, cared more and I think served better food than the big buffets they often have. (If I see one more limp buffet of roast beef and gravy, dry chicken, iceberg salad and instant potatoes I may cry. Yuck.)

Good luck!

@jwalz took the words out of my mouth!
J.K's Scrumpy is really wonderful.

Also, here in Kalamazoo we have a fantastic brewery, Bell's, that makes what they call a "cyser" which is a fermented cider/honey mix that is really really good.
Usually you have to go to the brewery to get it, I have yet to see it bottled, but it is very tasty. Not mead-like, as many people think, very fruity and sharp.

I have had Tandem's too, the Pretty Penny. Also good.

We have a few other places making their own ciders for local use, like Round Barn, which I have yet to taste, Robinette's, which I have had but can't remember much about, and a place in Warren, MI that I will be darned if I can remember the name of, or if they still do cider, but it was very good. A German place I think....

I am LOVING the Michigan posts this week, first Redamaks and now Cider! We do fruit very well here.

@blizcheetah brings up a good point-
Do you have saffron threads or saffron powder?

The threads are the gold you want, and what we are all assuming you have, but powder is worth much much less and is often cut with turmeric and other things to dilute it.

Let us know!

Well, I won't join yet another site just to comment on one thread, but I will put some ideas here.

I cook with beer a lot. I have friends who brew and I often get dregs and flat beer, or brews they did not love to use in cooking, and then I share the results.

You can put beer in chili or stews, especially beef based stews.

Use it to make bread, either the quick type or use as the liquid in a standard bread recipe, just reduce the yeast a bit. (I bet @dbcurrie has a better explanation of how to use it in bread, I tend to wing it.)

Pour it over a browned pork loin or roast, or a beef roast, with sliced mushrooms and onions, a few splashes of worcestershire, salt and pepper and maybe some garlic or hot pepper and braise til super tender.

Use in BBQ sauce.

Use as all or part of the cooking liquid for rice, or the mashing liquid for potatoes--not for everyone but I love the taste when paired with the braised meats above or a big pile of roasted veggies that have complimentary seasonings. (Saison tends to be good with citrus I think.)

Use as a marinade, or in salad dressing.
Mix with a cider or white balsamic vinegar, a hit of lime juice, S&P and some chopped fresh herbs and onion. Really good over a big peppery pile of greens, roasted veg or meats, or used to dip bread in.

Hope he finds good use for it! Wasting beer is a crime!

First let me say how incredibly jealous I am of you right now. I am paying a crazy amount for them at the stores right now and it saddens me cuz I could eat one a day with no problems!

I often freeze some though, if I can't eat it fast enough all alone, or I get a good deal on a bunch, or at work where I buy them by the case.
Same things said above, it works best to puree/mash, and add lime or lemon juice (or just make guac) and then freeze them good and airtight.
Works great and stays nice and green.

Neither. If I have some of either one left over I generally have a plan in place to use them (at worst I freeze the whites for later).

Like the other day, I made mayo using 6 egg yolks, and I then used the whites for a jelly roll I filled with jam and fruit and cream.

Usually if I have enough yolks left I make a yellow cake and freeze it if it can't be used right away.

If I just have a couple of either I will make myself a strata or bread pudding with another whole egg or so.
I can always bake something to give away, so no egg languishes in my fridge for long, in any form!

OMG Yes!
@Shecooks- PB & bacon was very often served when I was a child, always on toast though. I had forgotten that one.

Anyone else put potato chips on a PB&J? I loved that too.

I dry every darn thing I can get my hands on.
I agree-check out books and such to get the right dry times for each food in your model.
All the above mentioned items, plus apple chips, cranberries and pretty much all other fruits, I even make my own bouillon.
I dry my pasta with it before freezing/using, make leathers and dry herbs and grains.
I dry chicory before roasting and use it for fresh flowers and sugar paste decorations/flowers.
Dog/cat treats and jerkys, veggies and I totally agree with the yogurt, nom.
Have fun!

Good peanut butter (usually organic, but with good flavor) and my own strawberry or raspberry jam.
Super-soft bread, but preferably a wheat or whole grain (homemade if I can get it right)
Spread each thickly on the bread slices, join them, and eat!

I always got PB&J in my youngest school days, and a friend always got PB& honey--she turned me on to it and I loved it, and she never got jam, so we traded often. Still my BFF and we still trade sandwiches at picnics or at least laugh about our gradeschool days.

Oh how I love coleslaw!! One of my favorite foods (when made well) and one of the saddest when it isn't.

I never use milk or buttermilk, I always think it gets too watery, but I love a ton of vinegar so that adds moisture enough for me.
Mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt and a ton of pepper, pinch of cayenne and some mustard, usually a dijon or a smooth spicy one. Cabbage (I like either green or a mix of red/green) and finely grated carrots.
What I love best is to add some of my vinegar BBQ sauce (that has just a hint of tomato and some molasses, plus the cider vinegar & spices) to it when eating. For me it is transcendent.

I never use celery seed though, which everyone thinks is odd.
Also, while I love all other veggies, NO others go in my standard slaw, EVER.
Green pepper is a travesty. Onion in tiny bits CAN be okay, but in a cabbage slaw I really really prefer only the cabbage and carrots.

Now I want some, and am sad I don't have the fixin's for it right now!

I never can mine.
My recipe has me cooking the fruit and sugars/spices and then jarring, and if you do that and you know it will get eaten in a reasonable amount of time you can either give it in a basic container or faux-can it. -
Sterilize the jars and lids as you would for regular canning.
Fill hot jars to the very top with the simmering cherry mixture.
Put on the lid and ring and tighten well.
Turn the jar upside down on a towel and allow to cool 4-8 hours.
Turn right side up again and store in the fridge til ready to use.
It seals itself very well and will help it keep longer than a product you just refrigerate.
Between that and the booze the cherries should keep for some time. I have used mine more than a year after "canning" and they were fine to eat.

Is there a reason you are unwilling to taste it yourself?
Most "apple" flavored liquors tend to taste kinda like a boozy jolly rancher. Good apple liqueur like Calvados tastes more like actual apples instead of a faux flavor because it is made from the fruit, not a liquor mixed with "fruit essence" after it is made.
On the Bacardi site all the text and apple pictures are that neon green, which leads me to believe you will taste more of a fake apple flavor than a real one, not that it should stop you from making things with it.

I would hope before making things with it you do take a taste so you can think about how your ingredients will work together, like you would taste any unfamiliar item before starting a recipe.
Hope you find a way to work with it, if not, just give it away! Someone must actually drink that stuff right? :)