food for party - help

i am bringing in trays of Italian food for 13 people

Here is what i was going to get:
1/2 tray of salad
1/2 tray penne ala vodka
1/2 tray of chicken parm

I was debating on getting either a half tray of seafood (they make a great filet of sole dish) or a half tray of a veal dish

i am putting out a veggie platter with dip before dinner, should i still get a vegetable? if so, a half tray of broccoli?

basically all of the above can be changed - the only must is the chicken parm.

if you went to a dinner, which dishes would you prefer - the fish or veal? would you prefer something different all together? should i get all 3 main dishes (chicken, fish and veal plus the pasta) - the menu says their 1/2 trays serve 12.

im open to anything - ive never planned a dinner this large before so i dont want to run out of food...and id like to have options for everyone.

Re: food for party - help

get half a tray of sausage and peppers.

i catered quite a few parties and i feel the best deals to feeding a large number of people is getting food that cant be "counted"
for example: eggplant parm vs. eggplant rollatini eggplant parm comes uncut in a tray. eggplant rollatini that serves 8 ppl..comes with 8 pieces only

sausage n peppers vs veal marsala... usually the veal is counted, where a tray of sausage n peppers can feed like 20 ppl because people usually jus take a lil. and u can provide rolls for guests to make heros.

do i make sense?

Re: food for party - help

food for party - help

I would add eggplant as an option before veal...not many people eat veal.

I think seafood is a great idea too but maybe mussels marinara/lucianno or clams? This way like the above poster said don't have to worry about pieces/portions.

I would also have the place give me some starch like some pinwheels or pepperoni rolls cut up, focaccia bread? etc.

Re: food for party - help

i would get a meat or seafood and make your own pasta. making a tray of penne a la vodka will cost under 8$. for the money you spend on the penne, u can get another dish instead

Re: food for party - help

Re: food for party - help

I wouldn't eat the fish or the veal. So I would do eggplant, chicken, pasta, and sausage and peppers.

food for party - help

they are always off on what they feed, i think if you do the salad, chicken, pasta and one more dish you will def have more than enough and leftovers. I agree with sausage and peppers or something similar. You could also order a pie or two instead of sausage and peppers. I wouldn't do seafood because I feel like its never as good when you cater it then cooking it fresh.