Guest Author - Amelia Johnson
Cooking for a large crowd can be a daunting task, even if you prepare for it ahead of time.
If you are hosting a dinner party and appetizers are just the first course, you can calculate three appetizers per party guest. If you are planning to have the dinner course more than an hour after guests arrive, you will want to estimate five per guest instead. For a more casual gathering where the appetizers take center stage, you will want to estimate 4 appetizers per party guest, per party hour.
For example: 20 guests x 4 appetizers x 4 party hours would equal 320 individual appetizers, or 80 of each kind, assuming you made 4 different appetizers.
If your party is being held at an off-peak eating time, say mid-afternoon, you can assume 2-3 appetizers per person, per party hour.
As for beverages, most guests at a dinner party will consume about 16 ounces of any combination of beverages on hand during the course of the party. For non-dinner parties 2-3 four-ounce servings, or about 12 ounces will do the trick. If you are serving alcohol at your party, estimate 2 glasses per person.
Here are a few recipes to get you started. If you need to adjust the quantities in any your recipes, this online recipe calculator will do the trick. Happy Hosting!
Caramel Squares
12 ounces Brie cheese
6-8 ounces caramel sauce
1 c chopped pecans
5-7 apples (optional)
(Optional step: core apples and peel if you wish. Soak apples in pineapple juice while completing the following steps to avoid premature browning of the apples)
Peel the outer layer off of the Brie and slice the cheese into bite-size squares and lay out on parchment paper or a baking sheet
Heat the caramel sauce over low heat until it will drizzle slowly off of a spoon (just a couple of minutes)
Drizzle caramel sauce over the cheese and then top with pecans
Drain apples.
Place each Brie square on a slice of apple and place on serving platter.
Mushroom Pate
1 pkg mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
½ stick butter
1 pkg room temperature cream cheese
1 tbsp chopped chives
Salt
Pepper
After washing, slice the mushrooms and chop the onion
Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and mushrooms until soft, and drain. Cool 2 minutes.
Add mushroom/onion mixture to a food processor along with remaining ingredients and combine until smooth.
Pour into serving bowl and refrigerate for 2 or more hours before serving, up to 24 hours.
Serve alongside toast or crackers.
Mango Salsa
2 mangoes peeled and chopped
1/2 cup red onions diced
1/2 cup red peppers, diced
1/4 cup jalapeño peppers cored, seeded and finely chopped
2 limes, juiced
1/2 tablespoon honey
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and serve with restaurant style chips.
