Food for Reception

Oh i need help here to

You can NEVER go wrong with

PASTA, its inexpensive to make and you can make diffrent sauces to go on top, marinara, pesto, alfredo.

Salads - Garden Salad, Macaroni Salad, Potato Salad

Baked Chicken or Fried Chicken

Baked or Fried Fish

Fruit Tray, Veggie Tray, Rolls

Alright Chance. how to keep bake chicken warm? no kitchen in my venue

Sternos and Sterno racks, we used these all the time for church banquets, they have fancy ones, that you could probably rent, or not so fancy ones (the ones we get for church) that you can get from the dollar store. The racks you can get from a restaurant store.

Fancy Ones, you can rent these

Not so Fancy Onces, The pans you get from the dollar store too, the come in all sizes, the sternos are the actual heating element

This is the sterno, it has a wick inside that you light, it burns for about 8 hours, you would need 2 under each pan.

This is what it looks like before you put the pans on top

Does it burn the bottom of the foods though? Or does it heat all the way through? I've seen these, but not real sure how well they'd work. I also seen cermic ones at bed bath & beyond. Have you use that kind before?

No they do not burn the food, because the flame is so low, it just keeps it warm, just make sure that once you food is cooked, take it right from the oven and put it over the sterno, so that you can maintain the heat from the oven.

Yes I have used the ceramic ones as well, to me those keep the food hottest the longest.

Oh and if you use the ceramic or the more fancy metal ones, there is an compartment that you fill with water, to keep the food from cooking or burning.

Thanks Chance

Chance you are the BOMB!!!!!!

I just thought I should let you know.....

Thanks @ummmm...Sexy...I feel weird saying that...lol

You are welcome@Jamie

Care's ideas are great! if you want to keep it homey, you can also add meatloaf, or beef tips .we're doing lemon pepper chicken, pepper steak(mixed, not just 1 single steak to a person), pastas, and sides. plus, rather than heating up our house, AND running up our electric bills lol, we can grill the veggies in aluminum, as well as the chicken and steak, and it only leaves the sides to be cooked in the kitchen. and i plan on buying frozen veggies, that can be steamed or cooked in big pans, and served in the aluminum pans like care showed. i'm not doing rentals. oh and at party stores, you can actually buy the whole set up, for i think 4 pans? and it's like 30-40. when you those pans, the fancy ones, you have to pick them up, use them, wash them, return them. with disposable, you just throw em out. my plan is to stage them, underneath the linens. plus, between me and my mom and my BM we have alot of pans, that have the metal holder to keep it from burning whatever is underneath.

I have been to a couple that did trays of fruit, meat, cheese and other misc items. It depends on your style and what your budget is.

We're doing sliced glazed ham, sliced filet of beef, some type of chicken breast dish, roasted potatoes, green beans, corn, caesar salad, stuffed shells, penne in vodka sauce, italian meatballs & bread & butter.

BTW, you didn't mention your food budget, but if you go to BJ's, Sam's Club or Costco, you might be surprised at what you can afford. The filet mignon (before it's cut into filets) was 6.99lb. We're using that, but slicing it thinner than a filet. Shop around, make a list of what you want and comparison shop. Get a rough figure of guests and how much food you'll need and see how it adds up. Good luck!

You can never go wrong with a backed chicken alfredo (yummy and so easy todo yourself) and Marzetti (also very easy)Keeps warm in your sterno pans very nice. Great thing about the two dishes is one is red sauce based the other is a white sauce based, your meats are chicken and beef. You can make these way ahead of time and freeze them then back on the day of and pop into your sternos, make sure to use the foil pans to back them in (heavy ones of course) serve with big bowls of simple salads such as romain and iceberg cut up with just toasted croutons and grape tomato. You don't want to overpower your salad with everything. Serve with lots of different rolls, no need to feel you have to heat them, then add some whole green beans, you can get them everywhere in the frozen food sections and use a sterno for them as well you can also make them go well with the Italian theme by adding a few spices to them. Have fun with it and please if possible hire or ask someone to be in charge next pg

In addition to what chances said about the sternos is that if you get a second aluminum pan when getting the less expensive of the two options, you can put water in the bottom pan and set the pan with the food into it.

Of the buffet for you and be there early to get it set up for you, no need for you and your family to spend all of your time on it when you need to enjoy yourself. Ask a trade school about a few students that could use an extra few dollars or a culinary school close by then they can earn experience as well as some extra credit.

Have lots of wine on hand and skip the full bar it will save you lots of money. Remember if you have time play around with your menu and have family do taste test for you. Make a pan of each and freeze for a few weeks then time the baking, this way no surprises. Make sure to have out cheeses and salad dressings and you will have an inexpensive Italian Buffet that is very easy to do and feeds lots of guest, if having 150 or more guest I would do 2 pans of each (large pans)Oh and only use Ground Chuck or Sirloin as well as Chicken Breast (sliced thin and long) Hope this all helps.

Good luck!

Nora McCoy

Party Planners Plus

My place has a bar of which everyone will be purchasing their own alcohol. Im having my ceremony and reception in the same place so we have kitchen access. here's the secret ( if I could serve white castles and red kool- aid yep I said red lol, I would because I don't care for 95% of these people). I'm just trying to be tasteful and I want this to be a memorable occasion for my husband and I.

I want to send you all sugar babies because you all rock! yeh I'm planning early but I want to be done with his stuff before December.....

Chicken and fish are always the cheapest food to get.