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Plan your Menu

There are many things to consider when choosing food for your reunion. Will you be doing the cooking yourself? Hiring a caterer? Potluck? These tips will help you make choosing the right food easy.

Cooking for Large Groups
Can you prepare a meal for five? Then you should be able to cook for up to 50, using equipment and utensils in your own kitchen. Simply cook in batches in advance and freeze the food until the day of your gathering.

Once the numbers go over 50, however, you should consider the use of a commercial kitchen or a caterer.

Cooking for 50

1. Try to find recipes that can be made in advance and need very little last-minute preparation.
2. Think through how each recipe will be prepared and stored. Do you have ample baking/cooking equipment, or do you need to rent some items? Is there adequate storage room in your refrigerator or freezer?
3. Select recipes that have already been formulated for 50 servings if possible. These can often be found in cookbooks, magazines or on the Web. If you must use Aunt Mabel's pasta salad recipe and need to enlarge the amounts, try these suggestions:
   • Prepare the product in the amount of the original recipe, following the quantities and procedures, exactly noting any procedures that are unclear or any problems that occur during preparation. Prepare until the recipe is satisfactory.
   • Create a factor by which all ingredients will be multiplied by to determine how much is needed. For example, to increase a five-serving recipe to 50, divide 50 by 5 for a factor of 10. All ingredients will be multiplied by 10.
   • The challenge occurs when a factor is not an even number. For example, you may want to convert a recipe serving 12 to 50. Here you would divide 50 by 12 for a factor of 4.2. In this instance, you may want to change your servings to 48 to give you a factor of 4. Using whole or half numbers will simplify your calculations.
   • Multiply the amount of each ingredient in the original recipe by the previously determined factor. Round off unnecessary fractions to simplify measures. For example, your factor is 6.5 and the recipe now calls for 6.5 cans of soup. Decide if you want to round that to 6 or 7 cans.
   • Most recipes will not change significantly with these types of changes. Only baked goods need as much precision as possible.
   • If at all possible, season with salt at the end of cooking time and start on the light side. There are instances where the full amount of salt may not be needed.
   • Remember, additional cooking time may be needed for larger amounts.
4. When working with large amounts of highly perishable foods such as meat, fish, poultry or cheese, prepare them in batches and refrigerate the portions not being worked with.
5. Use a food processor or mixer attachment to help chop, dice, slice and shred as much as possible.
6. Twelve- to 15-quart plastic storage containers with lids from your local discount store are great for mixing and storing large quantities of food.

1. What is your food budget?
2. How many adults and children will be served?
3. Where will the gathering be held and what facilities are available?
4. What types of foods do you want served? Entrée only? Ethnic? Kids' food? Diet restrictions?
5. How much service do you want the caterer to provide? Food only? Setup, serving and cleanup?

• If you're on a tight budget and willing to do some of the work yourself, think about catering from a local supermarket or nearby restaurant. You can pick the food up yourself or have them deliver to your location. Restaurants will typically include serving utensils, so be sure to check on this when you plan.
• It may be helpful to have the caterer provide the main dishes while you cook the side dishes yourself. This is a great way to save money without spending all day in the kitchen.

1. Did your mother tell you "cleanliness is next to godliness?" That may be a stretch, but it is extremely important when preparing food. Keep everything that touches the food clean — hands, utensils, cutting boards, bowls and countertops.
2. When working with raw meat, poultry and fish, keep the juices from coming in contact with other foods. Thoroughly wash any utensil, platter, bowl or cutting board with warm, soapy water immediately after preparing these products. If possible, have a separate cutting board just for meats.
3. Thoroughly wash all produce with clean, drinkable water.  

1. Always marinate meat, fish or poultry in a covered container in the refrigerator. Do not marinate for more than 24 hours. Leftover marinade should not be used for basting unless it has been boiled for 1 minute. A better alternative is to mix a double batch of marinade; reserve half for marinating the food and half to use as a basting sauce.
2. When handling raw meat, fish or poultry, remove from the refrigerator or cooler only the amount of meat that will fit on the grill. To be sure bacteria are destroyed, check the temperature of the meat with an instant-read thermometer. Cook hamburgers and ribs to 160 degrees or until the center is no longer pink and the juices run clear. Cook poultry to 180 degrees. Steaks should be cooked to at least 140 degrees.
3. When taking food off the grill, put them on a clean platter. Never put cooked food on a platter containing raw meat drippings or marinade.

1. Use separate coolers for beverages and food. Beverage coolers are opened frequently and may cause problems if other foods are packed with them.
2. Place commercial or homemade ice packs in the cooler. Pack your perishables next to the ice packs. Avoid placing fruits and vegetables directly on the ice to prevent freezing them. Fill the cooler to the top. A full cooler stays cold longer than a partially filled one. If necessary, use additional ice or frozen non-perishables such as juice boxes to fill.
3. Try to avoid placing the cooler in the trunk of the car. Carrying it in an air-conditioned environment is best. Once you arrive at your location, keep the cooler in the shade and minimize the number of times it is opened. Replenish the ice if it melts.
4. Keep hot foods hot! If possible, heat the food to 160 degrees before you leave home and pour into a slow cooker, electric roaster or chafing dish. As soon as you reach your destination, plug in the roaster or slow cooker or light the chafing dish. (Remember the chafing dish is for maintaining temperature only!) If a range is available, place food in a 200 degree oven. Foods must maintain an internal temperature of 140 degrees to remain safe.
5. Try to plan for exactly the right amount of food so you don’t end up with many leftovers. Make sure you put all leftovers into a refrigerator or cooler right away. 
6. Remember: In hot weather (above 90°F), food should never sit out for more than 1 hour. Discard any food left out more than 2 hours (1 hour if temperatures are above 90°F).