Friday, March 6, 2009

Spaghetti for 100 people

I decided to post this since I would have liked to have had this info before our church's Spaghetti Dinner. The amounts below are what was consumed. It is up to the cook how much extra to make.


Spaghetti:
Prego spaghetti sauce ~ 9 - 4# bottles (1 cup per person)
ground beef ~ 10#
noodles ~ 14#

Garlic bread and pickles:
loaves ~ 10 (2 slices per person)
butter ~ 3#
garlic powder ~ 1/2 cup
pickles (spears, slices, baby dills)~ 1 jar each
green olives ~ 1 large jar
grated parmesan cheese ~ 1#

Salad:
baby spinach ~ 10 oz
spring mix ~ 10 oz
garden mix ~ 8#
romaine ~ 6 heads
6 cucumbers
grape cherry tomatoes ~ 2# (sliced in half)
3 cups italian dressing

Dessert:
pound cake ~ 20
coolwhip ~ 5 16-oz containers
strawberries ~ 16# (sliced in quarters)

Iced Tea ~ 8 gallons
Lemonade ~ 3 gallons
Coffee ~ 5 potfuls

Tips:
It is crucial that you cook the spaghetti noodles the day before, adding lots of canola oil as you go (both to the boiling water and the cooked noodles). Cook the noodles one minute less than called for. Completely cool with cold water and store in the refrigerater. (Must be completely cooled.) An hour before serving, turn on water to boil. Boil noodles for one minute (or until heated through), then place in a well-oiled Nesco roaster (or crockpot). Keep roasted on warm setting. Do not stir the noodles once in the roaster.

Cook your ground beef and add it to the sauce the day before. Cook the sauce mixture about 20 minutes to get the flavors going. You can spoon it back into the jars and refrigerate.

Since the bread is the cheapest item on the menu, it makes sense to make extra.

I got the most compliments on my freshly-brewed iced tea not being too sweet (I used 3/4 cup sugar per gallon) and Lipton tea bags (5 bags per gallon).

I also served the following spaghetti for vegetarians (and because this was not a fundraiser):

spaghetti noodles ~ 4#
mizithra cheese, grated (Greek cheese with the saltiness of parmesan...only tastier)
1/2 cup olive oil

Toss and serve warm.

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