Holiday dinner, buffet style

I need your help. Let me start of by saying I'm in no way a dinner planner with the exceptions of small(10 at the most)gatherings. Every year my supervisor has asked(not mandatory, she just likes my opinion)for my help planning her church holiday dinner. We've done the same dinner pretty much for the last two years. Turkey, dressing, etc. This year I'd like to change it up a little and need some input, keeping in mind a holiday type theme. These are black people and I KNOW they love their soul/southern food. What I have so far:

Meats

Roast pork loin
Oven baked chicken(should this be bar-b-que?)


Veggies/sides

Mashed taters w/gravy
green baby limas
stuffing
cucumber/onion/mater salad w/ italian dressing or v/o
cranberry sauce

breads

yeast rolls
cornbread

dessert

banana pudding

I feel I need more veggies to play down some of my starch. What would you add/delete? Thanks! Brenda

Brenda,

Is this for Christmas or Thanksgiving?

If it's soul food you're after I would add in some collard greens -- but please keep in mind you'll have to buy a lot since they cook down so much. They are delicious paired with country sausage as a sort of non-baked casserole.

Also, maybe some brussels sprouts? Just make sure they don't overcook- nothing worse than a soggy sprout.

And how about a few freshly baked fruit pies (yeah I know Publix has good bakery stuff, but people appreciate sincere efforts to make the real thing). Perhaps cinnamon peach and sweet potato? The latter is so easy to make and tastes great with real, fresh whipped cream.

If it's for Thanksgiving, I wouldn't leave out the turkey. Maybe make a chicken brunswick stew with the chicken. I think of pork more as a New Year's holiday thing (unless it's a Smithfield Ham! Get one of those and slice it!). For veggies, maybe a creamed spinach dish?

Frank

quote:

Originally posted by Kristi S.

Brenda,

Is this for Christmas or Thanksgiving?

If it's soul food you're after I would add in some collard greens -- but please keep in mind you'll have to buy a lot since they cook down so much. They are delicious paired with country sausage as a sort of non-baked casserole.

Also, maybe some brussels sprouts? Just make sure they don't overcook- nothing worse than a soggy sprout.

And how about a few freshly baked fruit pies (yeah I know Publix has good bakery stuff, but people appreciate sincere efforts to make the real thing). Perhaps cinnamon peach and sweet potato? The latter is so easy to make and tastes great with real, fresh whipped cream.

Oops! The date is December 18. It will be at the Hyatt Regency Hotel(menu needs to be provided). 75 - 100 people. Each person will pay individually and my boss is trying to keep the cost between $28-30 per person. It will be for a church convention, with, a holiday theme. I really appreciate all of you!

Be sure and add Sweet Potatoes, either casserole or fried with a brown sugar, orange or lemon glaze.
Turnips and Greens are always good and plentiful during the late fall.

Rusty -

How about big pans of gooey mac and cheese, and maybe a broccoli and cheese casserole or all-day cooked green beans with ham hocks? Yum.

I disagree here. I think you should use your roadfood friends and have dishes from all around the country.
I'd suggest stuff such as: wild rice casserole with shredded pot roast(my grandfather's holiday recipe), Cranberry /orange dish , Steamed salmon, or at least some fish dish, (Salmon's cheaper than hamburger half the time in Oregon), and throw some Jalepeno/creamcheese poppers in to wake 'em all up. Tamales are always a southwestern holiday tradition.This may be too eclectic, but I think they'd be delighted. Maybe cuz it's still summertime I'm feeling creative and hungry+we've had all the above at our own Christmas dinner.

I knew I had come to the right place! So far I've switched out the baby limas for the greens beans(one less starch!), and the plain cranberry sauce for the cranberry/orange. This is coming along beautifully and have emailed "our" menu to the boss. All suggestions are still welcome if there are any. Plenty of time for changes. Oh, the mac and cheese was added as well. Take away a starch add a starch......

Hey Rusty, whos' cooking this feast?

quote:

Originally posted by bill voss

Hey Rusty, whos' cooking this feast?

Hyatt Regency. If it was me it'd be hotdogs..

Just a thought as to the cranberry sauce....maybe have a couple different kinds. Last Thanksgiving I made cranberry sauce with fresh cooked cranberries, dried cherries tossed in after cooking the cranberries. That was different and truly tasty.

Donna

......now you guys are gonna' make me have to look for my holiday recipes, but the cranberries I'm talking about are fresh and whole, boiled til they pop, and then bunches of sugar and the oranges,either canned mandarins or fresh sections, added and chilled. I'll dig it out. Cherries sound good too, Donna.

quote:

Originally posted by bill voss

......now you guys are gonna' make me have to look for my holiday recipes, but the cranberries I'm talking about are fresh and whole, boiled til they pop, and then bunches of sugar and the oranges,either canned mandarins or fresh sections, added and chilled. I'll dig it out. Cherries sound good too, Donna.

Last year I did the "boil and pop" method with sugar but would like to know about the oranges. As for the cherries I swear I don't recall ever seeing a dried cherry down here. Sounds real good because I love cherries, ranier, bing, etc. I guess those would kind of take the bite out of the cranberry?? I have had a type with cherry jello, cranberries, celery, maybe some nuts(?)don't recall exactly but it was good!

Rusty,
I recommend staying with the Roasted Pork as the mainstay. Let the poultry be the secondary main dish, baked or oven-roasted. Include stuffing as a 'heavy side' for those who want to maintain the holiday tradition. Put it(the stuffing) between the meat and the potatoes on the serving line so the gravy can be used for all of the above when applied.
I would include apples either as the fried/baked apple chunks that are part of most Southern Buffets or as the key to a successful Apple&SweetPotato cassarole.
Broaden the dessert choice to include some sweet potato pie and maybe a Coconut cream or similiar light cream pie..
Dried cherries are available at most WalMarts.

quote:

Originally posted by Kristi S.

Brenda,

And how about a few freshly baked fruit pies (yeah I know Publix has good bakery stuff, but people appreciate sincere efforts to make the real thing). Perhaps cinnamon peach and sweet potato? The latter is so easy to make and tastes great with real, fresh whipped cream.

Also, pecan pie or, in Florida, possibly key lime.

quote:

Originally posted by Donna Douglass

Just a thought as to the cranberry sauce....maybe have a couple different kinds. Last Thanksgiving I made cranberry sauce with fresh cooked cranberries, dried cherries tossed in after cooking the cranberries. That was different and truly tasty.

Donna

I made that one too! Recipe from Bon Apetite it think. It WAS good. Here in CA, Safeway carries dried cherries in bulk, but in AZ I had to buy them in a package. Look in the section of your market where the raisins, prunes and such are.

Now my recollection is Newberry isn't far from Gainesville and I'm sure they are available there.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty246

Last year I did the "boil and pop" method with sugar but would like to know about the oranges.

In versions I have made, you use the "boil and pop" method but substitute orange juice for most (or all) of the water and also throw in some finely minced orange "zest" (scrapings from the outermost peel of the orange--use a potato peeler if you don't have a real "zester" but try to minimize the amount of white rind because that's bitter). You could, of course, also throw in some mandarin orange sections as well although I've never done that. Generally my objective is to end up with something that looks like regular cranberry sauce but has some orange flavor that tempers the tart cranberries with sweetness.

Yum. Where are you again? What time does it start??