historically accurate Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 DH promised everyone pizza for Christmas. That's what I get for letting him invite people. I don't make very good homemade pizza, and no company will be open & delivering. So I've decided we're doing 3 Aldi's big pizzas (for 10-13 people). I have one person who is gluten free (she will be bringing her own pizza to heat). But what goes with pizza? I won't have a lot of room in the oven. I could do breadsticks but they would have to go in after the pizza comes out. A green salad maybe? Someone is bringing a cake; I was going to make a birthday cake because 1 person's b-day is Dec 25 (and he doesn't like the flavor of the cake being brought), but maybe I should do a different kind of dessert. DH is making homemade vanilla ice cream. Should I make up a ton of appetizers and desserts in order to fill people up? Help me with a menu for the day. I will have 1 extra person here for breakfast, and we'll do our presents then. Everyone will arrive about 11, and we'll eat noonish. I assume people will start leaving about 2 or 3 pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 You could do mozzarella balls w/ grape tomatoes & balsamic vinegar. Sides of small servings of spaghetti w/ tomato sauce. Salad (which you've already mentioned). Veggie tray & fruit tray. Something chocolate for dessert? Or cheesecake? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewber Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 http://www.onceuponachef.com/2010/03/big-italian-salad.html This salad is so good and really freshens up pizza or any Italian food! I can never find the cheese she uses in my town so I use some feta and it's really good. The fresh dressing really makes it! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 You could do a pasta salad as well. Something easy that you can make ahead. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 You could do a pasta salad as well. Something easy that you can make ahead. I think I'd do pasta as well and keep it warm in a crock pot. Plus a nice salad and sliced french bread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 With pizza I would focus on vegetable sides, not bread or other starchy stuff. (A pasta salad that is heavy on vegetables would be fine to me.) I served pizza to a crowd for lunch today. We had a big plate of celery, carrots, red bell pepper strips, and cucumbers along with ranch dip. And, orange wedges (clementines would have been better). If it was dinner, I'd add a salad with vinaigrette to that. Maybe some apple wedges with peanut butter if pb is safe for the group. Anything goes for dessert! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamite5 Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 Antipasta, chicken wings, Caesar salad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 Do you have a Costco? They have good take and bake pizzas. The kids might like to make root beer floats. I would have a big salad, and a fruit tray. I would make spinach/ artichoke dip with tortilla chips/pita triangles. (Well, I'd buy it from Costco, cover it with parmesan cheese, and bake it for 30 minutes. I'd also pick up easy to grab desserts, like mini eclairs, mini cream puffs, and brownie bites. I'd probably just leave those out on trays all afternoon/evening. (I could phrase this as- you could- but in reality, it's what I would actually do.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 For a party, I'd do a make-your-own pizza bar. If your homemade crust isn't reliable you can use nan, pita, french bread, bagels, boli crust . . . anything really. Just put your oven as high as it will go and the miniizzas will only take minutes. It's a bit of a pain for the guy working the oven, but it's fun for a party. Maybe make a few larger pizzas for the humbugs that don't wanna join. For sides I'd do a salad, or just a massive veggie platter. Dessert can be Christmas cookies, ice cream bar with brownies, or cupcakes in a different flavor than the cake the guest is bringing. I love my homemade pizza dough, but for a party I go premade or use a make-ahead recipe. It's just easier if people are topping cooked crust. I use parchment for writing names and holding topped pies because nobody recognizes their pizza once the cheese melts. I size my crusts so the my regular oven can hold 12 and my little oven can hold 6. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 (edited) DH promised everyone pizza for Christmas. That's what I get for letting him invite people. I don't make very good homemade pizza, and no company will be open & delivering. So I've decided we're doing 3 Aldi's big pizzas (for 10-13 people). I have one person who is gluten free (she will be bringing her own pizza to heat). But what goes with pizza? I won't have a lot of room in the oven. I could do breadsticks but they would have to go in after the pizza comes out. A green salad maybe? Someone is bringing a cake; I was going to make a birthday cake because 1 person's b-day is Dec 25 (and he doesn't like the flavor of the cake being brought), but maybe I should do a different kind of dessert. DH is making homemade vanilla ice cream. Should I make up a ton of appetizers and desserts in order to fill people up? Help me with a menu for the day. I will have 1 extra person here for breakfast, and we'll do our presents then. Everyone will arrive about 11, and we'll eat noonish. I assume people will start leaving about 2 or 3 pm. We had pizza last night at our inlaws. My MIL and creative SIL made a cheesy dough tree. :D It's like this: http://www.readyseteat.com/recipes-Christmas-Tree-Pull-Apart-Pizza-Bites-7599.html But they put cheese inside and then just had a marinara dipping sauce. And then they made little cheesecakes in cupcake wrappers and then others brought the usual assortment of Christmas candies. It was great. BTW, the problem with making pizza is that several pizzas in an oven will either take time to rotate or won't cook quite the same. They made two and ordered three. :) Edited December 19, 2016 by BlsdMama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 We picked up 3 take and bakes from Walmart on Saturday for Sunday lunch. Last night I baked one of them and cut it into quarters (to fit in my toaster oven) and put it in the fridge. Today I reheated the prebaked pie in the toaster oven while cooking a whole one in the big oven. The reheated pizza was offered first to the little kids, as it came out of the toaster oven; I didn't heat it to piping hot. When the whole pizza came out, I put another whole one in the oven and it was ready before the others were eaten. We ended up not needing it all, but that's OK because leftovers. My daughter was dubious that it would work out but it was fine. Easy as can be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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