Brunch Recipes for a Crowd - Ideas?

[Suze]

Hi all --

Our SCA folk are hosting an event - my local group has been lucky enough to prepare brunch for around 100 people or so. 

do any of you good people have crock pot or big roaster recipes that are simple to cart around? (60 mile between kitchen and site)

We are not sure if the site has a kitchen that WE can use.  So we thought that if we planned for crock pot, roaster, and cooler items, if we did get a kitchen it would just make it easier.

The event is on June 9th. so we do have a little bit of time to research some good food.  For the few SCA folk out there -- we are not all that interested if they are pre 1600 recipes - just tasty

thanks so much
Suze

[Wordgeek]

Bread and cheese.  Cut up apples (sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent browning).  These are period-appropriate and also appropriate to all classes, I think. 

For something hot, you could have creamed chicken maybe?  Chicken was a noble's food but maybe you can entice them to share with the villeins. ;-)  If the nobles are selfish or you want lower class food, how about gruel?  Barley was most common but oatmeal would do in a pinch.

Some recipes, all for 100 people:

Creamed chicken:
1 lb butter
1 lb chicken fat
2 lbs flour
2 T salt
1/4 t pepper
13 1/4 qts milk
1 gal. chicken stock
30-40 lbs chicken meat, cooked and cubed
Make white sauce with first 7 ingredients.  Add chicken just before serving and heat thoroughtly.  Serve on biscuits.

You could add some mushrooms (about 2 lbs) to this and call it chicken a la king.

Bread for 100 would involve 6 to 8 1-1/2 lb loaves or 13 dozen rolls (to allow 1-1/2 per person).

Meatballs (to serve hot or cold)
30 lbs ground beef
20 eggs
10 cups stale bread crumbs
5 cups water
5 cups choipped onions
4 t salt
5 t pepper
Soak bread in water then add both to meat.  Add all other ingredients and mix very well.  Shape into balls and fry. (Fastest way is to use a *big* food cooker and deep fry in batches.  They're done when they rise to the surface.) Serve cold or stick in a crockpot with some tomato sauce.

Cabbage soup
5 gal. stock
4 cups each, chopped: onions, carrots, celery, peppers
8 cups potatoes, chopped
6 lbs cabbage
2/3 cup fresh dill
1 gal canned tomatoes
12 tins tomato soup (or use tomato paste and dilute with water)
Toss vegetables into stock and cook till done.

Soup stock
Cover 25 - 30 lbs soup bones with cold water and let simmer all day or overnight, with some celery and salt and pepper.  Strain and cool.  Pick the meat off the bones and add back to the stock.

[Alida]

Are you looking for period correct food or just anything that will travel well (makes a difference in what books I drag out)?

[Alida]

And you said that it doesn't have to be pre1600.  I missed that part.

Maybe I should go to bed! 

Will dig out some recipes tomorrow, though.

[Suze]

Thank you for your help -

This event is called The Rose Tournament, which involves getting together as many of the past Queens of the Middle Kingdom as possiable, who each sponser a fighter in the tourament that day.

(The past Queens of the Middle Kingdom are called Roses because of the circle of Roses on the Middle Kingdom device for the Queen.)

I have never been to one of theese things so I don't know if they would like more "Breafast type" foods or "Lunch type" food.

You all have posted so many good recipes that I just thought that I would ask if anybody had anything "new" we haven't tried.

Thanks again
Suze

[ggawlak]

Extremely easy to make and a real crowd-pleaser whenever I've served it:

Crockpot Bean Casserole

2 lb. ground beef
1 lb. bacon, cut up
1 cup chopped onion
2 cans baked beans
2 cans kidney beans
2 cans lima (or navy or black or butter) beans
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
2 TBLSP. mustard

Brown ground beef, bacon and onion in a frying pan; drain grease.  Add beef mixture to the crockpot.  Add remainder of ingredients and stir to combine well.  Cook in the crokpot for at least 1 hour before serving. 

[Xanthia, Maker of fine Tin-foil hats since 2007]

Just a thought because I had these at an SCE event I attended, Crockpot baked apples and they had a slightly sweet crispy pastry/flat bread to eat it with,  It was almost like baked flour tortillas brushed with butter and sprinkled with Cinnamon and sugar cut into wedges and baked.

Totally not period, but soooo yummy

[Maggie]

Yummy Make Ahead Brunch

You can prepare it in a baking dish the night before and it makes a great brunch, this recipe is easily increased.
---
3 c. shredded hash brown potatoes
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. diced cooked ham or cooked bacon
1/4 c. sliced green onion
4 beaten eggs
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
---
Grease a quart square baking dish. Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom of
the dish. Sprinkle with cheese, ham and green onion. In a medium bowl,
combine eggs, milk, pepper and salt. Pour egg mixture over potato mixture in dish.
(The dish may be covered and refrigerated at this point for several hours or overnight.)
---
Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 40 - 45 min. (or 55 - 60 min. if made
ahead and chilled) or till centers appear set. Let stand 5 min. before serving. Serves 6.
Don't expect leftovers on this one, folks!  Serve with fresh fruit and muffins or croissants.

[Maggie]

Egg Casserole

---
 
10 eggs
1 pint cottage cheese
1 lb monteray jack
7 oz chopped can ortega green chilis
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Cup melted butter
1/2 Cup flour
-
Melt butter in 13x9 pan. Beat eggs until lemon color and mix with the rest. chill overnight if desired. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and let set 30 minutes. Enjoy.

[Maggie]

Maybe these will help.

Overnight Caramel French Toast

   1  loaf  French bread
   1/2 c.  butter
   1  cup  brown sugar
   3  tablespoons   Karo Syrup (corn syrup)
   6   eggs
   1 1/2  cups  milk
   1  Tbsp.  vanilla
cinnamon
fresh fruit
---
Melt butter and brown sugar and karo syrup over medium heat stirring.  Bring to boil and then pour into 9 x 11 casserole pan. Slice bread into 1 inch widths and lay over caramel mixture. Mix eggs and milk and vanilla and pour over bread.
Sprinkle top with cinnamon and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate over night.
---
Uncover and bake in 350 degree oven 45 minutes.
Serve with fresh fruit and syrup.

Anything that needs to be baked could also be put in a roaster oven and baked even in a casserole dish.  I did this when my oven didn't work.  It works great.

[supernova]

Oh, but there are so many good period dishes for something like this!

Quiches, or as they called them then, "Ember Day Tarts."  Can be made vegetarian.  Use any quiche recipe you like; my favorite is cheese and mushrooms.  Expect each quiche to serve 8 slices; plan enough for 2 slices per person.

A big beautiful salad of spring greens is very similar to period "sallet," especially if you snip some chives over the top (they used a lot of savory greens in salads), toss with olive oil and vinegar dressing, and decorate with edible flower petals.

Sliced cold roast meats (not lunchmeat from the deli, but some nice roasted turkey breasts and beef roasts) served with a choice of sauces, like mustard and cameline (a sweet sauce made from raisins and meat drippings, and thickened with breadcrumbs).  I know turkey isn't period, but slicing roast chicken is a pain.

Go online to Cariadoc's Miscellany (www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/miscellany.html) for tons and tons of good period food ideas and tested recipes that people like.  As a bonus, Cariadoc is a former King of the Middle, so using his site would be even more appropriate! 

Best of luck with your feast!

     - saphie

[Wordgeek]

And for even easier serving, make the quiches in individual tarts.  Use muffin tins for a mid-sized, deep tart.  Great for quiches!

[Suze]

OK here is the next question for the group

Along with the recipes that we have found and you all have posted here we have a small problem.

We really need to make some dishes VEGAN

And we are not sure how far we can go with ingredients? 
do Vegan's use things like honey, milk, cheese, eggs?  Or are any products that come from a critter not good to use. ok I really should look around before I ask these silly questions, I know the answer to this one now.

Thank you all in advance
Suze

still if you have a good recipe..........

[Mikayla]

Hi.  If it was me, I wouldn't even attempt to "veganize" the dishes I was preparing.  Instead, I'd go for something simple like side dishes.  Blanched green beans is one idea - just boil til tender crisp and saute in olive oil for a few minutes with either lemon juice and sesame seeds, or lemon juice and almond slices.

You can also fry up some potatoes and onions.  If it was me, I'd use half canola oil and half veggie oil (even corn oil).  They're super easy and reheat well, as do the beans.

[Suze]

Well we were not planning on doing the whole brunch vegan.  But I would like to be able to point to some things and say that this is vegetarian and this is vegan. 

We do have a lot of requests at feast for vegetarian and vegan dishes - so I know that if we do several dishes that cover either of those possibilities.  We can make a good showing.

One dish that we have settled on is "Eggs GoldenRod"  (a white sauce with the whites of a hard boiled egg in it served over toast, with the yokes crumbled on top "for pretty")

 See what I mean -  something that we can say is vegetarian.  Not necessarily something to be hid in the kitchen until someone asks for it.

Oh we did find a recipe for "eggs a la Robin Hood" in one of Mom's old cookbooks (1942 vintage)  Take an egg McMuffin and add a tomato slice to it.  We all had a good laugh about that one, I think that one will be on the menu (tomato optional)