4th of july menu help!

ok so now that i know about how much i'll be spending, what should i prepare for the menu?

we're inviting 32, plus ourselves is 34 and 2 babies..i'm assuming 20-25 will actually come..

if we did:

main dishes:

hamburgers
hot dogs
bbq chicken

side dishes:

pasta salad
baked beans
creamed new potatoes

drinks:

beer
soda
wine

how much should i get/make?

our crowd has some pretty big drinkers in it, so i'm planning on getting 5 cases or so of beer, if we don't just end up doing a keg instead..

but idk about wine/soda

thanks!!

Re: 4th of july menu help!

You want to give everyone the option of one of each. Now most people will only have one total, like 1 hot dog OR 1 hamburger... not both. But some may want seconds of their choice or 1-2 of each kind. So, it should even out, as long as you have at least a 1:1 ratio.

For hamburgers, I always make 3 burgers out of 1 pound of meat. So to make sure everyone has the option of 1 burger, for 25 people, I would say you need 25 individual pre-made patties or about 9 pounds of ground meat.

Hot dogs, if you want the option of everyone having one hot dog, you'll need 25 hot dogs for 25 people.

For BBQ chicken, depends if it's breasts, tenderloins, whatever... I think if you buy by pounds, 1 lb will feed 3-4. So 6-9 pounds I guess.

Pasta salad, are you buying or making? If you are making it, I would make 5 boxes of pasta (5 lbs of pasta).

I'm honestly clueless about the baked beans and the creamed new potatoes. Never made it. Never ate it. Have no idea.

I would only serve beer and soda personally, but if you want to serve wine, I would get those big bottles. Do you think most of your friends would go for the beer or the wine? If the wine is just to have for the few who want it, I think 1 or 2 big red and 1 or 2 big white would be good enough. I think 5 cases (of 24 bottles of beer, right?) is almost the perfect amount for 25 people. I think that is about 4 beers per person, which is probably what most of my friends drink, although some may drink more, but some may not have any at all, but once again- it evens out. For soda, are you doing cans or big bottles? I'd say maybe 40 cans. I'm not sure.

HTH.

Re: 4th of july menu help!

I agree with the above poster. I actually tend to overbuy so I would probably do 1.5 burgers per adult and 2 hot dogs per adult.

Chicken is tricky.. everyone seems to want the breasts.. except for the few that love dark meat. I usually get the packages of bone in split chicken breast and cut them in half and then I buy a couple of packages of chicken legs and thighs or leg quarters (whatever is on sale). I'd assume .5 breast per adult and 1.5 leg and/or thigh per adult.

New potatoes are small. I figure 3 potatoes per person. Baked Beans should be fine with half a tray.

I don't care if people think I'm white trash.. I get boxed wine if I decide to serve it at parties. I also buy domestic beer and I get whatever soda is on sale. I'm having about 25 adults and 10 kids on Saturday. I will get 2 cases of cheap soda from the beer distributor (about 1/2 regular and 1/2 diet) unless I see a good sale on brand name stuff. I also will have a couple of things of juice boxes and a case of water bottles. We'll do 2 cases of domestic beer (whatever is on sale) and then 3 boxes of wine (1 white, 1 red and 1 pink). I'll have plenty of leftovers because folks always bring beer and wine and most adults don't drink the pop.

I'd also add a full tray of green salad or a large crudite of fresh veg so you can get the green factor in there! :)

Good luck!!

Message edited 5/12/2012 5:59:38 PM.