Need Food/snack Suggestions for a Baptism Party - 100 People

Hi Shannon,
One poster mentioned catering, and I would agree. When we had 60 people for my son's baptism, we discovered that it was cheaper to have it catered. We used Cousin's BBQ and they were great. Good food. Inexpensive. All the sides you could want, and best of all, no hassle for the proud parents!
It's a tremendous amount of work for a mom of a 6 week old to take on.

Good luck,
M.
www.yogapotential.com

You could also go to costco or sams and get those rotisserie chickens, see if they will cut 18-20 chickens for you in 8 pieces each, you can make mashed potatoes and corn for everybody plus buy biscuits then present all of it in buffet trays, this is REALLY affordable, throw in some gravy and brownies andit looks like a nice buffet lunch.

You could make the party almost like a tapas (appetizer) party with lots of different items available.

I would do it with a fall theme- squashes, pumpkins, cranberries, etc also make a great ingredient as well as great decorations. I think you are going in a great direction with the turkey and ham ideas for sandwiches. That way you can prepare a lot of the items beforehand and not have to keep them all hot. With that many people, I would possibly prepare 3 18-22 lb turkeys and 2- 3 spiral hams. You might think some of these recipes are weird but they have been people pleasers for me in the past.

Corn Dip

2 cans Shoepeg corn (drained)
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 cups grated cheese (Jack/Colby mix)
1 cup sour cream
2/3 cups mayonnaise
10-12 chopped, de-seeded jalapenos (I usually use at least 14 to make it spicy and include a few seeds)

Serve with Fritos
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Creamy Pumpkin Dip

2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 16 oz pkg powdered sugar
1 16 oz can pumpkin
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
(I do cinnamon and nutmet to taste)
Beat cream cheese at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar. Beat Well.
Stir in pumpkin and spices.
Serve with graham cracker sticks or ginger snaps.

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Meatballs

1 large bag of frozen meatballs from Sam’s
2 16oz cans jellied cranberry sauce
6 Tablespoons cider vinegar
4 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoon prepared mustard

cook and stir over medium heat until sauce is melted
add meatballs and simmer uncovered 10-15 min

Or slow method is mix all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside for a minute. Put the large bag of frozen meatballs in large crockpot. Pour sauce ingredients over the frozen meatballs and cook for about 4-6 hours or until the meatballs are heated all the way through. You can serve directly out of the crockpot too if needed.

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Cranberry Salsa

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 med jalapeno, finely chopped
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tablespoons lime juice

Mix all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. I always double this recipe. Be careful with the red onion, if it is too hot, don’t use as much, otherwise it will overpower the salsa.

Serve with bagel chips or tortilla strips

Good luck

Hi Shannon- Before I tell you about my business- here's my take on this- sometimes its less expensive to have it catered and not have the hassle- I am thinking a few trays of lasagna and a few pasta dishes to keep the cost down-
Peters Pizzeria and Italian cuisine in Colleyville on Rt 26 has absolutely the BEST food and he does tays - Get a few buffet trays with burners and you are all set- It gets set up and you have no mess no fuss and no sandwiches sitting around getting soggy or anything-
Now- my business is absolutely perfect for what you are having- Its a host assistant service
www.partyangelsus.com
We will help with the set up- tend to the buffet line- make sure guest have drinks- clean up and store the food and bring out dessert when you are ready-
Our main goal is to let you enjoy your guest and keep out of the stress. Its very affordable and you will be so thrilled that you did this to alleviate yourself so that you can enjoy your own party!
I can recommend photographer- dj - caterers- whatever you need -So if you would like- give me a call and we can chat- Where are you located?
Also- we have a bartending service, if needed.
But i would definitely do a pasta type dish and maybe some meatballs- Peters ###-###-#### -tell him D. from Party Angels sent you. Also- if you choose to make your own dishes- then make it now- freeze and just heat up that day-I used to do trays of lasagna for my dgt b'day all the time and I made them in advance and it just lessened my stress. Make a nice tossed salad and a few loaves of great bread and viola! Aslo- make two trays so that there are two areas to get food from on the buffet line- for a better flow-
I would be more than happy to chat with you-With two babys- you can really use the "angels" to help you out so you can mix and mingle with your guess and enjoy such a blessed event.
Check our our website.
D. Sansone
Party Angels Ltd.
###-###-####
www.partyangelsus.com

I have read the responses and you have some good ideas. I have three suggestions-one is to go with fajaitas-or tex mex theme. It is easy good and can go a long way. You can set up some hot dips with the chili-cheese dip and lots of chips, too. A 5 layer dip with your chips is good also. Lots of pic food is essential with that many people.
If you want to go a differnet way--go to Sam's. They have these large round sandwiches-that are good! They can be sliced to make lots of sandwiches. If you talk to them they will tell yu how many you will need for that many people. They also have cubed cheese and lots of things in bulk for reasonable prices. It would be worth buying a memeership if you don't have one.
And third, a fun ideas along the sandwich theme for this many people is a 6 foot sub sandwich from Subway. It is really good (you would probably need several) they are so thick that a few inches will be a lot of sandwich-go a long way. They are fun on the table to decorate around and then you can also have your cubed cheese, potato salad and chips and beans to fill in the gaps. I have done this several times as my son was growing up and the everyone liked it.

Last-do something that you can still enjoy your company--have a blessed day !

We ended up having a large party for our daughters baptism as well - around 75 or 80. We went to Sam's and bought just about everything: chicken breasts and made chicken salad to put on those mini croissants, several different dips, veggie trays, fruit trays, several different cracker types, cheese trays, and cupcakes for dessert. The only thing I actually had to do was to make the chicken salad and I did that the day before. We filled the croissants that morning and put all of the veggies, fruit, cheese, dips and crackers on nice serving trays so it didn't look so store-bought. We made a punch bowl of Countrytime Strawberry Lemonade and floated some cut strawberries (from the fruit tray) and some cut lemons for decoration. We also had sodas, water and tea.

The whole thing cost less than $150 including the paper goods (Garden Ridge). I was a little intimidated by doing it myself but it was really easy using Sam's (Costco has the same types of things).

Good luck and remember that it's more about your daughter and the committment you're making for her future than how perfect your party is and all of your guests will think of how beautiful the baptism was, not what they had for lunch. :)

Deli trays: vegetables/dips, fruit, mixed sandwich meats with variety of sliced/loaf bread, mini mexican tacos/burritos, egg rolls/spring rolls...
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this is supper easy... you could get several crock pots ... fix the following in each crock pot:

2-5 pounds of chuck roast
1 8 ounce bottle of barbeque sauce
sprinkle the chuck roast with garlic powder/dried onion flakes

pour the barbeque sauce in the crock pot
roll the chuck roast in the bbq sauce

cook on low for 8 hours; high for four hours.

serve the above with thick sliced bread... or potato salad/baked beans...

good luck!

spagetti, salad, garlic bread
(simple, quick & cheap)

I think you are on the right track. I'm assuming 90 people includes kids at least 20+ kids. So, some kid friendly food will go a long way. Mini-PBJ sandwiches cut out with cookie cutters or a casserole of mac & cheese will be a hit. I'd make it easy on yourself and get a spiral cut ham with small mini-biscuits so that the sandwiches don't have to get filled too much. You can dress it up with presentation. Put a spicy mustard & mayo in a little dish rather than just the container on the buffet. Folks can just make them themselves. Get some fancy chips and dips and a large, but really delicious salad with some special looking croutons. Maybe some homemade salad dressing. Add a side dish of potato salad or a fancier casserole side dish if you want. Make a little extra salad to keep in frig in case that goes fast.

We had a separate table for desserts. We made cross shaped decorated sugar cookies. Everyone loves chocolate kisses (wrapped in silver they are pretty and represent baby kisses). But, the centerpiece of our table was a cross shaped cake that I made using loaf shaped pound cakes and decorated with some bakery icing and some fresh edible flowers and silver sprinkle balls. It was beautiful.

A punch bowl with a ice ring with fruit and a raspeberry herbal ice tea should handle the drinks. Water with lemon too. Sodas are expensive.

Good luck and have fun. Get a pretty bid for the guest of honor or another comfy but pretty white outfit for changing into afterwards.

Shannon it really depends on your budget. Go to Food Network.com for some simple recipes. I don't advise making the sandwhiches your self, you can trim the turkey and ham and arrange them on platters, buy an assortment of different types of bread cut the edges off and an arrange on another tray. For side items slice carrots and celery stand them up in different size glasses or vases which every you prefer. you could also serve cherry tomoatos, lettuce, onions in the glasses or vases as well. Try an assorment of salads. Walmart has a coleslaw salad, mac salad, potato that are really good. Spinach salad and chips will work also. Sam's club has a nice assortment of cakes, cupcakes and pies you can serve. The key to a great party is presentation. Please let me know how everything turns out.

If you want to stick with the ham and turkey idea, you can buy some potatoe rolls (Albertsons), put them in a cute big basket have condiments like mayo, must, and horseradish nearby with a pasta salad, chips, veggie tray, and dessert.

You've gotten great advice here. For my daughter's baptism party, I grilled beef for sandwiches, and they were a hit. Turkey and ham will be just as tasty, and much cheaper. Do get the potato rolls and have spicy mustard and mayo available. Maybe have some of the little gherkin pickles on the side, too.

Now for side dishes. I heartily second the mac and cheese casserole suggestion. People love creamy, cheesy side dishes. If you want something different than mac and cheese, Sam's has some very good cheesy hashbrown casseroles. I had one at a brunch meeting a couple of weeks ago and it was nearly as good as my homemade version. Add a veggie tray (Sam's again), a fruit tray (any good grocery store, or Sam's), some assorted cheese and crackers, and you'll have food that adults and kids will eat and enjoy. When I grilled my beef tenderloin, I also grilled a bunch of veggies (sliced eggplant, cherry tomatoes on skewers, asparagus, sweet potato planks, onions, etc.). While you're baking your ham and turkey, maybe you could roast a tray or two of veggies. Just prepare the veggies, toss in a little olive oil, kosher salt, and coarse ground black pepper, put them in a foil-lined shallow pan or tray and put the tray in the oven on a lower rack while you're baking your meat. Check them every 20-30 minutes or so to see how they're doing, and take them out when they're soft and look done. These are really good and they're different.

Fix a few trays of cookies, brownies (people really seem to love brownies), or mini-cheesecakes for dessert, and you'll be set.

Have a wonderful party!

WOA... step on the brakes. Turkey and Ham for 90 is not going to be cheap. (lol):o)

I have catered lots of parties and find the best stuff is a SAMS or Costco. they have lots of finger foods that make for great buffet you could feed 100 people for about $100-150-200 bucks tops (depending on what you buy)with food from SAMS.

PLUS they make great large cakes you would only need about 1 full sheet cake and that is only about 20-25 bucks. they can do half chocolate and half white.

If you need any help with invitations/stationary or party favors, Give me a call

A. J
www.CelebrityPartyFavors.com

A pasta salad always goes a long way. I agree with the pulled chicken and beef for fajitas. I actually went and got food from Bakers in downtown Dallas-Yes I drove from NRH, but it was well worth it and at the time moderately priced.

You could do an itallian theme, mexican, caribean=all these can be moderately done.

Wow...all of these suggestions are great! As a matter of fact, I copied a couple of them to keep for myself! Here is my suggestion:

Meatballs a Couple of Different Ways
(I went to a party once that did this and it was great!)

First you need to make a couple of crockpots of store-bought meatballs. Mix in marinara sauce in each crock. Then you place the following in different stations:

Meatball Sandwiches
Split several large, crusty rolls and place next to one crockpot. Be sure to have lots of oregano and mozzarella cheese available for everyone to assemble their own Meatball Sandwich.

Meatball Potatoes
Large baked potatoes ready to be filled with meatballs, mozzarella, red onion, butter, etc.

Spaghetti and Meatballs
Nuff said.

I'd also have a Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread, Cheese and Veggie Trays, Cookies and Brownies.

You'd be surprised who thrifty this meal would be and most importantly, how yummy!

For my daughter's baptism we ordered party trays from Albertson's. We had some sandwich trays, vegetable tray, cheese tray, chips and a cake. We had about 40 people. I picked up the trays that morning before church and then after church all I had to do was get them out of the fridge and set it up. I would recommend having it catered or buying the trays if you can afford it. I think it would be stressful trying to cook it yourself, especially since everyone will be ready to eat as soon as you get home from church. Good luck!
Cara

i have attended acouple parties that got some pulled chicken and steak and just had the fixins for fajitas. They had it all cooked the night before and everything was ready to just lay out on the table...no work! And it was good!

For lunch, you canget away with using items that do not require a chafing dish. The sandwich idea is good,serve with rolls ,pasta/potato salads, tossed caesar salad. You can do a cold cut platter as well. You can do picky's with chips n dip/salsa,guacamole,and see if some of your friends can bring pickys,it always helps. Dessert can be cookies/bars that you can purchase or friends are in handy as well.
Good luck!

This large a group attending a Baptism indicates family, does your family traditionally leave the holiday cooking to one hostess? Most would split the responsibilities and bring potluck. You guys can provide the main dish (ham, turkey, etc) and ask everyone to bring a side item or dessert. They are coming to celebrate your baby and they ALL know you have little ones and eveyone will be happy to help!

If that isn't a possibility, lasagna, tacos or even brisket is inexpensive.

God Bless you!

I think that I would do a few lasagnes, salads, bread, some easy crostinis. you could also do a cheese and cracker tray, fresh fruit tray. I would take a look at Market Street. They have a catering department but I'm not sure how expensive they are. If you are looking for a cake please take a look at my website www.freewebs.com/sweettemptationbakery I'm also listed on mamasource and have a few reviews from some of my mamasource customers.
Congratulations on your new baby!!

OMG 100 people is a huge job!
You are gonna have to spend some money or offer snacks instead of lunch.
I really suggest that you go to Costco(better quality than Sams). You can get some great ideas but you need to have an idea of what you are going to serve.
Large casseroles like enchilada or king ranch chicken can be made ahead of time , are good and serve a lot of people. Do a simple salad and bread with dessert and youre set.
Have fun!