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?

Google the nearest Premier inn. Book for breakfast.

Fruit and yogurt
Frozen croissants ( cook in the oven)
Cereal
Sausages
Bacon
Scrambled egg
Hash brown
Fresh rolls/ bread

I wouldn't cook to order. Cook it all and jet them help themselves.

Let not jet

@Ratherbeaspoonthanafork how did you get roped in and not someone else????

Could you do the bacon and sausage in the oven rather than fry? That way you can just pop it in and not have to watch it. I don’t eat meat so no idea if this impacts the taste etc.

Id then just do baps for the meat then a cold spread of yoghurt, fruit, croissants etc.

Sausage and bacon in the oven.

Greek yogurt
Granola
Fruit

Bake in oven pastries
Bread

This. You could part cook the sausages until they are just starting to brown ahead of time. A large wok is a good way of doing a lot of scrambled eggs. Or I'd do a frittata/crustless quiche type thing with bacon and sausage and whatever filling (cooked ahead of time) which is probably pretty much the same as the breakfast casserole described above.

I would do:

Greek yoghurt or Kefir with honey
Granola or muesli or overnight oats with frozen berries, pomegranate and coconut (looks pretty in a serving bowl)
Kellogs cereal selection box for any fussy kids/big kids
Large platter of whole fruit with avocado as a centrepiece (arrange prettily and cover with cling film in the fridge. Let people chop for themselves!
A selection of fruit juice
Decent bread. Set up a toasting station and let people make their own
If you have a coffee machine, I would set up a tea and coffee station for people to make their own hot drinks
Good butter, jam and Nutella
ketchup and condiments

Hot food
A selection of frozen mini croissants, pain au chocolat, almond croissants and cinnamon buns
Bacon
Sausages
Mushrooms
Honey glazed tomatoes (cherry tomatoes drizzled with honey before roasting)
Scrambled eggs

Depending on how many guests, if you can fit everything in your oven, you can cook them all together except the eggs. If not cook the frozen pastries first.
Sausages take about 30 minutes at 180C fan.
Bacon, portobello mushrooms and tomatoes about 20 minutes.
Chop some parsley and chives while cooking.
When cooked, take them out and put in warmed serving dishes and cover with foil.
Reheat the pastries for 5 mins
Make scrambled eggs (some plain, some with chives)

Ideally, sprinkle the tomatoes and mushroom with parsley and serve straight away but if you want everything ready before the guests get there, cover everything with foil except the pastries, and keep them warm in a 60C oven. Don’t add the herbs until you serve though! If possible, leave cooking the eggs and reheating the pastries until you are ready to serve too.

Are they likely to get up at the same time? If not, leave it as help yourself and let them cook their own bacon as they show up

Hot buttered toast with a variety of jams and marmalades (spoons in to serve) and Nutella for the kids, set up on a side table would be my idea of a nice sociable breakfast. A 4-slice toaster would be efficient.
Another “station” for hot drinks. Have you got a pod machine or a filter coffeemaker? A massive teapot? DH can be on drinks duty. And washing up!
Jamie Oliver Full English in the oven like PP said.

Do you have any friends in the WI etc? They would know where to find catering quantities of cutlery and crockery (you’ll need 2 plates, a glass, a cup or mug for everyone) and you can just keep slinging them in the dishwasher. Deal with them the next day.

I get anxious with this sort of scenario, so I would provide yoghurt, chopped fresh fruit, honey, toast, jam, a tray of oven baked sausages and bacon and bread or rolls. At a push I'd do scrambled eggs maybe.Everyone can help themselves.

Breakfast muffins, sound easy, just keep warm, I would do cereal, pastries and yoghurt

Your ideas sound perfect. Bacon and sausage rolls are lush and will keep the full english lovers happy. You can keep the bacon/sausages warm in a low oven. Honestly, I think people will just be so grateful that you've made a big breakfast for everyone that they won't complain about anything! And if they do, they're ungrateful cheeky bastards so don't invite them again!

If you need to feed a crowd I would either make breakfast casseroles or a couple of quiche. Then add some pastries, yogurts, and a few boxes of cereal.

All of that can be prepped on advance. The casseroles you bake morning of. Quiche honestly is probably best baked the day before and just warmed up a bit.

there is no chance of my frying bacon or cooking eggs or doing anything more than throwing something in the oven first thing in the morning.

Ditch the bacon and just do sausages, then they'll keep warm in a low oven.

Pile of pastries, selection of fruit and bread for toast, then leave everyone to fend for themselves!

I agree that sausages in the oven works really well.

Also scrambled eggs writ large is easy. Just make sure you keep the heat low and remove earlier than you think you ought then cover and keep on a non-hot ring. Add cream and chives for a deluxe version.

I recently did a huge brunch and I did sausages, scrambled eggs (ignored bacom because everyone likes it differently) and added nice bread, smoked salmon, cream cheese, sliced cheeses and cold meats plus fruit.... sliced melon and grapes mainly. No-one complained to my face and it was much easier than I thought. In fact I said to DH I might only host brunches because I am crap at hosting generally.

Breakfast frittata.

Chop bacon &/or sausages into bite size bits.

Put a non stick oblong roasting tin on the hob with a bit of oil (not much, more will cook out of the meat) & brown the bacon/sausage.

(You can do this bit the night before if easier, then shove the tray in the fridge).

Beat 12 eggs in a bowl. Pour into the tray. Add grated cheese if liked.

Oven for 30 minutes ish.

Double up if feeding 20+. If there are vegetarians, do a veggie sausage/chunks of mushroom version.

The 'egg & bacon' lovers can have a slab of that in a roll with ketchup/HP, then provide fruit, croissants, yogurt & juice.

You can also do mushrooms & tomatoes in oven trays with a splash of oil, & have a saucepan of beans on a low heat, if you want to cover all the bases.

Sorted!

Thanks all it will be 12. They are staying in our area but not with us. It will be 4 men who all eat an enormous amount (usually over eating), three women who are on a diet/health kick (competitive healthy under eating), one fussy teen who likes chocolate and not much else, two over tired boys one teen (just) and one slightly younger, one elderly MIL who will pick at everything before its ready, ask stupid questions, tell you how she cooks things as you are about to serve (will always ask me about something, call me over or ask me for something random that I don’t have) and expect to be waited on hand and foot and myself. I am only used to coping with a maximum of four (and I get hot and bothered then) and we have a tiny standard sized oven.

Sod that OP, cereal, toast, tea and if anyone want anything cooked husband’s doing it!!!!

DH not well so would be down to me.

MIL would ask for something I don’t have whatever I buy or serve or make and she will shout my name and ask if I have got any whatever and go on and on about it. One BIL is easy but if I do fried eggs (which I am not doing any eggs) the other BIL will go on about poached or scrambled eggs and how they like them cooked etc. I am menopausal so get hot anyway cooking so will snap and chuck it at them.

I think I will cook some sausages and possibly bacon in the oven as planned. Get some nice bread or rolls, croissants (jam and butter), the things with chocolate in, yogurt and fruit, fruit juice, make a pot of standard tea and coffee and leave it at that. We don’t even have space for everyone to sit around the table together but it will be expected we host breakfast.

Frittata is a nice idea but I imagine some would still moan that they were expecting a fry up or only want bacon or only want sausages etc etc.

Farmers wife here. Fry up often requested for lambers and clippers.

Toast, loads of it.

Sausage, bacon, flat sausage, haggis, black pudding, fruit pudding, potato scones, one tray. Mushrooms sliced on top. Slam it in oven.

Scrambled egg prepare mix, do at last minute.

Fried eggs, break in advance, heat together.

Big pan of beans.

What about a big pan of porridge? Only takes 5 mins and will fill the greedy men and is a healthy option for the women.

@lmhj I don’t think I have a tray or an oven big enough 😂. Do you have an AGA and giant trays or layer everything up on top of each other? Also how long do you cook it all for and on what temp in a fan oven. I usually start the sausage well before the bacon and stress about turning them over and it not being cooked properly etc. But sounds like I am making hard work of it.

Last weekend I cooked bacon and sausage in the oven for DH, DS and three of his Uni friends it went on two of my biggest trays and it was a struggle to fit it on and they had beans, tomatoes and toast with it. I was a hot sweaty mess half way through (turning it over) and struggling to keep my cool. That was without messing about with yogurt and fruit and making teas and coffees, goodness knows what and even more people 😢 😰 🥵 .