I have no idea-please sombody know the answer!?!
Answers: Ok-for whatever reason, my grandmother decided to put me in charge of the food arrangements for our familiy holiday party...she's taking care of the meat&beverages but I'm thinking about side dishes, and I'm not sure what we should have, or how many we should have, or how much of a side should i make, 2lbs, 12 lbs-i donk know-we're serving 25... Any answers or if you know of a good resource, please please please let me know or link it, im sooooo stressed over this....
First; "Don't get stressed out." If you just calmly think this out it is actually very easy. Think of yourself and family going to a resturant. Think about what they like to eat. Think of the number of side dishs that they would like to order. Then figure for each person you will need about 4 ounces per person of each side dish.
Of course the more sides you have the less that will be needed. Adjust your total by about 1 ounce after you hit three sides.
Example: This works out like this. Let's say your Grandmother is going to serve sliced ham to be used for warm sandwiches. You decide to add baked beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, and a side tossed salad. This would be 4 sides. You are serving 25 people so you will need 3 ounces for each side. 3 times 25 is 75 ounces or 4 pounds 11 ounces per side.
Because you are having more than three sides round down and figure 4.5 pounds per side. So you would need: 4 1/2 pounds or each, 4 1/2# potato salad, 4 1/2# baked beans, 4 1/2# macaroni salad and about 2-3 heads of a good iceberg lettice for your salad plus a few other veggies for your salad plus a large bottle of salad dressing of say, three different kinds of salad dressing — your choice.
I hope this helps. I am a professional chef and have been doing this type of thing for over 38 years. Believe me you will have more than enough if you follow the simple rules of 3-4 ounces per person, per side. Best of Luck and have a wonderful Holiday.
potato's
bean casserole
salad
enough to feed 25
From my childhood:
A tray consisting of one can each of black and green olives accompanied by a similar amount of cherry tomatoes and fresh celery is generally sufficient for six people or so, so you'd want about four of those.
Cranberry sauce is probably necessary, but how much depends wildly on the people that are going to be there. Some people can eat an entire tray of the stuff, while others won't touch it. You can buy it by the can pretty inexpensively, so I might get five or six cans and keep half of them on reserve in the kitchen just in case.
You are going to want bread for everyone. I generally pick up enough of the Pillsbury refrigerated croissants so that I'll have at least three or so for everyone there -- again, the principle is not that everyone will eat three but that someone will have one and someone else will have five. Keep in mind, though, that these take up a lot of oven space, so for a large party it'd take some time to get all the batches through. You may be better off stopping by a bakery and picking up a load of pre-baked breads.
My absolute favorite part of a holiday dinner is the mashed potatoes. Your grandmother is taking care of the meat so she should be able to produce the gravy as well, so all you have to do is pick up a sack of potatoes, peel them (or not), boil them up, and put them through an electric mixer in batches with some butter, milk, and salt. If I were you, and expecting twenty-four guests, I would make at least three giant bowlsfull.
That's what I have for a holiday dinner.
A veggie (or a few options) - corn, green beans
A starch - potatoes
A carb - bread, rolls, biscuits
Desserts - pie, cake, fruit salad
It kind of depends on the meat she's making... If it's not impossible, I would suggest asking other family members for help. They'll be able to help out with ideas (b/c they know what people will eat) and possibly in preparation as well. They may be more inclined if you give them something specific to do. For example ask your sister to bring a veggie tray, and then she can do whatever she wants (but it also means no criticizing when they offer their dishes to the group)!!
Who knows maybe you can find some old family recipe and give that a go!!
GOOD LUCK!!!
Here are some websites that may give you some idea of appropriate quantities:
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jsp?storyid...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/et_pa_en...
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cooking-for-...
mashed potatoes
green beans
sweet potatoe casserole (or mashed)
carrots
corn
rolls
rice
noodles (cheesy, or whatever)
pickles
pasta salad (noodles, ham, provolone cheese, peppers, cucumbers, and italian dressing)
salad
stuffing
those are just some ideas. but you need to prioritize. if you absolutely know 10 people aren't going to eat mashed potatoes and everyone eats salad, make more salad than mashed potatoes.
Roasted potato's
candied carrots
Green peas and pearl onions
green bean casserole