Anonymous wrote:NP - I often have this dilemma around guest lunches, too (in the winter I make a big pot of soup and corn muffins). We never eat sandwiches. What deli meats, breads, accompaniments are common/popular, and how much deli meat per person to estimate?
Turkey and ham (if you eat pork) are the main ones, you could also do roast beef, salami, etc. Maybe a tuna salad.
Cheeses (cheddar and swiss are good basics)
Mayo/miracle whip and mustard
lettuce, tomatoes
Have a variety of breads. For houseguests, I might have our regular hearty wheat bread, hawaiian rolls, and tortillas (for quesadillas). For a party, nobody’s making quesadillas, so you could skip those, or substitute another starch (maybe pitas)
You can add to this as you want. You could round it out with:
Chips/pretzels
additional veggies (pickles, onions, sprouts, olives, etc.)
additional cheeses
additional meats, maybe some pre-cooked bacon
fruit/fruit salad
salads (potato, pasta, etc.) or other sides
some type of dessert (cookies, brownie bites, etc.)
There are no hard and fast rules, just get what looks good to you because other people will probably like it too (and if they don’t, you’ll be eating the leftovers, and lean on the side of having more than you think you could need.