I'm having a small get together for a committee. I want a small buffett, how big a deli platter do I need?!
Answers: 8 People total. And I want something hot in the crockpot, but not chili. Any ideas for something hot?
It depends. Is this meant to be a meal? The time you meet can determine what you want. If you meet after 1pm/7pm, you can generally assume your guests have already eaten.
If you're getting pre-made sandwiches or wraps, make sure there's at least two varieties to choose from and make sure they're sliced. As a former meeting/conference planner, I noticed that when I told the caterers to slice the food and make smaller portion sizes, we had less wasted food. So I would plan for 7-8 people, but give them options. If it's a long meeting, order a small fruit and cheese tray for the nibblers and plan for seven people.
Soups are a good choice for a hot entry. They're filling and can be as fancy as your budget will allow. You can get a lot of bang for your buck with soups. A roasted red pepper soup is cheap and takes less than an hour but is so good. Meatballs or dumplings are also good. Buy some barbecue sauce and jazz it up a little with brown sugar/pineapple juice/whiskey and it tastes like you spent a lot of time. The rule of thumb for hors d'oeuvres is 4 to 6 per person for a dinner party and 8 to 10 for cocktails/lighter meals.
Most grocery stores will have guidelines on how many people you can feed with their deli trays used as either a main course, or as a appetizer/snack.
As for the crock-pot, how about meatballs with BBQ sauce? Just get a bag of frozen, pre-made meatballs, pour them into the crock pot, cover with a 50-50 mixture of your favorite BBQ sauce and water, cover, cook on low for 4 hours, and just keep it on.