My friend brought this over to me the other day and it was so amazingly good. I would serve it in a heartbeat for a crowd.

Link below:

Chick pea stew

I'd make 3 big trays of lasagna and serve with a green salad. Freezes well and improves with reheating.

Any allergies? Any vegetarians?

Yum on the stew, jojo, though serving it to 35, plus needing 35 bowls and soup spoons make it difficult for this party.Will def try it, tho!

floral, Thanks. Yes, casseroles, lasagne etc. are my usual choice Read above of the difficulty with casseroles . My 3 largest baking pans will serve 12 but not table attractive, plus refrig storage. Won’t be making the day of! I hoped the pasta salad would work as main and salad both..Yes as to a few vegetarians.

I dont know that i have ever had a pasta salad that I'd consider a meal -- what is your recipe? I have had a thai noodle salad as an entree salad so maybe I am not picturing what you are intending.

I do think a panzenella would make a good entree salad.

It sounds like you have a preference for pasta. Is that right? What's your climate like? September is our hottest month… The bigger point for casseroles than freezer space is oven space. I have a couple of gigantic ceramic lasagna pans and an oven which does two level convection very well, so I can reheat them together, but they only feed 12-15, though for ladies' lunch they might stretch to 18 for something dense like lasagna. It's early for pumpkins, but other winter squash could be subbed in a pumpkin lasagna. If you had the oven and pan space, I have the recipe. I've used my pans for chicken pot pie. There's a great recipe in Cooking with a twist and a kick, The strategy for either way, two large or four medium pans, if your oven can handle them, is to prepare the ingredients ahead, then assemble and cook that morning.

if you want to do a starch-based salad in big bowls, instead of pasta, which you have to take from small and dry to larger, wet and and requiring fridge space, how about a main course style panzanella salad? Unless you have a very damp climate, you should be able to season and toast the bread cubes a day or two ahead, then assemble first thing in the morning to get all the elements to marry by lunch. Add little whole olives (or canned sliced), little mozzarella balls, garbanzo beans, and any other bits that come already the right size to cut down on chopping, but do get the tastiest tomatoes—probably Romas—and cut them right before assembling. Scallions can just be sliced, and done the night before, green and white parts, instead of onions.

Chinese chicken salad with a sliced baguette or rolls?

@maddie260 chimed in with exactly my suggestion. Chinese chicken salad. Can be served in large bowls and most of the work can be done ahead of time with tossing the ingredients together on the day. For the vegetarians, have a separate bowl and substitute firm tofu or chickpeas for the chicken.

Agreed on the Chinese chicken salad if you're okay with the separate vegetarian one, especially in warmer weather. I've only done it for a couple dozen, but it scales well. Two things: The mei fun noodles will loose their crispness if made ahead. And change to name to turkey salad, and pull a breast of turkey into quarter inch strings (like carrot stick size). Much easier than that much chicken, and looks prettier.

"Chinese chicken salad with a sliced baguette or rolls?”

I was a guest at a bridal shower not long ago where this salad and rolls were served. There was also a garden salad with lots of veggies. Total winner menu.

I was also going to suggest Chinese chicken salad! Easy to prep everything ahead of time. Store in separate bags in fridge. Toss everything together before the party. No baking! Also easy to adjust ingredients to your liking.

Lasagna for 35 could be baked in 3 foil trays.(36 portions,) They are not too unattractive to put out on the table and would stack in a freezer.

But if it's going to be hot salads might be better.

How did I get to be this old and never hear of Chinese Chicken salad? Obviously its popular across the country based on all the suggestions for it. I googled a recipe, it sounds like a good choice. I don’t like turkey so I would NOT sub it, and I feel like I know a few people who also don’t care for turkey but would eat chicken.

For warmer weather, I was also going to suggest a chicken salad, served with mini croissants, with some in lettuce cups, and perhaps a vegetarian sandwich of some sort that could be assembled easily (fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, thin sliced avocado, lettuce). Serve a simple tossed salad on the side to complete your sandwich and salad menu. Maybe a variety of fresh fruit unless someone is bringing that.

Love all your great replies. But😬 With 35 and unsure exactly how many may be vegetarian, I’d hoped to not make a separate dish. I adore chicken salad for luncheons, but:

1) not for vegetarian and 2) In likely warm weather and outside….so ?

I just dislike aluminum foil pans , but you got my interest re. stacking in freezer. But 35 is a lot to plate and serve.…., but maybe With 3 of us serving.?

Also love panzanella, though seems less robust than others. salads.

After reading all your ideas….TY!!…Im leaning toward my old, familiar chiicken curry salad., subsituting garbanzos for chicken for vegetarians. Adding a cold side of Pea, ,lemon, mint salad. Will confer with my dd co-host. Still thinking about chicken outside-in warm weather, tho likely ok for an hour or two.

You wonderful ladies are , again, Da Best!

Ooh yes, funky.! Aso snuggled up next to a ripe papya.

To be honest I would not eat chicken that had been outdoors in heat for 20 minutes, let alone a couple of hours. Just too risky imo.

I didn't realize this was outdoors until you revealed that fact later in the thread. Will there be seating and tables or is it a wander around with a plate kind of meal?

If you can do sheet pans, you could do cold pizzas. Raw veggie on cream cheese- ranch seasoning is nice. Tomatoes, cukes, spinach, olives, and spicy chick peas or chicken with a taziki base. Mexican fixings on a sour cream and crumbled cheese base. I've used crescent dough and the roll up square pizza dough for these. Occasionally on puff pastry to be fancy.

A bag of ice is cheap. If you know anyone who orders in grocery deliveries, they may also have a glut of get ice packs and be happy to donate to reuse. You can make your own cold trays or rent (or buy) pretty ones. cut down a large carton, or use something like an underbed storage box. Line with a thin plastic painting drape or open out a big garbage bag, on top of wadded up newspaper or packing paper for insulation. Fill with ice and/or ice packs and insert your bowls. Have some cardboard or serving trays handy for covering the bowls after people are all sitting and eating. Very easy to open for seconds, but helps keep things cool. If your buying, Freez-R-Brix (spelling may be wrong) are dry cold, hold temperature a very long time, and are infinitely reuseable.

I'd be more worried about dirty bugs than the food being out, though if you're using mayonnaise, do use the commercial kind with stabilizers. Homemade is what goes off in the heat (though you could pasteurize your eggs). Organic is safe, but may break in less ideal circumstances. Rule of thumb is that you have two hours at unsafe temperatures. If you serve and remove the food to the fridge promptly, there should be no issues. Just don't leave the salad on the counter in the kitchen before or after serving. If you don't have counter space, try an ice chest. And if you use ice trays on the service table, you don't have to be quite so rigid, though you should still move them somewhere cool as you transition to dessert.

The seating ,hopefully will all be on patio under cover . A long buffett table will be inside. Average temp at rhat time is 78 with little to no humidity. Ditto for bugs. After all are seated salad will return to frig. Think its a safe plan, and the ac will be on, also.

“Think its a safe plan, and the ac will be on, also.”

Agree. Sounds very similar to the bridal shower I mentioned.👍🏻

For 35, if i had even the slight intent to enjoy my own party, I would cater it. Whole foods does a decent job, if you want to keep it low key.

If it were me I'd get some restaurant/grocery help. They do trays of food very well. You could always replate to make it your own. I recall my Dad's repast at my house where we went to the grocery store and ordered up platters of wraps to serve. Large salads, fruit platters, all very healthy and satisfying.

Martinca, if you think there are vegetarians but don’t know how many I would go with your first idea of a pasta salad with lots of fresh (perhaps blanched) veg. Make grilled chicken tenderloins ahead and store those in ziplocks also, and have those available on a tray for each individual to add to the salad as they wish. Some fruit and a dessert and you’re all set!

Jojoco I remember when that Allison Roman recipe came out— it was her first really viral recipe that was all over the internet. Everybody was eating it and reposting the recipe on their own sites or blogs and giving her credit for it and she became famous. I have made many of her recipes (also subscribe to her substack) and they are all the holy grail of good tasting, relatively easy and reliable.

I love to cook and entertain but 35 is, to me, a catering job.

As far as the menu, you know your audience best. But IME one thing I have definitely noticed is that most people appreciate good tasting food that is also relatively light and healthful. Not, especially for lunch, lasagna or casseroles generally. YMMV

I wouldn't make lasagna when weather is 78 degrees? I think your best bet is a salad of some kind.

I've spent a lot of my life feeding several dozen at a time, for all kinds of holidays and get togethers. It's just volume, and really not harder than feeding a dozen--if you have the right menu. Martinca's (OP's) curry garbanzo salad with pea-mint garnish salad sounds yummy and just the right kind of thing to do for warm weather and vegetarians. It should be easy enough to produce for several dozen, especially since generally at ladies' luncheons people tend to eat less than we think they will. Feeding hardworking young men is a lot harder! By all means, Martinca, go for the caterer if you have limitations beyond what you and your DD can manage, but it's not nearly as much fun as doing the cooking.

So, whether it's the curry salad or something like panzanella, the key to "robust" is what you put in it. An entrée salad, even for lunch, needs some heft. That's just a matter of adding more stuff to the salad (why I was advocating olives and cheese for the pane). They can also be put on the side for people to add to their salads if they like. By doing that you could offer some chicken shreds and TVP if you wanted, but for lunch, full on vegan should be fine, and the beans should provide enough heft.

”…35 is, to me, a catering job”’ MTN, thst was my absolute first thought. Then, realizing that others will bring appetizers, and handle all the drinks and dessert, well, the main dish and decorating will be relatively easy, and fun…I’m pretty sure. 🫣

Today at H.goods I scored perfect plates, napkins and ”silverware”… if I can bear using fake utinsils. Odd that plates,etc are fine for outdoor dining, but I still cringe a bit with the utensils….but not enough to drag out all the grannies silver!

You all have really helped me add, eliminate and focus.

I would avoid serving a salad that everyone seems to have been served at every shower, lol, and look for a great non-mayonnaise dressed salad. I just posted this in the Salads thread on the Cooking forum. It's a non-meat main dish type salad, so suitable for all, including vegans. I make fresh spring rolls a lot in the summer, but your group is too large for that, tho if you decide on catering, they are a nice choice. (no flatware needed!) This salad brings all those fresh flavors together without the labor intensive rolling.

I usually add the purple cabbage shortly before serving so it doesn't bleed. I don't think their pics do it justice, mine is always more attractive. Maybe it's the sesame seeds that don't photograph well. It's really delicious.

Fresh Spring Roll Salad

I know what you mean about the flatware! Quite awhile ago, my mother gave me her old Betty Crocker Oneida stainless settings for two dozen, which I use for outdoors. I have my college Ecco set for another dozen. Not fancy, but real. If you only have silver handmedowns, check thrift stores—for next time given you found perfect for this party.

Oly, love that salad recipe!

These are my fave flatware for summery parties

For 35, I’m another who would consider catering. I would also rent tableware.

@Olychick - I don't have agave nectar. Do you think honey would be a good substitute in the dressing for your delicious Spring Roll Salad? Thanks!

I had the same thought. FWIW, I am going to use maple syrup! Also note a few people in comments added green onions.

Yeah, good old chicken salad may be boring, but llike an old friend , it’s easy to work with and trustworthy . It also can look pretty and most everyone likes it. The S.Roll. Salad , for example, might be too spicy for some.…..and perhaps alittle messy for a crowd. We will be renting some tables , chairs and cloths…may as well add silverware, I’m now thinking…., as I mentally add glassware! I have enough, but then washing? Writing iall this down and reading your replies is helpful!

NYT has a recipe for Coronation Chicken Salad. Sounds delicious. They also include a vegetarian option using cauliflower. I've had good luck using Butler Soy Curls as a chicken substitute.

Coronation Chicken Salad

My friends at work used to make a chicken salad with white grapes and pecans served on croissant's that was great. Fine made the day ahead.

Do check the boilerplate for the rentals. Usually, tablecloths only need to be shaken for crumbs and other detritus, but table top and service pieces, including flatware and glasses, are often required to be returned clean.

@seagrass_gw Cape Cod I think they use Agave because it makes the salad suitable for vegans, so I think honey or syrup is just fine.

I like your idea of a meatless vegetable pasta salad. Start with tricolor rotini - you can do a Greek version or Italian - no mayo. Add cheese (feta, mozzarella) and beans (garbanzo, white beans) for your protein. Toss in a fresh chopped herb just before serving. Then there will be no worries about temperature. People will survive one meal without meat.

Pasta salads have two things going against them in a crowd and outdoor -- mayo dressings (can be avoided with pesto or vinaigrette) and gluten. To a lesser degree, egg allergies, but hard to serve a crowd that doesn't have gluten issues these days. The spring roll salad uses rice noodles, but that is where it gets messier to eat.

No one has mentioned a lentil salad - vinegar dressings rather than mayo, vegetarian friendly protein, can include a cheese or be added on the side. I would do that for cheese, nuts and meat on any salad that might need to accommodate different dietary restrictions. Colorful, but small portions, so you could do the salad plate or serve the lentil salad on top of a bed of greens, cheese optional.

The 3 Bs - Burgers, Brats, and Beer!

Oh wait, that would be for 35 dudes at a football watch party. Guys are so much easier.

Never mind ;-p

LJ sounds great to me!

👍😄 LJ

I’ve never considered rice noodles to be messy to eat unless I’m using chopsticks, lol. They are very easy to break apart before cooking to make them easily manageable.

I like the idea of an array of salads, like lascatx mentioned a lentil salad (I've made one from Greens cookbook a ton, with red bell peppers and lots of lemon, and feta cheese)

And a watermelon cucumber salad with mint, a fresh heirloom tomato salad, and your chicken pasta salad ... that's 4 salads to make, but would be a beautiful spread ! And Ina Garten's greek salad was always a hit for me when I made it for teachers luncheon.

How fun to think of this, I'm ready to host again soon but ours are usually potlucks with grilled meats and I do make the lentil salad and the watermelon salad quite a bit. ( oh, and I haven't done a ladies luncheon, so the grilled meat was done by my husband for the most part, although I'm a griller too)

When I was growing up, it seemed the most popular ladies lunch, from what I saw or heard, was a salad plate with 3 small portions of different salads - one usually a chicken salad. In a buffet, you could make several different salads. You just need to empty the fridge first, borrow fridge space or plan ahead for containers that fit with ice in coolers.

I never put mayo in a main dish pasta salad. The only cold pasta that gets mayo around here is my old school macaroni salad with elbows, celery, boiled egg and onion.