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Sisters,

I am in need of all your expertise.  Our ward Christmas party is next Fri. and we are having a pasta bar.  Problem is that we can't seem to find an alfredo sauce recipe that can easily be made for about 100 people.  Oh yeah, the other problem is that the recipes we have found are quite costly to make.  PLEASE save us!  Does anyone have anything good and yet affordable?

Thank You,

Lisa House in Layton, UT

I routinely visit a restaraunt that has a pasta bar - I love it, and have done it for my kids - but don't know how you will do it for 100 - please share what you are doing - remember that everyone won't want Alfredo - a good marinara will substitute - also a cheese sauce - If you have 3 sauces, you probably only need to plan for enough for 40 - 50 (and then you'll have something left over) - share with us what your plans are - I think they are wonderful.  geri

Hi,

I use to own a catering business and my first thought on this is, if you are serving 100 people, you can serve more than one sauce, and if you serve the food buffet style, make sureyou have servers to dole out the proportions so everyone will get through the line at least once, then it's a serve yourself, a red sauce, and a white sauce would cut down the need for serving 100, you figure they get 2 tbs. or so over the pasta, try a white sauce base and add parmesan and garlic to flavor if you need to cut back on your finances! just a few thoughts,

Sisterly, Brandi W. North Calif.

Dear Lisa,

 Here are some ideas which may be useful to you and to others trying  to do a pasta bar for a large group on a budget.

Past experience in co-ordinationg and cooking for both a champion (read: "very hungry!") high school wrestling team's banquet and for two different Christmas dinners serving 80+ each, has taught me a lot.  All these dinners  were successful, had pasta as the main course, and came in on or below budget. The most successful one had a basic red marianara sauce and a green pesto sauce to choose from (we knew about the dinner months in advance and had  made the pesto with basil from our gardens and frozen it).  Whoever ladles it out has to know how much to put on top, or you might not have enough.

 The other successful dinner had trays of different kinds of lasagna and baked ziti to choose from.  They were brought to the church already baked on a staggered schedule by a committee of six women.  This way, the warming ovens could accomidate the pasta and all the food was hot.  The accompaniment to both pasta dinners was a simple salad, & Italian bread.  As I recall, dessert was very simple (Christmas cookies at two of them, vanilla ice cream & brownies at the other).

 If you choose to have different sauces to put on top of pasta, having a basic white cream sauce to which you add some grated parmesan cheese, garlic, and chopped fresh parsely would be a nice touch (a traditional Alfredo sauce for 50+ people would be very expensive).  This time of the year it's hard to get fresh basil for the green pesto sauce, but I've made a delicious "pesto" using dried basil and dried parsley combined with garlic, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and olive oil in a blender.  (Fresh is better).

 Another inexpensive sauce could be a Primavera sauce using cooked green broccoli florettes tossed with olive oil and garlic -- with freshly grated parmesan to put on top.  If this sauce were served as an alternate to the red marinara sauce it would be a very festive table!  Hope these ideas help.   Good luck on Friday!

with hugs from Anne Sheedy in New York City

For 4           For 50            For 100
2 Tbsp.        1/2 cups          3 1/8 cups    butter
2 Tbsp.        1 1/2 c.           3 1/8 c.         flour
2 tsp            1/3 c.              3/4 c.            instant chicken seasoning
1 cup           12 1/2 c.         6 1/4 qts       milk
3-6 Tbsp      3 1/2 c            7 c.              grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp         1 1/2 Tbsp      3 Tbsp          garlic powder

In saucepan, melt butter over low heat.  blend in flour and bouillon.  Add milk, stirring constantly and cook over med. heat until sauce is moderately thick and bubbly.  Add garlic powder.  Remove from heat and  stir in parmesan cheese.  Adjust seasonings.  (if you don't like it very garlicky, add less to start with, and then you can always add more to taste.)  Always easier to add than to take out.

Hope this is what you were looking for!!

Kathy Stentzel in CA