How much food do I need?

[Janskitchen]

I am hosting a St. Patrick's Day party and will be serving a buffet dinner for approx. 25. I am serving beef stew braised in Guinness, a baked cod dish, mashed potatoes w/scallions (champ), sauteed cabbage and roasted tomatoes. Not concerned about the sides, but not sure how much chuck to get for the stew or how much fish for that matter. I will be serving some light apps for an hour or two before dinner. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Janskitchen]

Yes, all adults. When I said I wasn't concerned about sides, I meant cost. Potatoes and cabbage are inexpensive enough. It's the meat and fish I'm thinking about. Of course, my first priority is to have enough food. Just trying to keep costs down to the extent that I can.

[divadmas]

10 lbs of beef is a lot but so is 25 people. with my pans i would have to cook in batches. stew improves anyway the next day. and leftovers, maybe in a pie. with no potatoes it will even freeze well.

[Janskitchen]

Actually, I haven't decided on a recipe yet for the cod so I would welcome suggestions. I'm trying to keep it "Irish". I would welcome some leftovers, but not a ton. My stew will have carrots and onions and I expect that the stew might be a little more popular than the fish. I should add that my family are big eaters. My BIL says it's the only family he knows where the women eat as much as the men :) For dessert I'm thinking my grandmom's soda bread w/clotted cream and assorted jams and cookies. I love Chowhound, everyone is so generous. TY

[sueatmo]

Yes! on the soda bread.

[biondanonima]

Well, knowing all of this I'd probably do 10 pounds of meat in the stew, and perhaps 6-7 pounds of the fish? I might even do a little more than that if all of those 25 guests are adults (I was assuming some children). Soda bread sounds like a great dessert - you might also consider one of those wonderful chocolate guinness cake recipes that are all over the internet.

[Uncle Bob]

"My stew will have carrots and onions"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No potatoes??

[Janskitchen]

No potatoes in the stew. Champ (mashed potatoes w/scallions) as a side.

[sueatmo]

I would take the servings from the recipe as you have it, and work from there. If the recipe serves 10 servings, multiply by 2 1/2. To be safe you could multiply by 3. Party leftovers are always fun to have afterwards. You do need to provide enough sides so that people are satisfied with one serving of the main, and a good dessert can help satisfy people completely. Beer stew braised in Guinness plus a baked cod, sound wonderful. I wouldn't mind seeing your baked cod recipe.

Your event sounds wonderful.

[Terrie H.]

Does your stew include veggies like, carrots and onions, or is it going to be just beef?

[biondanonima]

Do you want leftovers or not? Also, any feeling as to whether one main will be more popular than the other?