Anybody care to help me plan a Christmas dinner party??

[Melissa in CA]

I have volunteered to host the elder (& wives) Christmas party this year. I haven't gotten any RSVPs yet, but if all show we'll have 18 people. I. don't. know. what. to. COOK!! I rarely cook for that many people. I also need a few party games. I have one, but another fun game would be helpful.

 

So...

 

If you were having that many people over for dinner and you, and you alone, were doing the cooking (meaning, I will have no help in that dept) what would your menu be? OH...and it cannot contain onions!:lol:

 

I was thinking ham, company potatoes, salad, rolls. A friend suggested lasagna, salad, rolls. Ugh. I just can't seem to think outside of the box. Any planners out there who would like to help me think this through? :D

[aggieamy]

Ham (in the crockpot)

Cooked Carrots (on the stove)

Scalloped Potatoes (in the oven)

Fruit Salad (cold)

Sweet Rolls

 

Then for dessert I'd do something festive like a pumkin roll cake.

 

I love cooking ham for large groups of people because then my family doesn't have to eat it for two weeks straight to finish it off and I can use the bone to make soup.

[chickenpatty]

I vote for lasagna! It seems easier to pull off at the last minute, b/c you can make it so far ahead of time. I guess I'm hammed out from Thanksgiving (we usually have ham and turkey in abundance at this time of year.)

 

Make ahead food helps me feel happier & less stressed!

[Denise in Florida]

1. Have an appetizer tray available while the guests arrive. You can fill it with things you made ahead so that it does require extra work that day. You could make a cheese ball with crackers, or chopped veggies with dip, I sometimes dice cheese into a bowl of mixed olives and set out toothpicks so guests can make their own snacks.

 

This helps set the tone and starts filling them up, it also smooths over any food delays due to kitchen timing or guest arrival.

 

2. Have an emergency side dish or two incase something doesn't work out or people are hungrier than you thought. This could be a bagged salad, fresh bread loaf from the deli (slice and toss in oven for a few minutes) or a big can of baked beans :001_smile:. If the table looks too thin just say 'opps I forgot the xxx'. If you don't use them they are still available the next day for your family.

 

3. Keep a tub of vanilla icecream available to add to the dessert. That way if you have something like apple pie or brownies and someone doesn't like fruit or chocolate or whatever you can offer just ice cream, and if the dessert doesn't look like it will serve everyone you can stretch it with ice cream. This also works in the cake/brownies/pie whatever doesn't turn out pretty, just cover it up. :001_smile:

 

Looking back on these suggestions, I have apparently inherited my mother's need to stuff people to the gills. :lol: Her biggest worry was always "what if there isn't enough', good hostess = food coma.

[ScoutTN]

I vote for the ham, because it's less work for you and less messy. And you'll have the bone for soup later!

 

Here's one possible menu:

Appetizer: good cheese and crackers.

 

Ham (spiral sliced)

Potato casserole

Green salad (spinach with strawberries in it is pretty - red and green)

Fruit dish (warm or cold - I love warm curried fruit)

Another starch - yeast rolls or a corn casserole.

If you need to stretch it more, go with a warm green veg dish. Broccoli or green beans? I love the packages of fresh sugar snaps because you can just microwave them and put them in a bowl.

 

Brownies, ice cream and homemade chocolate sauce with Christmas sprinkles (from the inside of the Baker's unweetened choc box - easy, foolproof, one dish in the microwave) for dessert.

 

party games?! I love charades where you have to act out the titles of Christmas carols.

[Sherry in OH]

I'd choose a baked pasta dish. Easy to make in advance, and freezes well if you have fewer people than expected show. In fact, I would make an extra pan just in case more people than expected showed.

 

Baked tortellini is less work than lasagna. Pour frozen tortellini into a baking dish, add jarred or homemade pasta sauce, bake. You can add green peppers, mushrooms, and cooked Italian sausage to the sauce to make it heartier. Or make cheese tortellini in marinara sauce if you want it lighter. Add salad, bread or rolls, and a nice dessert.

[ScoutTN]

Two other alternative menu ideas:

 

Mexican! Enchiladas are also easy to do ahead. We do some chx, some cheese and some bean. Serve with green salad and fruit.

 

Traditional chx casseroles are less expensive than ham and can be made ahead. All here love poppyseed chx and chx pot pie. Not fancy, but filling, yummy and nice on a cold day.

[Melissa in CA]

I vote for lasagna! It seems easier to pull off at the last minute, b/c you can make it so far ahead of time. I guess I'm hammed out from Thanksgiving (we usually have ham and turkey in abundance at this time of year.)

 

Make ahead food helps me feel happier & less stressed!

 

This is one reason lasagna sounds good. I can make it ahead and freeze it, plus I am personally tired of ham. BUT, I honestly don't know what I would serve with lasagna!! I mean, lasagna, bread, and salad just doesn't seem like enough for a dinner party? Besides an appetizer tray, does anyone have suggestions on what I could fix that would go WITH lasagna? I'm just clueless for some reason. :confused:

 

Or forget the lasagna and ham....do you have another dinner suggestion?? Perhaps I need to think outside the box, though I can't think to costly outside the box as funds are pretty tight right now. :tongue_smilie:

[*********]

My tips would be:

 

For the entree:

Do something that you just put in the oven and bake on the day of the party. I like everyone's suggestion of ham, since you can either serve it cold, or just put it in the oven to heat. Or, if you want to do lasagna, make up a few pans of it several days before the party, and put them in the freezer. Then, all you have to do is bake them on party day. This relieves stess for me, since I know the main course is mostly already taken care of, and I can just focus on the sides.

 

Bake homemade yeast rolls. EVERYONE loves them. And the smell of homemade bread? Wonderful. I make the dough in my bread machine, which means all I do is shape the dough into rolls, put them in the pan, let them rise, then bake them. You could even make the dough ahead of time, freeze it, then pull it out to thaw/rise the day of the party.

 

For dessert, as much as I love to bake, I would get something delicious and pretty from a bakery. Saves a LOT of work, and is very impressive. For a dinner party of 18, I would just be worried about wearing myself out to make everything myself, and this is one area where, if you know a good bakery, it will taste just as good as homemade. :)

 

Make a menu, do as much as you can ahead of time, and enjoy your company. They're not there to see how good your cooking is; they're there to see YOU.

 

ETA: I just read your post above. If you do lasagna, you could do rolls, a green salad, and a fruit salad or fruit platter. I usually also serve either broccoli or green beans with my lasagna, for those who don't care for salad. Plus an appetizer tray and dessert. That would be great, I'd think. Plus, you could fix your lasagna early in the week, you could prep all your fruit/salad/appetizer things the day before, then just bake rolls and dessert on the day of the party. Spreads the work out nicely.

Edited December 6, 2010 by bethanyniez

[Melissa in CA]

Two other alternative menu ideas:

 

Mexican! Enchiladas are also easy to do ahead. We do some chx, some cheese and some bean. Serve with green salad and fruit.

 

Traditional chx casseroles are less expensive than ham and can be made ahead. All here love poppyseed chx and chx pot pie. Not fancy, but filling, yummy and nice on a cold day.

 

Can you freeze enchiladas?? I only have one good enchilada recipe though and it calls for a crock-potted roast shredded and salsa added to the meat. unfortunately the salsa has onions. Errr. So I decided to sans the enchilada idea. I would hate to try a new recipe and have it bomb.

 

The one thing about ham is it's REALLY hard to mess it up! :D

[Remudamom]

I've frozen chicken enchiladas before. You can add onions later if you want, but I think I had mine in there.

[Mrs Mungo]

This is one reason lasagna sounds good. I can make it ahead and freeze it, plus I am personally tired of ham. BUT, I honestly don't know what I would serve with lasagna!! I mean, lasagna, bread, and salad just doesn't seem like enough for a dinner party? Besides an appetizer tray, does anyone have suggestions on what I could fix that would go WITH lasagna? I'm just clueless for some reason. :confused:

 

With lasagna (I would make 2 pans for 18 people) I would make PW's olive bread, salad, green beans and a dessert. I think this would be fine for 18 people, especially if you did a couple of simple appetizers.

 

Or forget the lasagna and ham....do you have another dinner suggestion?? Perhaps I need to think outside the box, though I can't think to costly outside the box as funds are pretty tight right now. :tongue_smilie:

 

I agree with the above poster that Mexican can be pretty easy. The last time we had a large party (around 50 people) I did made:

 

boneless chicken thighs in a crockpot with verde sauce

a chuck roast in another crockpot with beer

I served corn and flour tortillas with taco fixings: lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, onions, bell peppers, avocado (depending upon availability), cilantro

black beans

Mexican rice

guacamole

homemade salsa

chips

margaritas (or you could do sangria)

 

It was SUPER easy because everything can be done ahead and kept warm in the oven.

[KatieJ]

Chicken Tettrazini is very easy to make and fairly cheap, especially if you have some turkey leftover in your freezer from Thanksgiving.

I would do a nice green vegetable like maybe green beans with some almonds sprinkled on top. Then probably some dinner rolls and possible a fruit salad. I do bake alot, but somehow by the time I get to dessert for a crowd I have lost energy or interest, so I often go to pan of brownies and some icecream. You can dress it up with chocolate sauce.

[Carol in Cal.]

Low budget or not?

For 'not', I'd go with the stuffed veal rolls in the Sunset French cooking book. They are elegant but you make them ahead, and also the gravy does not have to be diluted or strained or fussed with at the last minute. They do contain onions, but I think that you could substitute shallots and they would still be really good.

 

For starch: rice pilaf, made with chicken broth and sauteed garlic. The gravy is great on that.

 

For veggies: Small to medium artichokes served with mayo.

 

The nice thing about all these dishes is that they present very well and they can all be put onto the stove 1/2 hour before it's time to eat, so you can sit with your guests and visit. Serve wine with dinner, and maybe hot spiced cider and some chips/veggies and dip beforehand.

 

For 'budget', I'd go with chicken thighs in 5 spice honey glaze--that is one of those dishes that everyone likes, and it's unusual enough that people tend not to make it at home. Roasted potatoes would be good with this--you quarter new potatoes, or cut bigger ones into big chunks, skin on, and toss with olive oil, oregano, rosemary, and garlic salt. Roast at 400 for 40 minutes, tossing once or twice to prevent sticking. And then add a nice green salad, or some marinated green beans. Same starters.

 

An inexpensive and impressive addition might be squash soup: Cut winter squashes in half, add one bulb worth of peeled garlic cloves per squash to the middle pocket, roast for 45 minutes at 400 or until soft. Simultaneously, saute one large onion, chopped, per squash in olive oil until very soft and starting to brown a bit. Add a handful of chopped fresh sage per onion and saute briefly. When the squash is done, dig out the flesh and add to the pot along with that garlic. Add about 2 cups of milk (nonfat is fine) and blend with a stick blender, adding more milk if necessary (2 cups is about right for one large or two small squashes. The proportions are approximate. The veggies have lots of flavor and so you can use a lot of milk and still have a good flavor. It should become velvety/creamy at the right amoung.). That's it! Even people who don't like squash tend to like this soup. It tastes rich but is not, and is so healthy you can't believe it. But it's actually very tasty!

[littleWMN]

Any allergies?

 

I'd go with peppered ham, the spinach and strawberry salad someone mentioned (we like it with Brianna's Blush Wine dressing and walnuts), some type of yeast rolls, and zuchinni. Simple but still impressive. Then I like someone's idea of a bakery dessert and a fruit tray or salad would make a nice healthier alternative (I'd do both).

[Mom0012]

Low budget or not?

For 'not', I'd go with the stuffed veal rolls in the Sunset French cooking book. They are elegant but you make them ahead, and also the gravy does not have to be diluted or strained or fussed with at the last minute. They do contain onions, but I think that you could substitute shallots and they would still be really good.

 

For starch: rice pilaf, made with chicken broth and sauteed garlic. The gravy is great on that.

 

For veggies: Small to medium artichokes served with mayo.

 

The nice thing about all these dishes is that they present very well and they can all be put onto the stove 1/2 hour before it's time to eat, so you can sit with your guests and visit. Serve wine with dinner, and maybe hot spiced cider and some chips/veggies and dip beforehand.

 

For 'budget', I'd go with chicken thighs in 5 spice honey glaze--that is one of those dishes that everyone likes, and it's unusual enough that people tend not to make it at home. Roasted potatoes would be good with this--you quarter new potatoes, or cut bigger ones into big chunks, skin on, and toss with olive oil, oregano, rosemary, and garlic salt. Roast at 400 for 40 minutes, tossing once or twice to prevent sticking. And then add a nice green salad, or some marinated green beans. Same starters.

 

An inexpensive and impressive addition might be squash soup: Cut winter squashes in half, add one bulb worth of peeled garlic cloves per squash to the middle pocket, roast for 45 minutes at 400 or until soft. Simultaneously, saute one large onion, chopped, per squash in olive oil until very soft and starting to brown a bit. Add a handful of chopped fresh sage per onion and saute briefly. When the squash is done, dig out the flesh and add to the pot along with that garlic. Add about 2 cups of milk (nonfat is fine) and blend with a stick blender, adding more milk if necessary (2 cups is about right for one large or two small squashes. The proportions are approximate. The veggies have lots of flavor and so you can use a lot of milk and still have a good flavor. It should become velvety/creamy at the right amoung.). That's it! Even people who don't like squash tend to like this soup. It tastes rich but is not, and is so healthy you can't believe it. But it's actually very tasty!

 

Can you please post your recipe for the 5 spice honey glazed chicken?

 

Thanks!

Lisa

[zookeeperof3]

I'd do two lasagna's, you can make them ahead and freeze them. Our family does meatless lasagna, and put the meat in tomato sauce on the side, so in small bowls or gravy boats would be meatless sauce, beef sauce and a bowl with sausages. The standard salad and bread. You could add a fruit salad and cheese tray to your dessert selections, I'd go with brownies and ice cream or make ahead and freeze holiday cookies.You can make it all ahead of time and just warm it all up the day of the party. Simple antipasto of olives, cheese, crackers, mozzarella w/olive oil, put it out when your guests arrive. Everyone will nibble and chat while you get everything on the table. Remember, you want to spend time with people at your party, not be stuck in the kitchen.

Have fun!

Kim

[bookfiend]

How formal do you want the dinner to be? More relaxed options could be a giant pot of chilli with toppings on a lazy suzan on the table and cornbread, or beef stew with a green salad and french bread.

 

Great sides for ham are

 

creamed corn

fried apples

scalloped potatoes

sauteed green beans in garlic and sesame seeds

 

Potatoes can be made up in the morning and then just bake along with the ham, or there is a crockpot version. Corn and apples can be made ahead and reheated.

 

An alternative to appetizers could be a fun drink or punch.