What to serve at 50th House Party

[crispy2019]

Having a 50th party at the house and I need ideas about what to serve people to eat.

The ideal food would be something that could be batch cooked and left out for folks to help themselves to, with a veggie option.

There will be 30/40 ish people...it's going to be intimate a squash

I don't want to spend all evening playing caterer.

There will be no formal sitting down and it's likely to get quite loud! Any ideas wise mum netters?

Massive Nigella Chilli, veggie chilli, loads of rice, bread, sour cream, grated cheese and then a load of oven/buffet stuff

Good quality paper plates and cups and paper napkins too and have loads of bin bags ready for people to clear up as they go along

Is it around Christmas/New Year?

A chilli or a load of taco fillings and everyone makes their own. Or a range of curries, naan, rice etc.

Have everyone bring a plate of cold canapés. Or warm already and don’t need heating up. No oven on as it’ll be too hot with lots of people squashed in. No cutlery crockery to wash up. Not a stupid amount of work for you. People love bringing stuff and it’s a good conversation starter if people don’t know each other. I’ve been doing it for a few years for parties this size and it works really well.

Catering for 30/40 is a lot! Think of it in terms of volume of food you will need, eg pots big enough to cook for 40? Although it's a bit unoriginal chilli is probably the easiest option. A big pot of meat chilli and a veggie version. Easy to make in advance, not hugely expensive. Then serve with rice, tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, sour cream. You could sub rice for jackets if that would be easier to cook.

I’d order in pizzas.

Chili premade and served in slow cookers is the obvious one.

But I also did... a sausage sandwich party which was actually really good. Ovened a load of sausages (incl veggie, halal turkey, gf) and had a load of different breads and rolls. And onions , coleslaw and sauces. And it was build your own. It was a sort of boozy friends party rather than a smart, dress-up affair though.

Is everyone eating at once, or will people be coming and going and eating at different times?

I like the sausage idea...it's definitely a friends and booze situation

It will be a grazing situation...chilli was the only thing I could think of and I wanted to avoid that really

Similar to the sausage idea, I’ve made the slow roast pork shoulder in the link below for a large group before and served in baps with salads etc. I made veggie sausages for the no pork eaters.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/04/organic-pork-recipes-fearnley-whittingstall

Ooo I like this idea too, could have slaw and potato salad and stuff as well

Have a Google of charcuterie cups, snack sized portions and more likely to get picked up and eaten than a cheeseboard. Bowls of crisps and nuts for people to snack on throughout the night.

possibly big vat of homemade soup with fresh rolls/bread but not ideal if lots of drinkers with the extra liquid content.

lots of ciabatta sandwiches/paninis prepped like ham&cheese, tuna cheese, tomato&mozerella&pesto all prepped then grilled at the same time at the start of the party? Could even add some homemade quiches and salad.

how about a large beef cobbler/bourginon or chicken cacciatore / pies/ sausage casserole (or two options) with a large dish of mash potato and extra bread if you want a change from the usual chilli or pulled pork options.

or fishbar? Gravalax/smoked salmon. Dressed crab, lobster claws and king prawns in marinade. With plenty of bread and salmon. May be the priciest option.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll have a mull over the hols and hopefully feel rejuvenated and able to summon up the energy for a party in January

If you have slaw / potato salad, you need forks and it’s hard to eat standing up with a fork, plate and drink. I would keep to finger food only if you can.

I did pulled pork, baked salmon, vegan chilli, little baked potatoes, cheese board and a couple of salads. Covered all the various food choices and could be left for people to help themselves.

We celebrated a big birthday with a house party this year and did a couple of slow roast shoulders of lamb, cous cous salad with feta, tomatoes etc and wraps. Halloumi for vegetarians. Sausages and finger rolls for kids.

We celebrated a big birthday with a party at home for 30-40 people not long ago. Memory is still fresh!

• we put all the food on one table, with plates, napkins and cutlery
• we put all the drinks on a different t in table in the same room but different corner than the food
• I didn't want anything messy as we have new light colored rugs/chairs/sofa, so no chilli-type of food for us!
• We also wanted to spend our time with people, not serving or heating food!
• We got out: few quiches, a big charcuterie/cheese board, big plates of cut up veg (with hummus) and fruit, two huge trays of homemade pizza already cut up, some few appetisers like little skewers of olives and cheese etc, bowls of crisps, few big plates of sausage rolls/mini veg sausages/spring rools, a tray of fancy sandwiches, a big box of samosa (from a local shop), olives, a pasta bake and then some few sweet things as the cake, small cupcakes, biscuits....
• What would I do differently? We needed way way more plates and cutlery (I bought about 100 plates), I would put some big bin in a couple of corners as all surfaces were covered in dirty plates at one point, as people didn't know where the bin was (entirely my fault!).

If you end up going the buffet route I can highly recommend the crispy chicken strips from Iceland. They are delicious and enjoyed by all non veggies. Iceland do good buffet packs as well. Alot of beige food but people seem to eat it .

I did similar batch cooked a load of sausages, left them in the slow cooker on the warm setting and did buns and dips etc

also a big pan of curry also in the slow cooker

paper plates so no washing up

You could do coronation chicken, couscous/quinoa salad, cold roast vegetables, lemon tarts for dessert.

Personally I’d contact M&S and Waitrose entertaining and buy a job lot from them. Makes the party much more enjoyable if you don’t have to cater as well.

I would not do food!!! Drinks party after 8 pm with bowls of olives, crisps and at a stretch a cheese board. Nothing more. Spend the money on decent champagne!!!

I have hosted enough times to know people really don’t care. A few canapés and bowl snacks is ample. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.

Focus on fun 🕺