Saturday, February 11, 2017

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED?

Have you ever wondered just how much food it takes to feed about 20 people?  I've been cooking for around 20 people on Tuesday nights for quite a few years now and I've learned a few things!  Here is a picture of 17 or so of those twenty we feed each week! 


I've learned that they love fresh food (but they will eat just about anything I cook) -- this is FOUR pounds of baby carrots roasted with fresh thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper.  They ate almost all of the four pounds -- maybe a sandwich baggie full of leftovers.


I found a recipe for "make ahead mashed potatoes" that can be reheated for about 3 hours in the crockpot.  The recipe was to feed 10 so I doubled it.  Yes, I cooked 10 pounds of potatoes.  10# for 18 people was too many potatoes (good to know!).  I think I could have used 6-7 pounds and it would have been enough.  I almost always try to have a few left-overs because that is what Mark and I eat on for the rest of the week.  Just FYI - by Thursday night, I'm tired of left-overs!!


I made Mississippi (does anyone else say M I crooked letter crooked letter I crooked letter crooked letter I hump back hump back I to spell Mississippi???) - I made Mississippi Pot Roast and it was really delicious.  This was about 10 pounds of eye of the round roast (10# raw).  The recipe recommended a different cut of roast and I would like to try it with the "fattier" cut of meat they recommended.  The gravy/au jus was delicious.  We had enough left over that Mark ate salad with roast beef on top for two nights and I had a lunch and a dinner.  That was about the perfect amount of leftovers!!


When cooking for a crowd, I usually find the recipes I want to use and double or triple them.  The tricky part is the spices.  I oftentimes have to add the original amount and taste and increase accordingly.  You can usually increase the salt and pepper the same amount (double or triple) but some spices add a bitter flavor, etc. when increased too dramatically.

We also had a big bowl of tossed salad and rolls and dessert.

So . . .just in case you ever wondered . . .how much food does it take to feed 20 people??




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