How many appetizers?

[cleopatra999]

I am hosting a cocktail party for christmas and I am trying to plan the menu.

I am looking at about 30 people. I am unsure of how many dishes to have, and how many of each app.

here are some of the things I am thinking of:

procuitto wrapped shrimp
lamb meatballs
smoked salmon blinis
goat cheese & fig jam siljians
rosemary & walnut shortbread
spring rolls
summer rolls
caprese salad skewers

cheese plate
veg platter

thanks!

[jen kalb]

last year we had a tremendously successful christmas party -about 70 people showed up over the course of the afternoon -evening and very little eating (but a whole lot of drinking) took place. Everyone brought housegifts of either booze or cookies/candy - all of which was served and much of which was consumed.

Maybe its partly what we served - plenty of wine but no cocktails per se.
A large vat of highly nutritious, alcoholic and delicious egg nog
Another vat of very good mulled wine (glogg)

A few things got eaten, but it wasnt until 4 or so hours into the party that anyone decided they were hungry and started into the food with spirit.

We will try a few different dishes this year - maybe some gravlax, maybe a ham - but I dont expect to be making a huge effort given our experience.

[KiltedCook]

As a Personal Chef, I do these sorts of things all the time. There are "standard" formulas for this sort of thing. For 30 people I would make only 6 or 8 different apps - some sweet, some savory, some meat, some fish, some vegetarian.

If this is a party during a meal time - dinner or lunch, you need to make 4-6 'bites" per person per hour TOTAL. Say the party will be from 5-9 you would need 4 x 30 x 6 = 720 or so individual apps divided among say 6 appetizers or about 120 bites each.

If it's a later evening party and your expectation is that people will already have eaten dinner, then plan on 3-4 bites per person per hour. Party from 7-11 = 4hrs x 30 people x 4 bites/hr = 450-500 bites TOTAL

[GodfatherofLunch]

If the party is for tech savvy people you need to figure this out in mega bytes.

[janetms383]

LOL @ godfather

[anni]

Thank you for this formula. I've saved it to Word. :)

[GretchenS]

Here are some articles about quantity planning that you can consult:

http://entertaining.about.com/cs/recipesandmenus/a/foodquantity.htm

http://64.233.169.132/search?q=cache:jNqE062JsNYJ:www.summit-pointe.com/pdfs/quantityPlanning.doc+appetizer+quantities+for+parties&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us

http://www.suite101.com/lesson.cfm/17...

[cleopatra999]

thanks GretchenS. this is helpful, it looks like I will need about 60 pieces of each, not counting the cheese & veg plates & the shortbread. I have a lot of work to do!!

[harryharry]

I don't think you need that much - Usually, for cocktails stick w/ five choices and then the cheese & veggies - then up to two of each type, maybe three of the most popular (or easiest) item - for instance - I would do about 1.5 (45) of the smoked salmon to save some money - maybe 90 of the meatballs - or whatever you think your guests will go for the most - If you worry about quantity - get something for back up - like hummus and pita chips, etc... but, I'll bet you won't have to break into it - all this changes if your party runs into dinner time, you will need more.

[cleopatra999]

the party starts at 7;30 and will be going till the wee hrs I am sure. I agree that meatballs will be very popular. I did not specify don't eat dinner b4, but we are known for having great/lots of food, I imagine most will eat a big lunch and maybe a snack b4 coming over. I think you make a good point about less of the most expensive, more of the others, and good call on the back up food.

[lynnlato]

I agree w/ Harryx2. No more than 5 apps... you end up complicating things and overwhelming the guests. He also made a good point offering more of the less expensive apps. I used to have a catering business and this was basically my approach. Oh, and one or two heavy apps like the meatballs.

Do you have a recipe for the rosemary & walnut quickbread? If so, care to share it? Bon Appetit featured an interesting-looking recipe for a bacon cheddar quickbread w/ dried pears that I desperately wanted to make but after looking at it on Epicurious, i saw that it got bad reviews. I love quickbreads w/ cheeses w/ cocktails. Here's that recipe if you're curious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

Good luck!

[cleopatra999]

lynnlato, here is the recipe for the parm/rose/wal shortbread, I just made it tonight, and I really like it, and it is very easy to make.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[lynnlato]

Thanks! I just read the recipe and it has drawn me in just as the bacon cheddar shortbread had. But again, the reviews for this quickbread are not good either. I guess I just need to make one and decide for myself.

[cleopatra999]

I cooked mine for way less time, I actually just popped a couple in to my oven that I was baking for maybe 10 mins. I wouldn't be surprised if it was less even, just enough time to melt the butter. 20 mins would be way too long. I will have to remember this when I do the whole batch.

[lynnlato]

Good to know. I'll give them a try. Thanks!