HELP!!! A party for possibly 100 people?!
HELP!!! A party for possibly 100 people?
Well, I've gone and done it big this time. I decided to organize a city-wide ballroom New Year's Eve party. I am going to charge (at a minimum) $20 per person to cover my expenses (rent, food, police, etc.) I have to offer heavy hor d'oeuvres. I have an on-site kitchen (one microwave, two ovens.) WHAT should I prepare? ANY IDEAS on things to buy from SAM's Club? Any ideas for foods that I can prepare ahead of time and freeze?
THANK YOU!! I NEED YOUR HELP SO BADLY! :)
Answers:
If you don't want to cater I'd definitely hit Sam's. We do it all the time and so do our friends.
Here's some of the things we like...
...Honey barbecued chicken wings
...Tequila lime chicken wings (they're mild)
...fried cheese sticks
...assorted cheesecake mini squares (present beautifully)
...mini cream puffs (the eclairs are just so, so)
...seafood salad on crackers
...fresh shrimp
...barbecued back ribs
...assorted crudites and dips
...fresh salsa with both white and blue chips
...cheese or sausage and cheese platters
...fruit platters
...nut and candy platters (use divided dishes that are multi-layer)
etc.
Just make sure you have plenty of protein dishes plus a good balance of vegetables and fruit as well as dessert type items. Then you'll have a fully balanced meal, albeit all appetizers.
Go to Sam's on a couple of weekend days and sample. They'll have tons of things for you to try. I can vouch for both varieties of chicken wings from Tyson. Everyone loves them. Their seafood salad makes a great dip. It's a mock crab thing.
Try to dress everything up for presentation. It also helps to have various heights on the table, maybe raising the back half of each table as well as having multi-layer serving pieces. Another good idea is to have separate stations for the meats, sides and desserts. A GREAT dessert table is always a big hit.
I'd also have people stationed at each table to keep all dishes properly filled and tidy.
You've taken on a huge task. Good luck!
seven layered salad
CITY WIDE? Where do you plan on holding this? If it is city wide you can't really limit it to just 100 people. And If I were doing this I'd just have it catered. At $20.00 bucks per person you should have enough to cover it. But bigger question for you is WHY?
Ever hear of 5 cup salad ?? Is pretty, lite and festive looking.
1 cup mandarin orange slices (comes in a can)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mini white marshmallows
1 cup crushed pineapple (drained)
1 cup shredded coconut
Garnish with red & green marischino cherries
$2000 budget should get you quite a decent tasty meal for 100 people from local chinese takeaway.
Is it just appetizers or do you have to serve dinner? I would do a buffet if it's dinner and for just appetizers, strategically place round tables around the outside of the dance floor with various appetizers and centerpieces.
At each table definitely have assorted cut up veggies with a variety of dips, cheeses and nice crackers (no Ritz)
every time I throw a party I hire a chef ,or hire a catering service then again I know several great cooks and chefs in the Los Angeles area they charge you an average of 6-7 dollars per person but the guest are always happy ! ! ! ! what the hell......... new years is about the drinks hire a bartender and buy a bag of pistachios. and give us the 411
Okay - from Sam's Club - I would definitely buy the big can of Nacho Cheese dip and the big box of tortilla chips (as well as the little nacho trays and a bottle of the jalapeno slices. You can get the cheese & meat trays and the fruit and veggie trays as well. They have some party pinwheel sandwiches that are excellent - all you would have to do is thaw and place on tray. Another thing that would go well with the nacho cheese dip would be the beef and chicken taquitos.
Walmart has an inexpensive chocolate fountain. Buy the huge can of Hershey's chocolate at Sam's and then provide bananas and apple slices, pretzels and cut up pound cake. YUMMY!
Good luck!
You should check out the Kraft website. They always have wonderful appetizers that are not really hard to make. Sam 's has the pinwheel sandwiches for something cold.
You also might consider cocktail meatballs, using the frozen from Sams ,Simmer them in spaghetti sauce(store bought) and after a while of them cooking add cans of whole cranberry sauce to the mixuture. Let that melt down into the mix.
I make this for everyone and they love it.Never had anything left.
I would say 3 lg bags meatballs,1 -#10 can of Ragu sauce(marinara type) and about 4 cans of whole cranberry should do you fine. Hope you use this and enjoy your night
Booze, wings, booze, small sandwiches, Baby back ribs (cut to finger-food size), and booze.
I used to work in a bar and everyonce in a while some rich guy would rent the whole bar for the night. We would have to provide food and drink. Alcohol is always fun because people start making their own good time and become extraverted (sociable).