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Help me plan a dinner for 120 people with $200~300

post #1 of 139
2/5/10 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 
-_-;

I know $200 is tough, but please please help a noob.

Currently we have planned without price into consideration. Checking out prices later today.

Some sort of crostini (possibly tossed rustic tomatoes)

Asparagus soup (craime freche, but not sure we have enough)

Salata caprese

Bouef Bourguignon

or Pumpkin ravioli for the vegetarians

Stewed pears and cheesecake


-_- help? please?

any ideas for different menus? or things we could do to lower the price?
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post #2 of 139
2/5/10 at 6:44pm
That almost sounds impossible... But I guess if you go with cheap bulk it may be doable - think potatoes, cheap meats, other cheap veggies... I guess a $1 french bread can make a lot of mini crostinis or bruschettas...
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post #3 of 139
2/5/10 at 7:01pm
Doesn't sound easy.

If you use a 5 ounce portion of beef, instead of a the 8 ounce portion I see in a recipe, you are looking at nearly 40 lbs of beef to serve 120 people, assuming no waste.

If you can get 40 lbs of beef at $1/lb, it is 1/5 of your budget.

The recipe I'm looking at calls for a bottle of wine per 3 lbs of beef. That is about 13 bottles of wine...
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post #4 of 139
2/5/10 at 7:06pm
Starter & Dessert easy.

Main couse: Posh stew? Posh chicken legs? Pork belly? Liver? Steak & Kidney pudding?

Edit: Dumplings!
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post #5 of 139
2/5/10 at 7:06pm
Think starches and wholesale.
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post #6 of 139
2/5/10 at 7:12pm
My guess is that rice and lentils would need to play heavily if you want 200 to cover 120 guests.
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post #7 of 139
2/5/10 at 7:18pm
I make a lot of sorts of vegetable soup. -tomato -pepper -tomato/pepper -spinach -zucchini -pea (to my shame I've used the frozen kind, and although I'm a slight snob, this tasted very good) -pumpkin -potato and other kinds of soups. Basic recipe: Some oil in pan, add onion intil clear, perhaps some garlic, add the sliced vegetable of your choice, ad stock or water and 30 min later* use a handheld blender and it's done (season to taste) One can sift the soup when wanted or needed, I usually don't bother. Crème fraîche not necessary, but that be your choice. With some roasted bread it's half a meal already. I'm thinking they all will be just as good as but less expenive than asparagus soup. Mustard soup in its raw state is even cheaper: (Make roux, ad mustard, ad stock (I use the kind that comes in a cube)) Of course one can jazz it up with baked bacon and/or sliced leek or something. This may be too outlandish. Now I'll just wait for Kyle to put me to shame... *Spinach soup is probably done quicker, pumpkin or potato soup will take more time I think (And this isn't taking into account you probably need around 25 liters of the stuff.)
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post #8 of 139
2/5/10 at 7:27pm
DP Edit: Bouf B. or another kind of stew is a good choice, since you can buy lots of chewy (ergo cheap) meat, cook it for hours with other cheap things as carrot an onions and inexpensive wine and it will come out great. If the recipe states one should toss the vegetable after cooking; don't. Is the budget with or without liquor/beer?
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post #9 of 139
2/5/10 at 7:35pm
It's very doable, but you'll need to do lots of cooking and planning. Cooks at mess halls, cafeterias, etc, often have to budget at much less (like at 50 - 90 cents per person).
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post #10 of 139
2/5/10 at 7:39pm
Pasta.
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post #11 of 139
2/5/10 at 7:41pm
Beef stew & bread.
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post #12 of 139
2/5/10 at 7:53pm
Tall order. Do you also have to provide drinks?
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post #13 of 139
2/5/10 at 9:04pm
40-60 $5 pizzas from any pizza chain
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post #14 of 139
2/5/10 at 9:13pm
you've got two big issues here: first, obviously, is cost. But the second and just as important is feeding all of those people hot food all at one time. Pasta is always a good answer to cheap eating, as MAnton suggested, but serving pasta to order is a bear when you get above a couple of dozen people. one solution might be lasagna, which can be baked in advance and reheated. that's also a way to stretch the protein dollar -- ricotta is cheaper than beef. Otherwise, some kind of lentil or bean dish would probably be best. You can spice that with a little bit of meat and it will go a long way. They reheat well, too.
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post #15 of 139
2/5/10 at 9:26pm
cold couscous mixed with sliced tomato, cucumber, feta (or similar) black olives, coriander (or do you people call this cilantro), mint, lemonjuice
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