Cooking Pot-Luck Dinner Help needed

[Katy Belle]

Hello all!

I am the "Queen Bee" for my neighbor's going away pot-luck dinner. Now it is a pot-luck, so everyone should bring something, but sometimes we come up a little short. There will be a miniumum of 45 people (about 1/2 kids) up to about 75 people. I know I will be busy right before the party with set-up, etc. I want to provide a fair amount of food, but it all needs to be do-ahead stuff. Preferably the day before.

So.. what would you do? I'm thinking a big appetizer, big main dish, big side(perhaps fruit) and a Kahluah Bundt Cake.

We always have lots of hummous and Baba Gonoush, so nothing middle-eastern, it will be covered!

Looking forward to your suggestions!

Oh! I forgot something! No pork products. Not allowed here..muslim country.
TIA,
Katy

 

[MazdaUK]

You obviously won't want anything fiddly How about a huge pasta dish for the main - maybe a big lasagne (or two - one beef and one veggie). easy to make in advance and chill or freeze. A fruit compote is always nice to have to hand (again you can make in advance and freeze) or some sort of fruit salad. Not sure about starter if you've already got houmous, unless you do some other dip/crudite option. Bundt sounds excellent choice

 

[babylisa4]

Deen's Chicken and Rice Casserole?

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This is one of our family's favorites and my 86 year old mom really liked it. It does have chicken(I know you said you needed beef) but maybe it would be a good one to use sometimes. I usually put this in a 9X13 casserole pan so one pan probably serves 8-10. (I don't add any extra salt because the wild rice seasonings have enough. Make sure you rinse the green beans, too. Really good. I just made this today. Reheats well. I have this in a Paula Deen cookbook but I copied this off of the Food Network's website- just did a search of Paula Deen Chicken and rice casserole.


2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
3 cups diced, cooked chicken
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans green beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 (4-ounce) jar pimentos
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (6-ounce) box long-grain wild rice, cooked according to package directions
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Pinch salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat butter or oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.

Add all remaining ingredients to bowl and mix together until thoroughly combined.

Pour into a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.
Rated: 4 stars out of 5368 Reviews

 

[Swimnoid]

What's a potluck without deviled eggs????

 

[Katy Belle]

Thanks everyone!

I am deviled egg impaired I can make all kinds of fancy stuff, but deviled eggs hate me. I love to eat them though.

The lasagne is a good idea. I could easily do that ahead and I know it would get eaten. I like the idea of a veg. and meat one. There will be several vegetarians at the party, well 5 at least.

Thanks for the chicken recipe! I will try that for us sometime!

I'm thinking buffalo wings for the starter. I know there will be tons of dippy things.

Thanks for the help! I just needed to start my brain
Katy

 

[FormrCastMbr]

Shepherd's Pie is good and can be made ahead.

 

[dcox931]

I'm thinking buffalo wings for the starter. I know there will be tons of dippy things.

Cant go wrong with wings!