THoey1963
somebody shut me the fark up.
Thanks to all the helpful information in my previous post entitled "Sorta Catering", I was able to pull it off, although I felt like I'd gone a couple rounds with Mike Tyson the next day. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, especially the pasta salad and the black eyed peas. 
Safety disclaimer: All ingredients were worked on in batches, keeping as much product in the refrigerator as much as possible. Hands were washed frequently, and gloves were used. Kitchen counters, cutting boards, knives, and any other tools were washed in between every batch of product. All cold items were kept cold, and all cooked items were in an oven to stay hot. The service area at the bar was set up with Sterno fired hotel pans and crockpots to keep it hot all night, and cold items were in pans over ice to stay cold.
Whew. I think that covers it all.
I ended up spending $240 on ingredients and a couple other things like Sterno, etc. About $40 over budget, but about $16 less than I had quoted them, so they were acceptable to it.
Now to the pictures. I didn't get any pictures of the buffet line or the cheese plates. Got it all set up, went to grab a beer, and there was already a line of people at the food.
Cracker, Sausage, and Cheese Trays - Bought some fancy crackers from RD, five pound blocks of Sharp Cheddar and Pepper Jack cheese, and a friend donated six pounds of Elk Sausage that I sliced.
Elk Sausage:
Sharp Cheddar:
Pepper Jack:
Black Eyed Peas - I don't really care for them, they usually taste like dirt, but I know it's a NYE tradition, so I got a couple #10 cans and then doctored them up loosely based on this recipe HERE. These turned out pretty good and I got LOTS of compliments on them.
Ten pounds of 5 oz meatballs and 20 pounds of sausages. (Bags in sink just for the picture. Bags were opened and the meat was put directly into pans.) I put the pans with the meatballs on the top grate and then dumped the sausages across the next two grates of my LSG Cabinet smoker at 200* until they were over 165*. Found I have a slight hot spot in the back left corner, as there were a couple of burnt offerings found back there. Sliced the sausages into four or five pieces depending on size and how tired I was, into a pan, foiled, and into a 170* oven. I had two large cans of brown gravy that I brought up to temp on the stove, gently mixed it with the meatballs, and then into another foiled pan and into the oven.
Pasta Salad - Four pounds of Mixed Rotini pasta, two each red and green bell peppers, one large red onion, two cans of black olives, two buckets of cherry tomatoes, one can of peas, two tubs of Parmesan cheese, and two bottles of Zesty Italian. My wife graciously chopped all the veggies while I cooked the pasta. Everything was chilled until I mixed up about an hour before I left.
Condiments / Sides - A bottle each of regular and spicy Stubb's BBQ sauce, a bottle of spicy brown mustard, a bottle of Habanero Hot Sauce from my stash, and two cans of whole pickled jalapenos, sliced by me, as it was cheaper that way.
All total, it took about 10 (wo)man hours to get it all prepped, cooked, stored, delivered, and served. The management appreciated it, and the customers seemed to enjoy / love it.
And nobody died...
After all that, I got a chance to hang with the wife and friends, drink some beer and champagne, and celebrate the New Year.
Happy New Year Y'all...
Safety disclaimer: All ingredients were worked on in batches, keeping as much product in the refrigerator as much as possible. Hands were washed frequently, and gloves were used. Kitchen counters, cutting boards, knives, and any other tools were washed in between every batch of product. All cold items were kept cold, and all cooked items were in an oven to stay hot. The service area at the bar was set up with Sterno fired hotel pans and crockpots to keep it hot all night, and cold items were in pans over ice to stay cold.
Whew. I think that covers it all.
I ended up spending $240 on ingredients and a couple other things like Sterno, etc. About $40 over budget, but about $16 less than I had quoted them, so they were acceptable to it.
Now to the pictures. I didn't get any pictures of the buffet line or the cheese plates. Got it all set up, went to grab a beer, and there was already a line of people at the food.
Cracker, Sausage, and Cheese Trays - Bought some fancy crackers from RD, five pound blocks of Sharp Cheddar and Pepper Jack cheese, and a friend donated six pounds of Elk Sausage that I sliced.
Elk Sausage:
Sharp Cheddar:
Pepper Jack:
Black Eyed Peas - I don't really care for them, they usually taste like dirt, but I know it's a NYE tradition, so I got a couple #10 cans and then doctored them up loosely based on this recipe HERE. These turned out pretty good and I got LOTS of compliments on them.
Ten pounds of 5 oz meatballs and 20 pounds of sausages. (Bags in sink just for the picture. Bags were opened and the meat was put directly into pans.) I put the pans with the meatballs on the top grate and then dumped the sausages across the next two grates of my LSG Cabinet smoker at 200* until they were over 165*. Found I have a slight hot spot in the back left corner, as there were a couple of burnt offerings found back there. Sliced the sausages into four or five pieces depending on size and how tired I was, into a pan, foiled, and into a 170* oven. I had two large cans of brown gravy that I brought up to temp on the stove, gently mixed it with the meatballs, and then into another foiled pan and into the oven.
Pasta Salad - Four pounds of Mixed Rotini pasta, two each red and green bell peppers, one large red onion, two cans of black olives, two buckets of cherry tomatoes, one can of peas, two tubs of Parmesan cheese, and two bottles of Zesty Italian. My wife graciously chopped all the veggies while I cooked the pasta. Everything was chilled until I mixed up about an hour before I left.
Condiments / Sides - A bottle each of regular and spicy Stubb's BBQ sauce, a bottle of spicy brown mustard, a bottle of Habanero Hot Sauce from my stash, and two cans of whole pickled jalapenos, sliced by me, as it was cheaper that way.
All total, it took about 10 (wo)man hours to get it all prepped, cooked, stored, delivered, and served. The management appreciated it, and the customers seemed to enjoy / love it.
And nobody died...
After all that, I got a chance to hang with the wife and friends, drink some beer and champagne, and celebrate the New Year.
Happy New Year Y'all...
