I sat down this morning to make the final adjustments to my shopping list before my husband and I did the turkey trot through the grocery store to get all our ingredients for Thanksgiving. It was kind of like being on Survivor or Man vs. Wild. Carts everywhere, hands snatching, people standing to gape at ingredients that they only buy once a year, and all I can really think about is do I have enough food for the people coming to my house on Thursday???? How exactly does one calculate how many bites of this or how many drinks of that each person needs to keep them content? Food is expensive, and whether you are cooking yourself or hiring a caterer, you'll want to be aware of some general guidelines of how much to serve.
For you as an engaged person with many social events on your horizon, these tips may come in handy when planning anything from your engagement party to your anniversary party!
On Allrecipes.com, I found the following guidelines:
The amount of food you plan for your party can change depending on the time of day, type of food, or even by the people attending (have you watched teenagers eat?). But as a general rule, consider these guidelines for individual portions:
- Eight appetizer pieces: appetizers should consist of two to three bites
- Three ounces of dip or salsa (about 1/3 cup per person)
- One cup of soup (less if it’s a thick soup, like chowder)
- Three ounces of salad (about one cup)
- Six ounces of meat or main entrée
- Five ounces of starch (potato, pasta, or rice)
- One and a half pieces of dessert
Though you can easily apply these numbers to whatever size crowd you're cooking for, let's try a sample shopping list based on a guest list of 10 people.
Chicken, beef, fish, or pork
Potato or pasta salads
- Three pounds of potatoes
- One pound of dry pasta
Hot dogs or sausage (main dish)
- 20 hot dogs
- Three pounds of sausage such as bratwurst or kielbasa
Shellfish
- Shrimp: two to three pounds, pre-cooked and peeled, or three pounds if raw and unpeeled
- Clams and mussels: two pounds
Soups and stews
- One half gallon if served as an appetizer
- One gallon if served as a main dish
Green salads
- Two to three large heads of lettuce, or two pounds green salad mix
- Three cups of dressing
Your catering director will know how to adjust for the amount of people that you expect. If you are planning on cooking anything yourself, there are many websites and aps that can help you decide how much you need. On Allrecipes.com, for example, you can plug in how many servings you want the recipe to reflect, and the site will automatically do the math for you!
So whether you're planning a party for two, twenty, or two-hundred, do the math ahead of time so that you don't end up a poor sap like myself standing in the middle of the aisle at HyVee wondering if I've got enough cranberry chutney for my cheese balls. :)