Cooking for 30... 40... do I hear 50?

A few months ago I learned that part of my husband's role in his fraternal lodge was to prepare meals once per month for 20-30 guys for the next year. Since I enjoy cooking I was happy to tell him that I would help him each month. Since we've begun cooking, we hit the all-time high number of attendees of 45 people this month. This makes me smile because I like to (arrogantly) think that the word has gotten out that the meals are worth attending!

We didn't make these but this is what ours look like...
plus chocolate chips. I'm drooling now.

The first meal that we made was easy - chicken, sauteed green beans, roasted rosemary red potatoes, and ice cream with hot fudge. It was a rousing success! The appreciative faces popping in the door thanking us inspired us to "up the game" for the next meal.

The next meal was inspired by our wedding meal. It was baked spiral ham, roasted maple and thyme root veggies, and homemade apple crisp. Again, a huge success!

Apparently around Thanksgiving the tradition is to have baked scallop casserole by one of the members so we got off easy that month preparing only the side dishes of roasted garlic asparagus, salad, and pie.

For the meal approaching Christmas we decided to make something un-Christmas-like since we figured everyone would have their fill of turkey and all of the fixings. We made homemade turkey and veggie lasagna with salad and deep dish brownies with ice cream and hot fudge. I made so much lasagna that I thought for sure we would have some to take home... but by the time the meal was done and everyone had their fill, there were only a few pieces left which I packed up (as we always do) for the wife of a member that has washed all of the linens every month for 30-40+ years.

In January we tried a new item that I'd never made in large quantities before - maple dijon pork tenderloin, apple sauce, green beans, salad, and roasted potatoes with... deep dish brownies (it's an easy fall back when short on time). I thought the fellas were going to knock each other over coming through the door to refill their plates and I had to act fast to even feed the kitchen staff.

This isn't our soup but ours looked just like it. YUM!

Also in January we made another meal for a separate meeting - Portuguese kale and linguica soup (loaded with veggies), rolls, salad, and ice cream with hot fudge. We made five gallons of it and thought is was waaaaaaay too much but by the time everyone left with a to-go container (they were lined up at the door to get their cups!) we ended up with only a half gallon left. Amazing!

Now it's time to think of what to do in three weeks for the next regular meeting. It's getting harder to be creative and not duplicate anything (except dessert... deep dish brownies are always worth repeating!). I admit that I've grown accustomed to the accolades and don't want to let them down!

The other fun thing is that we can feed this many people a fabulous meal without breaking the bank! It's usually around $150 for the fixings at BJ's (a club warehouse with really nice meats and veggies) and I think that's pretty good!

The rumor is that Andy will be voted into the same position for next year because the food has been so amazing. I don't think it's that amazing... it's how we cook at home but just on a larger scale. I really enjoy it and Andy and I both get great satisfaction from not only the kind words but the greatest compliments of all - when the come back for seconds (and sometimes thirds) and when they swing by the kitchen on their way out to see if there is anything left over that they can take home. That makes me happy!