People with experience cooking for a big crowd

VarunaTT

DH and I will being doing a breakfast for about 20ish people on Saturday.

Gameplan:

Doing the pancakes, waffles, and biscuits tonight, Thursday, and Friday nights, then will just warm them up Saturday morning.

Bacon in the oven Saturday morning

While bacon is cooling, I'll do scrambled eggs in the oven.

Make gravy fresh

Tips?  Hints?  Favored recipes?  Suggestions?  Addition (I'm thinking about grabbing a fruit plate).

pegasuskat

I usually serve about what you have listed, I've never cooked it ahead though, always that day.  I might try to pre-cook my pancakes and biscuits next time.  I always add a breakfast potato dish too.  I really like the frozen ones, easy and pretty tasty.

OliveOilsMom

Maybe skip the waffles or pancakes and go with a French toast casserole.  I've made a few in the crock pot before and they have all turned out well.  One less thing you would need to re-heat.  It would probably be the first thing you make in the morning, then forget about it while it finishes cooking in the crockpot.

VarunaTT

Dang, OOMom, that actually sounds like a good idea!  I'll have to keep it for next time.

I'm thinking about nixing one of the pancake/waffle, but I want to keep them b/c I've got vegan options in those and I do know I'll have a few vegans to serve.  (This is going to travel, which is the other big thing.  I'm making most of the dishes directly in the casserole pans that can travel/be thrown away).

I think I've found a breakfast potato dish I like and it gives my vegan/vegetarian friends another option.  Thanks, pKat.

6fsn

I'd reconsider doing the pastries tonight.  It's only Wednesday.  I also wouldn't do pancakes and waffles, just do one or even do a dfferent pastry.  I have a stupid simple one with cream cheese and sugar pressed between crescents and baked if you want me to dig it up.  Bonus it is best made the night before.

What kind of gravy?  For sausage gravy do that Friday night and put in a crock pot to reheat. 

I've started doing this breakfast casserole: layer a couple pounds of frozen shredded potatoes in the bottom of the casserole, top with ham/sausage/nothing/chorizo, peppers, onions, scramble 8 eggs, then top it all with the cheese sauce for my mac and cheese.  You could make 2 of these the night before and reheat in the morning too. 

Do these then put the bacon in because they'll hold heat forever. 

If you have a GFS you can get a these premade for cheap.  We did it for Max's 1st bday.

hmonkey

if you're going to be making gravy, why not make sausage too? put the bacon in the oven.

i agree about the french toast instead of waffles and pancakes. i normally do those in the oven, too, in a large casserole for serving. or if you want to skip fruit, you can add blueberries to the french toast casserole.

if you want to do eggs, do a quiche.

if you want to do waffles, i suggest ordering out for fried chicken tenders and do waffles and chicken, biscuits and gravy, and then fruit and oj.

MesmrEwe

Given you've got to travel with all this - I'd just go for the pancakes which are incredibly forgiving.  Waffles aren't forgiving when it comes to freezing/reheating.  OTOH, what about making the batter the morning of and having a "make your own waffle" station with the fixings (strawberries, chocolate chips, whipped cream, syrup) - just looks super professional and it's a small group so one waffle maker could get it done or if you have someone else bring one too..   

As for the eggs - Crock Pot!!!!  That lets you cook them on-site so they're hot and not rubberized. 

Most of all - good luck!

6fsn

I missed the traveling part.  Another thought might be a yogurt parfait.  Layer some fruit, yogurt and granola in a dish.  I've never done it, but I wonder if you could layer in pancakes to make a trifle.

6fsn

One more thought: I don' know how well scrambled eggs will travel.  What about deviled eggs instead?

pegasuskat

6fsn said:

One more thought: I don' know how well scrambled eggs will travel.  What about deviled eggs instead?

We had scrambled eggs at the brunch shower I helped give last weekend, they tasted ok but turned a little blackish.  I'm not sure when the girl that brought them made them.

Heffalump

Ditto on the casserole idea--I've had good ones with eggs, French toast, etc.  (There was a really killer one I did for Christmas morning, where you prep it ahead of time and just pop it in the oven the next morning.  It stayed hot forEVER, so it would probably travel well.)  Vegan is more challenging because most of the ones I've seen either have eggs + cheese + other stuff, or French toast with dairy. 

VarunaTT

No station or crock pot, I want to drop, go, and not come back for dishes.  It's also for campaign workers, so they kind of need to be able to just grab a plate and get back to work.

The traveling is only about 10-15 minutes.  I intend to cook everything in those tinfoil casserole dish things that have lids, so there won't be any moving food around, just keeping them in the casserole dishes they were cooked, smack a lid on them, and carry them out.  So, I figured the eggs would be alright because they'd be fairly fresh and still set w/o getting too gross.

So, maybe:

Pancakes -- make night before, reheat

Scrambled Eggs -- do last minute in oven, package, and go

Breakfast Potatoes -- do in oven, set to side

Bacon -- do in oven, set to side

Fruit Plate -- do night before.

Dumping the biscuits and gravy idea, and the waffles.

pegasuskat

I think this is plenty and would be filling.  This isn't a party and if they are in a hurry the limited choices still covers all the bases.

AuntFlo

You can make scrambled eggs in the oven?

VarunaTT

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/oven-scrambled-eggs/

I'm going to throw a drop or two in of vanilla.  I've done that before in making big batches and it seems to give it a hint of flavor that makes them taste nice.  But only a drop or 2.

hmonkey

travel? dropping off? campaign workers?  this changes my thinking entirely.

i vote food that you can eat without utensils.

pigs in a blanket, sausage and biscuit sandwiches, whole fruit.

VarunaTT

I tried to think of "no utensils" too, HMo, but it seems to limit so much.  I know they've been getting a lot of $5 pizzas and some Chipotle, so I wanted something that was not fast food feeling, felt a little like home (there are mostly college-somethings to middle age) and easy for me to make.

AuntFlo

Now I want pigs in a blanket!   :::strop:::

6fsn

I was thinking 20 people at home.  I think you've got a good idea, but I'm still iffy on the pancakes.  If you want something bready maybe just mini bagels and a couple cream cheese flavors.

My biggest fruit tip- drop apple slices in a bag with pineapple juice.  Toss to coat then drain. They'll stay pretty and taste awesome.

hmonkey

muffins, individual quiches, biscuits or biscuit sandwiches.

 if you can get individual cups and lids, you can make yogurt + fruit parfaits.

hmonkey

if it's drop off, you want something that people can just grab a serving, not that they have to wait in line and dish out.

mrsconn23

Scrambled egg 'muffins' are super easy.  I made a bunch in advance for DH and me for breakfasts not too long ago.  They kept for a few days in the fridge.

MesmrEwe

mrs.conn23 said:

Scrambled egg 'muffins' are super easy.  I made a bunch in advance for DH and me for breakfasts not too long ago.  They kept for a few days in the fridge.

This!!!  My bodybuilding friends who cook for the week do these all the time!!!  They're also easy to toss in the microwave when they heat up the pancakes!   I also like the "Pigs in a blanket" idea (though some just do it with a sausage rolled into a pancake).. 

Also - Coffee Cake!!  (or applesauce cake).. 

The Campaign workers changed the dynamic of the meal...  Think hotel "hot" breakfast meal because they may not be able to stop what they're doing that second... 

VarunaTT

I think I'm just going to stick with what I have.  I'm getting it there at 10, right when they start and I'm not willing to take the time to make individual servings of multiple things.  They'll just be happy with fresh, hot food, I'm bringing in paper plates, utensils, butter, and syrup, and there's a microwave if they need it.