Cooking for crowd on vacation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kebabs, hummus, pita, tabbouleh

I love this idea. Add in some olives, pickled vegetables and fresh cut up vegetables, You could bring a lot of it premade/store bought and then grill the kabobs. Not too much work.

[Anonymous]

20 people?? Spaghetti and garlic bread & salad.

[Anonymous]

Love the kebabs idea. Otherwise:

Baked potato bar. Wrap 20 potatoes in foil and stick them in the oven for 40-60 minutes. Meanwhile, heat up meat-based and vegetarian chili. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, diced onion, diced tomatoes, a pan of roasted broccoli if you are feeling ambitious (it can cook along with the potatoes if the oven is big enough).

Or pasta bar. Giant pot of rotini. Pots of Bolognese, marinara, and cheese sauce. Side salad.

[Anonymous]

We do this every year on vacation and it is a lot of fun - you only have to shop, cook and clean one night, and you get great meals all 7 nights which way are more relaxed than schlepping a big group to a restaurant.

We do DIY Chipotle or Cava night.

Chipotle - grill chicken and steak (we shake some taco seasoning on it), and slice into strips. Serve with rice (add lime juice, salt and cilantro into it), shredded lettuce, frozen defrosted corn, pico de Gallo, avocados or guacamole, black beans (I think they are simple to make but you can even buy these seasoned and just heat), shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortillas, lime slices. Yes this is similar to taco night but no one cares.

Cava - grill chicken and steak (we shake some Zataar or Greek seasoning on it), and slice into strips. Serve with rice (make rice pilaf or at least sauté diced onion into it), shredded lettuce, quick pickled onions, hummus, crumbled feta, olives, roasted eggplant/peppers/whatever veggies you like, pitas, lemon slices.

I agree with a PP to have brownies and ice cream or such for dessert! (I usually make brownies, freeze, and bring to beach frozen and they defrost on the drive).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Takeout. Cooking for 20 people on vacation sounds miserable. Plus you are going to be left with a bunch of extra food ingredients you are now stuck with/have to take home or trash

We must be related. Cooking for 20 sounds like my idea of hell, and definitely NOT anything I'd ever do on a vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love the kebabs idea. Otherwise:

Baked potato bar. Wrap 20 potatoes in foil and stick them in the oven for 40-60 minutes. Meanwhile, heat up meat-based and vegetarian chili. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, diced onion, diced tomatoes, a pan of roasted broccoli if you are feeling ambitious (it can cook along with the potatoes if the oven is big enough).

Or pasta bar. Giant pot of rotini. Pots of Bolognese, marinara, and cheese sauce. Side salad.

20 potatoes as dinner for 20 people?

[Anonymous]

You’re at the beach. I’d do seafood. I’d run to the fish market and buy steamed shrimp and salmon. Some yummy bread and a side and dessert. Veggie tray for app. Done.
I cook for ten regularly so this wouldn’t phase me. As an adult I’d be sick of burgers and pasta etc and want something fresh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love the kebabs idea. Otherwise:

Baked potato bar. Wrap 20 potatoes in foil and stick them in the oven for 40-60 minutes. Meanwhile, heat up meat-based and vegetarian chili. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, diced onion, diced tomatoes, a pan of roasted broccoli if you are feeling ambitious (it can cook along with the potatoes if the oven is big enough).

Or pasta bar. Giant pot of rotini. Pots of Bolognese, marinara, and cheese sauce. Side salad.

20 potatoes as dinner for 20 people?

With tons of protein toppings and a large salad? Sure. And potatoes are cheap, so make extras.

[Anonymous]

Make a big pot of baked beans. Filling and cheap. Great with hot dogs, with an egg on top, and as a side with practically anything. My favorite recipe, https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/maple-baked-beans-recipe0-1942083.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Takeout. Cooking for 20 people on vacation sounds miserable. Plus you are going to be left with a bunch of extra food ingredients you are now stuck with/have to take home or trash

We must be related. Cooking for 20 sounds like my idea of hell, and definitely NOT anything I'd ever do on a vacation.

We’re doing spring break with one other family, so 9 of us, and I’ve done research on the restaurants in the area. I’m not interested in cooking for 9, let alone 20, on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Where would everyone sit? You can't cram 20 people into 1 or even adjacent (2) condo units.

Do you mean to have dinner on the beach?

And w/20 people, there will ALWYS be at least 1 family or more that's on a different meal schedule.

And outside of pasta or tacos...who wants to buy all that food/prep/cook and cleanup for 20 people while on vacay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love the kebabs idea. Otherwise:

Baked potato bar. Wrap 20 potatoes in foil and stick them in the oven for 40-60 minutes. Meanwhile, heat up meat-based and vegetarian chili. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, diced onion, diced tomatoes, a pan of roasted broccoli if you are feeling ambitious (it can cook along with the potatoes if the oven is big enough).

Or pasta bar. Giant pot of rotini. Pots of Bolognese, marinara, and cheese sauce. Side salad.

20 potatoes as dinner for 20 people?

With tons of protein toppings and a large salad? Sure. And potatoes are cheap, so make extras.

Ugh - baked potatoes are cold weather meals. Not something you want at the beach. Plus, it's lame.

Grill burgers, fresh corn on the cob, watermelon, and extra mac n cheese for the kids.
Done.

[Anonymous]

Pick up pulled pork and smoked chicken. Make sides. Winner every time.

[Anonymous]

Where’s the thread on the tater tot bar?

[Anonymous]

Why get together for both lunches and dinners? I don’t want to spend my vacation eating at a set schedule every day.