I had plenty of help with the cheesy potatoes, corn salad, and green salad by the way. If not for dear friends who generously offered their time and cooking talents, our buffet would have been a great deal more work for me than it turned out to be. You know who you are and I’m happy to say THANK YOU again! :)
Ham
I combined French’s Classic yellow mustard with dark brown sugar to make a thick, sweet glaze and brushed it on the ham. I also dusted the top of the ham with a pinch of ground cloves. I thought this would add the aroma of cloves without the extra work of inserting and then picking out whole cloves before serving.
To serve 200 hundred guests: I purchased 15 hams. Each weighed between 10 and 13 pounds. At the end of the reception I had four hams left over. I gave one to the photographer, one to the Best Man (who assured me he could finish it off by himself in a week), one to a friend, and I kept one for my family. There were also two large baggies of ham pieces which I gave to the newlyweds.
Cheesy Potatoes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Serves 8-10
2 lb. frozen hash browns thawed
½ cup melted butter
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
½ tsp. ground pepper
2 tsp. dried minced onion
10 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded (I usually use 2½ cups of medium cheddar)
Topping:
1 cup bread crumbs
¼ cup melted butter
Thoroughly thaw hash brown potatoes. Combine all ingredients (except topping) in a large bowl. Mix with a sturdy spoon or scraper. Spread into a lightly buttered 9x13 baking dish.
Toss bread crumbs with butter and sprinkle on top.
Bake for 45 minutes or until heated through.
Cooking suggestion: Leave off the topping. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir the cheesy potatoes in the dish so the outer edges don’t turn too brown. Sprinkle on topping and finish cooking for remainder of time.
To serve 200 guests: Friends made 8 pans using full size catering pans (approx. 12”x20”x3”). Each pan held 2 batches of cheesy potatoes. Since the mixture is very thick, rather than doubling the recipe, make two separate batches and spread each into half of the pan. This is easier than spreading one batch over the entire pan then trying to spread a second batch over the first. Increase cooking time to one hour since the pan is deeper than a regular 9”x13” baking dish. At the end of the reception I had about 4 cups of cheesy potatoes leftover.
Corn Salad
2 lb. bag frozen kernel corn, thawed and drained OR equivalent fresh
½ bunch green onions, tops only, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Dressing:
4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. honey
½ tsp. ground cumin
Ground black pepper to taste
Combine all vegetable ingredients.
Whisk vinegar, honey, and cumin in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil.
Toss dressing with salad. Season with pepper if desired.
Serve at room temperature.
Serves 12-15.
To serve 200 guests: A friend made 60 cups of the corn salad estimating that each guest would take between a 1/4 to 1/3 cup serving. At the end of the reception I had approximately 6 cups leftover.
Tossed Green Salad
Romaine lettuce
Baby spinach
Red cabbage, shredded
Carrots, shredded
Grape tomatoes, whole
Herbed Croutons
Ranch dressing
Thousand dressing
Italian dressing
Caesar dressing
To serve 200 guests: The day before the wedding I purchased 16 heads of Romaine lettuce, 2 heads of red cabbage, 1 pound of baby spinach leaves, 2 pounds of carrots, and ten 10 ounce clamshell packages of grape tomatoes. I also purchased 8 packages of croutons. At the end of the reception I had 2 clamshells-worth of tomatoes and 6 packages of croutons leftover. I purchased 4 bottles of each kind of dressing and had a lot leftover, so the unopened bottles of dressing went to the newlyweds and my in-laws.
Fresh Fruit
Clementine or “Cutie” oranges
Red seedless grapes
Cantaloupe
To serve 200 guests: I completely underestimated what I would need for fruit. I had purchased 8 five-pound boxes of Clementines, 8-10 pounds of grapes, and six cantaloupes. I was told later that the cantaloupe vanished within the first 75 guests, so I would double or even triple the number of cantaloupes. There were no leftovers.
Rolls and butter
To serve 200 guests: Rolls are baked fresh at COSTCO everyday so I went there the evening before the wedding and bought 7 bags of 36 rolls. At the end of the reception I had one unopened bag of rolls which I gave to the newlyweds. I had also purchased foil-wrapped butter pats from Clover, a local company – 400 for $43. I knew this was more than I needed for the reception and gave some leftovers to the newlyweds and the rest to church.
Punch
3 cans Raspberry Lemonade
1 pint Pineapple-Orange-Raspberry sherbet
1 liter 7-Up
Serves 24
To serve 200 guests: Once again I underestimated and was told the punch was gone in the first half an hour. I suggest making 8 batches of the above recipe at least. A kind friend assured me that “punch doesn’t really go with ham and cheesy potatoes anyway. There was plenty of water.” There was also coffee and tea available.
On the positive side, I had purchased 60 bottles of Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider for the toast and not only did everyone have plenty, there were 5 bottles leftover.
Candy
I purchased three 4 pound containers of Jelly Belly jelly beans from COSTCO. I put a cup of candy in each if 30 candy dishes that were placed on the tables around the room. There were no leftovers.
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