Cooked Breakfast - to deal with too many people

[Ratherbeaspoonthanafork]

We have been roped into hosting breakfast for a large family get together. I am not a natural hostess. I can do a buffet or a one pot meal. But its DH’s family and too many people for out house and kitchen. Our kitchen area is open plan (but isn’t massive/especially compared to their houses and top of the range really well equipped kitchens), some of his family are likely to gather in the kitchen area (and a couple of them are annoying and likely to really get in the way). I am also menopausal and get very hot, my glasses steam up and I get flustered with timings of cooking bacon and sausage etc.

Some of the group will want a large full English (I am not messing about with that), others like bits and bats, two kids one fussy but loves chocolate, two on diet/health kick will want fruit and yogurt although not sure which type of yogurt?!? Anything else easy that I can serve an prepare in advance?

Wondered if anyone can recommend anything similar (but less bulky) than a hostess trolley where I can get up early and do bacon and sausage (without being under pressure) and before they arrive and keep it warm? Was thinking maybe just do bacon and sausage in rolls, fruit, yogurt, croissants and jams, fruit juice, tea and coffee does that sound ok?

Greek yoghurt is probably the best choice

If you wanted to be fancy you could do the fruit bit of this (basically dry fry for a min with some mixed spice/cinnamon)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/toastedcrumpetssand99702/amp

I do bacon and sausages in the oven or air fryer as much easier!

Do you have a slow cooker (or could borrow one)? They would keep sausages and bacon warm for people to help themselves. If not these are good:

https://amzn.eu/d/8fcwzCl

I think your suggestion is good. How many people are you catering for?

I would do:

fruit kebabs
yoghurt
granola
croissant/pains au chocolat
bread
sliced meats/cheese

If you feel you have to offer a hot something, cook sausages, wrap in foil, and keep warm in the oven. You could do the same with bacon. Then pop in rolls.

Maybe a couple of plainish cereals and add in some pain au chocolat or danishes to go with the pastries but otherwise looks good!

Make a big fat tortilla style omelette with potatoes and veg. You can make it the night before and it can cope with a minute in the microwave. You could do one with ham or fried chorizo, and one with just veg?
Also Turkish style breakfast, with olives, feta, mint, cucumber, tomatoes, maybe grilled halloumi. And as the last poster said, yoghurt.
Can be added to fruit or you can make it with cumin and herbs for a savoury option.
Plenty of different nice bread
A few nice cheeses
Maybe some smoked salmon?

bacon and egg bites

Reduce options!

Granola
Greek yoghurt
Berries
Croissants/pastries (buy a box fresh on the day)
Baps - slice and pile up to self serve
Bacon/sausage and cook earlier in morning. Leave warm in foil in a slow cooker or oven
Sauces for breakfast sandwiches
Tea/coffee/juice

Thats a lovely spread and i would be doing nothing else!

It sounds like a lot of work. What does your husband think? I would suggest maybe a slow cooker to keep bacon and sausage warm once cooked. My mate always cooks her sausage in oven, u could do this too and possibly bacon too? Less heat for u?
The other things in offer sound great .

I would do a couple of frittatas with different ingredients. Also granola and yoghurt with fruit options and bread/toast - but let everyone who wants to do that themselves. How much is your DH contributing?

Loads of Greek yoghurt, honey, granola and fruit; shakshouka; croissants filled with sliced ham and cheese, thrown in the oven for 10 mins; eggy bread pudding; if you want to be fancy, smash up some avos and get posh bread.

Dont be talked into a traditional fry up or you’ll be running around doing a hundred types of egg and various veggie alternatives.

Depending on counter space, plug toaster in somewhere with bread products next to it, jam, butter, marmalade etc.

Cereals somewhere with a stack of bowls, spoons, milk.

oven with as many baking trays of sausages bacon, tomatoes or whatever you can, and just a big pan of scrambled eggs, tip into a bowl.

make yourself a cup of tea, kettles there, someone sort the rest please!

don’t take on too much, they can all pitch in a bit. Something along those lines anyway.

Breakfast strata!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/premium/breakfast-strata

You make it the day before then just put it in the oven in the morning.

We have just finished hosting extended family for a period of days and this is how we did it.

On the kitchen island there was
pastries (from frozen Pret)
a different chopped fruit- either Strawbs or pineapple or mango
a box of nice granola
Greek yog
mixed nuts and seeds
honey
OJ and AJ
Pot of tea and coffee
Tomato and brown sauces
slices tomatoes and avocado
Sourdough toast and preserves
cutlery
plates and napkins

eveeyone was encouraged to help themselves and then in the oven I had bacon which I “made to order” and supplied fresh rolls.

Almost everything was simply pulled out of the fridge morning of. If someone wanted an egg or beans or something like that then there were happy to make it themselves. I put breakfast out at 9:30, welcomed everyone and more or less left them too it and just replenished drinks as and when.

Or you could do none of that and do scrambled eggs en masse and serve with salmon and avocado and toast.

or do bagels with all the toppings for people to make their own. I borrowed a friends toaster and made a bagel station one year. That was quite fun!

I think your suggestions are fine! Jamie Oliver did a tray bake English breakfast which basically involves putting it all in the oven to bake and adding the eggs in at the last minute - which you could omit or possibly make a big pot of scrambled eggs instead. Then put out fruit (whatever is ripe in the supermarket) - natural Greek yoghurt / a strawberry yoghurt and some granola plus a few croissants and jam / butter / bread. Like a buffet. If people are so fussy they can't find anything to eat out of that selection - tough! Also, your DH can surely handle the cooked breakfast bits since it's his family and it's last minute ..?!? Don't stress - they should all be grateful they aren't doing it and you are!

Honestly, some of these suggestions sound lovely but a lot of effort. I’d stick with your original menu (possibly simplified to only offer sausage or bacon not both). Sausage/ bacon sandwiches will keep the proper English breakfast people happy. Croissants are easy and then a big bowl of fruit salad (I literally just empty all the berries into a big bowl at this time of year, no effort needed) and a big tub of greek yogurt. We often have people round for breakfast/ brunch and that’s plenty of choice to keep everyone happy.

100% I would do cold serve yourself - will everybody be eating together or will they be getting up in dribs and drabs?

Seconding the idea of a slow cooker to keep cooked sausages and bacon warm. You could even cook them the day before and stick in the slow cooker for an hour to warm back through if it suited you better.

I'd do: Croissants, bread (and point in direction of toaster), jam and maybe a chocolate spread, butter, baps for the sausage/bacon plus red and brown sauce, greek yoghurt, honey, some bananas, some berries, and maybe some chopped nuts or a granola type thing, and maybe a fruit compote (make in advance or I've bought it by the jar before now).

I'd also be quite ready to strongly advise people that since I am menopausal and hot they had better get OUT of the kitchen while I was cooking (but washing up afterwards would be welcome).

Your menu is just fine. Maybe add some boiled eggs in shells(you can peel if you prefer but lots of hotel buffets don’t)

I like this menu plan. I agree it doesn't need to be both sausages and bacon. I'd err towards sausages for how well they will keep in the slow cooker.

Why is this falling to you if it's DHs family???? What's he planning on doing for it? Annoys me on here that's it's always the wives stressing over what to do.

I used to cook for 20+. Breakfasts at a time we used go do trays of bacon and sausage in oven then they are really easy to keep warm wrapped in foil. Trays of frozen croissants or pastries next which smell lovely then just put everything else out as help yourself. We had a large egg poacher but you could just as easily do a pan of boiled eggs and folk peel their own.

@Ratherbeaspoonthanafork you can do your eggs in a muffin tray in the oven.

I always cook my bacon and sausage in the oven, so two trays with each on. Depends on the sausages and how you like things cooked but I normally do 180 degrees fan, sausages for 25 min and bacon for 15.

Only offer one choice of egg, scrambled is easiest for lots of people, big frying pan, big knob of butter melted, crack all the eggs in, season with pepper and use a spatula to move back and forth while cooking. On a medium heat takes about 5 minutes. Use microwave for beans and tomatoes and grill for toast. (Getting someone else to do this of course!) you could get frozen hash browns for the oven too.

You can also buy frozen pan au chocolat that are lovely, bung them in the oven ready in a few minutes, will keep anyone with a sweet tooth happy.

And a baking dish with foil over the top should keep things warm enough. If people want better than that they can go to a hotel or pub 😂

The easiest way to provide a sort-of full English for a crowd is to make what Americans call a breakfast casserole. Like this, though there are many other versions online - https://www.backtomysouthernroots.com/sausage-bacon-egg-and-cheese-casserole/ Prepare it the night before and then pop in the oven the next morning. Lovely with toasted crumpets.