Soup party menu for 20 on a chilly evening on Kauai

C

CathyZ

Well-known member
It was a dark and stormy evening yesterday...we had about six inches of rain in a couple hours and who knows how much more on top of that throughout the day. I was afraid guests would cancel but they all came. We had the gas fireplace on and it was a wonderful evening. I made parts of the menu throughout the week as I work two jobs- and I pulled all the parts together yesterday. I set up a buffet and left the pots of soups on the stove for self-service. Most everyone came back and tried all four soups throughout the evening. it was great fun to watch the ladling going on. Here is the menu;

Soup Party for 20

Corn and Potato Chowder

Cathy Z's Minestrone

Greek Avgolemono (Evelyn in Athens' recipe)

Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

Caesar Salad (homemade dressing and homemade croutons)

Green Salad with Papaya Seed Dressing (homemade)

Homemade Crackers

Corn Bread

Whole Grain Bread

Fudge-Topped Brownies (recipe from Cyn)

German Apple Bundt Cake

Creamy Lemon Pie

 
Perfect timing, Cathy. It's maple syrup time here, and after a day outside

collecting and boiling sap, we all come inside for a warm dinner by the fireplace to take away the chill. There is always one weekend where a large group spends a day gathering the sap and stoking the fire in the sugar shack. We traditionally have large mugs of steaming soup for the whole group. Thanks for some great menu ideas. (By the way, a chilly evening here is quite different from a chilly evening on Kauai!)

 
What a yummy-sounding menu! Have to smile at your turning on the gas fireplace, but I'm sure that

was done merely to add to the ambience of your evening. Smile. In truth, soups naturally go hand-in-hand with cooler weather!

 
Right wigs- but it was so humid the fireplace actually helped dry the room out.

Nobody thinks of Hawaii as the "fireplace state" but where we live it rains so much that it does come in handy from time to time. No insulation in walls in most homes either. We're spoiled by the most-of-the-time perfect temps for sure but once in a while it gets chilly.

You really would have been amused that some of the guests were standing right in front of the fire warming themselves. Standing in shorts, bare feet and short-sleeved shirts, I might add.

It was so humid yesterday that there was condensation on our wood floors.

Believe me I appreciate the usually great weather...especially coming from my home state of Minnesota!

 
C, what you say the cost ratio was for a soup dinner versus your last shindig?

No real $$dollars, but guesstimate ratio on what it cost you to entertain 20 folks with soup/bread rather than what you spent on the full meat entrees with veggies/carbs/bread etc that you showed us photos of.

I only ask because of your catering background. I believe you could convince a lot of folks that they can still entertain without it costing an arm and a leg.

 
And I ask...

Who? would not show up when the CathyZ is cooking???

It sounds faboulous.

Dark and stormy nights aside...

(although we are currently a balmy 75F in the 'nati. Blizzard to follow next week.)

 
It was a very reasonably-priced shindig, Marilyn. Yes, you can entertain on a shoestring

and still wow 'em. I would say this party cost much less then HALF- maybe even 3/4 less than the last shindig. Seriously folks, think about having a soup/salad party and choose recipes wisely. This party was NOTHING compared to our last one in cost.

 
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