Who likes planning food for get togethers? I need advice.

[lynn]

I gather monthly with a group of ladies for Bunco.  This year I have November bunco which falls the Monday after Thanksgiving.  What can I plan for this gathering?    By now everything from Mexican to BBQ have been done in other months.  Do you have a few appetizer ideas?  Pasta bake with fresh bread and a salad?  Subs?    All suggestions welcome

[saraha]

Are you hosting at your house?

Chicken Parmesan subs 

chicken salad, ham salad, egg salad on croissant 

baked spaghetti 

Brunch for dinner

soups and bread 

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by saraha

[Jaybee]

I'd do soups and bread, like @saraha mentions above. By then, I'm really tired of heavy meals. So I'd offer two kinds of soup, with two kinds of bread (or something like Fritos if one is a chili or tortilla soup). If an appetizer is also needed, I'd add a veggie tray so the meal is more balanced.

[scholastica]

Like the soup idea, you could do a few different kinds of chili. That’s always a hit here.

[Eos]

Chili, cornbread, salad, chips and salsa and guacamole for appetizer.  Hot or cold cider.

[Faith-manor]

I like making a pot of veggie and wild rice soup, a pot of chilli, grilled cheeses, cut into fourths that folks can use a soup dippers, and then tray of fruit - kiwi and mandarin orange slices, pineapple chunks. Easy but hearty. It also isn't a lot of pots and pans, baking dishes and the like to clean up.

[HomeAgain]

I would do potato soup, salad, and small turkey or ham sandwiches done on rolls.  Appetizers would be kept simple: raw veggies, cheese and crackers, possibly something more holiday themed like a stack of cracker, cheddar, and cranberry sauce or a cheese ball.

[theelfqueen]

I did a brunch themed bunco (yes in the evening) one time that was a hit ...

[Storygirl]

Hot almond chicken salad

Ham and cheese sliders on Hawaiian rolls (always a hit when I make them for gatherings)

Big salad, such as https://www.melskitchencafe.com/vineyard-chicken-and-pasta-salad/

Something like a chili or soup would be nice, too, but it's possible people have already had soup made from their turkey carcass.

[athena1277]

I’m going to share a fun idea if you do soups.  I went to an event at church (about 30 ladies) a few years ago and the hostesses served soups.  They had gotten the cup holders like they use at McDonald’s and styrofoam cups that fit snug in the cup spaces.  Each person put 3 or 4 cups in a holder and put a different soup in each cup.  Various crackers were on trays at each table.  It was great because you didn’t have to choose only 1 soup or worry about going back for seconds to try another soup.  

[wisdomandtreasures]

Gyros, but as a salad with the tzatziki sauce for the dressing. 

[Bambam]

2 hours ago, athena1277 said:

I’m going to share a fun idea if you do soups.  I went to an event at church (about 30 ladies) a few years ago and the hostesses served soups.  They had gotten the cup holders like they use at McDonald’s and styrofoam cups that fit snug in the cup spaces.  Each person put 3 or 4 cups in a holder and put a different soup in each cup.  Various crackers were on trays at each table.  It was great because you didn’t have to choose only 1 soup or worry about going back for seconds to try another soup.  

I love this idea! We usually have a soup/sandwich potluck, and we all want to try more soups but couldn't figure out a way to make that easy vs. carrying four partially filled bowls around! Thank you for sharing! 

[Bootsie]

I would do chicken and sausage gumbo, chili, a soup, or chicken tetrazinni and crudite for an appetizer.  

[Carol in Cal.]

5 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

I like making a pot of veggie and wild rice soup, a pot of chilli, grilled cheeses, cut into fourths that folks can use a soup dippers, and then tray of fruit - kiwi and mandarin orange slices, pineapple chunks. Easy but hearty. It also isn't a lot of pots and pans, baking dishes and the like to clean up.

This is similar to one of my go to big but not that formal company meals.  Chicken Wild Rice soup, Minnesota style, is to die for and reheats beautifully.  For variety I usually make beer cheese soup as well.  But grilled cheese sandwiches instead would be great.  Fruit plates are always in season as are veggie plates.  One of my favorites that time of the year, since citrus is in season, is to serve jicama spears sprinkled with paprika in a quiche pan, dotted with assorted citrus wedges—lemon, lime, and orange or mandarin.  Conceptually you take a few spears onto your plate plus one citrus wedge, and squeeze the juice onto the jicama before eating.

Another thing I like to do with a medium crowd is heavy appetizers and desserts, but you have to know your audience to know whether that will work or whether people will be pining for a main course as my husband would.  Heavy appetizers include chafing dish meatballs, chafing dish tortellini Alfredo, assorted cheese chunks and fancy crackers, Red Lobster style cheese garlic biscuits, fruit salad, and veggies with yogurt dip.  Desserts would be brownie bits, macaroon cookies, meringue kisses, and some kind of fruit tart.  If I could find good strawberries, I would serve them with tiny dipping bowls—choice of chocolate syrup, Cointreau, Kailua, or Grand Marnier, all of which are wonderful on strawberries.  If I didn’t have those available, I’d probably buy some chocolate covered cherries.  The nice thing about all of these is that they are easy to store and to move out into serving dishes.

[Mama Geek]

If you have lots of left over turkey you could do a turkey pot pie or 2 or chicken pot pie, salad or fruit salad.

[Drama Llama]

Monday after Thanksgiving, I would do something as unThanksgiving like as possible.  No poultry, nothing heavy, not traditional American flavors.  Instead I'd do something fresh and light with different flavors.

My first thought is Asian or Middle Eastern food.  

Maybe a ramen bar?

[KatieJ]

Baked potato bar . Bake potatoes and set out toppings. Sour cream, crumbled bacon, green onions, cheese ( which could also be a cheese sauce) chili, etc.

I would do raw veggies or a salad with that. 
Corn bread would be good with that I think. 
 

When I am hosting an event , I try to plan meals that I can prep ahead as much as possible. 

[Jaybee]

15 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Chicken Wild Rice soup, Minnesota style, is to die for and reheats beautifully.

You know we need a recipe. Or at least guidelines, if you don't have a recipe. I love making soups in the winter.

[KatieJ]

12 minutes ago, Jaybee said:

You know we need a recipe. Or at least guidelines, if you don't have a recipe. I love making soups in the winter.

Google Byerlys Wild Rice soup. 
Byerlys is a high end grocery store chain in Mn. 

[Danae]

15 minutes ago, Jaybee said:

You know we need a recipe. Or at least guidelines, if you don't have a recipe. I love making soups in the winter.

Cook wild rice in chicken broth (follow package directions, but use both for the liquid).  Sauté chopped onions and carrots in butter. Add just enough flour to soak up the butter, stir until no dry flour remains.  Add milk and the rice with the broth it was cooked in and cooked chicken or ham.  (To me, Minnesota wild rice soup means ham.  Chicken wild rice soup has a higher portion of chicken broth vs milk and chicken meat instead of ham. )

 

edit:  add slivered almonds with the carrots and onions if you want to be like Byerly’s.

Edited October 28, 2022 by Danae

[cjzimmer1]

How many in the group?  I'd plan differently for a group of 6-8 than for a group of 30. 

If it's a large group, I think a set of 3 soups would provide a nice selection. I would probably do one chili, one clear broth soup and one cream based soup.  With the clear broth and cream based, I would have one with meat and one without.  So if I did beef barley as my clear soup, I would do cream of broccoli, or if I did a creamy chicken and rice, my clear soup would be minestrone.  And a side of nice bread to go along with the meal.

But 3 soups feels like a lot of prep work for a group of 6-8 (plus I don't personally own three things that would handy for keeping them all hot without having all the pots warming on the stove) and then I would probably do something more like a customizable bar.  The potato bar above would be good but I would then offer bowls so if someone wanted the chili as a meal instead of a topping for the potato bar they could go that route.  I would also have lettuce because the toppings I use on baked potatoes I would also use on salad so that could provide a lighter option if someone wanted that.  

My family does ham sandwiches (sliced really thin from the deli) and heats it in a broth of brown sugar, ginger ale and cooking sherry.  It adds a great flavor to the ham and it's good hot, cold, or room temp. and then I would serve some kind of side "salad" anything for potato salad, to coleslaw to a cold bean salad to a mixed lettuce salad. And then have a plate of fresh veggies and fresh fruit.  If I felt particularly ambitious, you could add cheese and crackers.

[lmrich]

Another vote for soup. Love the idea  of the carry cups (and am  going to use this idea for sure😀)

here is one that carries two: https://www.amazon.com/Gugas-LLC-Carrier-Delivery-Carriers/dp/B07GDCGRWH/ref=sr_1_5?crid=29ZIK7R3475FB&keywords=car+carry+cups+cardboard&qid=1666971629&sprefix=car+carry+cups+cardboard%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-5  and one that carries four but no handle:  https://www.amazon.com/Disposable-Coffee-Tray-Count-Biodegradable/dp/B0853DVS2M/ref=sxin_15_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.b5b80b36-fed9-4412-8be2-fe5bba09d25a%3Aamzn1.sym.b5b80b36-fed9-4412-8be2-fe5bba09d25a&crid=29ZIK7R3475FB&cv_ct_cx=car+carry+cups+cardboard&keywords=car+carry+cups+cardboard&pd_rd_i=B0853DVS2M&pd_rd_r=121a2fb0-4dfa-4fe4-b1dd-035cd7a69e32&pd_rd_w=rVb4b&pd_rd_wg=XzAEA&pf_rd_p=b5b80b36-fed9-4412-8be2-fe5bba09d25a&pf_rd_r=Q4FDK0G2FMCYR89VC6NG&qid=1666971629&sprefix=car+carry+cups+cardboard%2Caps%2C99&sr=1-4-a73d1c8c-2fd2-4f19-aa41-2df022bcb241-spons&psc=1&smid=A49ZDM1KLQVIN

 

and here  is 4 pack one with handles: https://www.amazon.com/C-Store-Packaging-Paperboard-Disposable-Delivery/dp/B09GS66FBL/ref=sr_1_18_sspa?crid=29ZIK7R3475FB&keywords=car+carry+cups+cardboard&qid=1666971806&sprefix=car+carry+cups+cardboard%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-18-spons&psc=1 

If you are feeling crafty, you can decorate the front  of the carrry  box.

Edited October 28, 2022 by lmrich

[catz]

1 hour ago, KatieJ said:

Google Byerlys Wild Rice soup. 
Byerlys is a high end grocery store chain in Mn. 

Oh my gosh you're speaking to my heart!  This is so good. 
 

And Lunds/Byerly's is my favorite local chain.  You can get unlimited curbside there for $90 a year and their produce is the best.  

[Carol in Cal.]

2 hours ago, Jaybee said:

You know we need a recipe. Or at least guidelines, if you don't have a recipe. I love making soups in the winter.

OK, the next time I’m around that cookbook I will post it.  It’s from Celebrated Seasons, which is the Junior League cookbook from Minneapolis.  Everything I have ever tried from that cookbook is outstanding.

The wild rice soup recipe starts by making broth from two chicken carcasses.  Whenever we buy a roasted chicken from Safeway I throw the bones into a freezer bag and store in the chest freezer until I’m ready to tackle this.  The recipe is good made with boxed broth but truly outstanding made with the homemade stuff.  

I was interested to see that it calls for cooking the wild rice separately from the soup, and then adding it.  

It’s so crazy good.  Everybody seems to love it.

[KatieJ]

10 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

OK, the next time I’m around that cookbook I will post it.  It’s from Celebrated Seasons, which is the Junior League cookbook from Minneapolis.  Everything I have ever tried from that cookbook is outstanding.

The wild rice soup recipe starts by making broth from two chicken carcasses.  Whenever we buy a roasted chicken from Safeway I throw the bones into a freezer bag and store in the chest freezer until I’m ready to tackle this.  The recipe is good made with boxed broth but truly outstanding made with the homemade stuff.  

I was interested to see that it calls for cooking the wild rice separately from the soup, and then adding it.  

It’s so crazy good.  Everybody seems to love it.

I have also  used bone broth from ham for this soup. 

[KungFuPanda]

If you’re looking for a fun theme you haven’t done yet, you can do pies. Pie can be the whole meal. Savory pies, veggie laden pies, fruit pie, chocolate pie . . .  It makes for a fun spread and you can prep them ahead of time and only need to serve the main dish pies warm. 
 

I’ve also done chili and toppings over cornmeal waffles. That’s fun too.  

Edited October 30, 2022 by KungFuPanda