Holiday Entertaining

Tis the season, potlucks, cocktail parties, Thanksgiving, Tree Trimmings,Christmas and New years day celebrations. A lot of my friends,family and co-workers call me for recipe advice and questions regarding how to increase a recipe and how to purchase larger quantities of food so I thought I'd get ahead of the questions this year. My mother-in-law Verne (thanks mom !) gave me a copy of an LA Times Article that was originally posted in 1959 and latter re posted in the 80's. I used this as a guide to help me when I started catering before I attended culinary school and have used it periodically since as its a great reference, all quantities are approx. So here it is

Quantity Recipe Guide for 50 Servings


Seafood

Fish, fried or baked 13-17 pounds 4-4 .5 oz serving
Shrimp Creole or Cocktail 7 .5 pounds
Shrimp, fried 15 pounds 5 oz serving
Tuna for salad 10 small cans or 4 pounds

Meat

Beef pot roast, bone in 20 pounds
Chicken for Salad 17 to 20 pounds
Cold cuts 8 pounds
Ham, baked, bone in 25 pounds
Hamburgers 10 pounds
Meatloaf 13 pounds
Turkey, roast, sliced 38 - 40 pounds

Relishes

Carrots 2-2.5 pounds 2 to 3 pieces serving
Celery 10 medium bunches 1-2 stalks serving
Olives medium 2 quarts 3-4 piece serving
Pickles, 3 inches 2 quarts 1/2 pickle a serving
Mints,Nuts 1.5 pounds 1 tablespoon a serving
Potato Chips 3.5 pounds 1 ounce a serving

Salads
Coleslaw (cabbage) 6-8 pounds
Mixed Greens 12-13 heads
Potato Salad 15 pounds raw potatoes 1/2 cup serving
Salad Dressings 1 .5 quarts 2 tablespoons a serving

Vegetables

Fresh Vegetables 13 pounds 1/2 cup serving
Potatoes,Tomatoes 18 pounds

Baked Sides

Baked Beans 5 pounds 5 ounce serving
Macaroni,spaghetti 6 pounds 6 ounce serving
Noodles 4 pounds 4 ounce serving
Rice 4 pounds 4 ounce serving


Breads
Loaves bread,thin sliced 3 ( 1 .5 pounds)
Rolls 6 to 8 dozen
Butter or Margarine 1.5 pounds
Desserts

Cake 2 14 inch layer cakes
Pie (8 inch) 8 pies
Ice Cream 2 gallons
Cream for Whipping 1 quart