Why not grill brats and keep them warm in an electric roaster? To be honest, you could also grill burgers and dogs and keep them warm in a roaster also. I have done it many times.
Salads could be a three bean salad, or black beans salsa salad, perhaps a bunch of cut up fruit, macaroni salad.
Have fun at your reunion Karen.

I have a recipe for a BBQ turkey....you could make sandwiches out of it or just serve it on a plate with....say a tossed salad and maybe that blackbean corn tomato thing.

I also have a recipe for a sweet and sour turkey. Cooked cut up turkey or chicken with a sort of sweet and sour orangey tomato sauce.
Or how about lasagna? How many are you cooking for?
Linda C

You could do a tex-mex thing - make your own fajitas & tacos.

I like the idea of a Tex-Mex menu, too. I had family and friends over one summer for a big meal, and that's what we made. We made trays of enchiladas, kept the Spanish rice in a crockpot to keep it warm, and had a big pot of beans on hand. We had chips and 2 different salsa, along with guacamole. We rented a margarita machine (that made everyone happy), with plenty of non-alcoholic drinks for the kids and teetotalers. I can't remember now what we did for dessert, but your guests would be happy with anything sweet, even a few watermelons, sliced up and drizzled with a lime-infused sugar syrup would be nice.

Lori

Approximately how many people are we talking?

Hot dogs and brats can be kept warm in aluminum pans on the grill, in beer or the liquid of your choice, and won't dry out that way. Chicken could be grilled and kept warm the same way, I think, although not for hours. Add a pasta salad, probably not a creamy one given the next day's menu, cookies for dessert, maybe a brownie or bar cookie that could be made by the sheet pan full.

How many people ARE we talking? Too many for corn on the cob?

I also like the mexican buffet idea.

Annie

We are talking about 50-75 people at least. I thought I could fix the pulled pork the day before and just reheat it in a roaster oven.

I want to do as much of the cooking the day before that I can. When we have a large group we do fajitas,hamburgers or brisket most of the time. But it is just so hot to be cooking outside.

We have potatoes and corn from the garden and our second planting of corn may be ready about that time.

Thanks for your ideas and keep 'em coming. I appreciate it.

I would go with the pulled pork...or pulled turkey....and make sides of corn and black bean salad, perhaps an oriental slaw and lots of cut up fruit.
When I have done big meals for the church, I have used those bags of mixed frozen fruit and added lots of fresh melon, watermelon...sometimes berries and sometimes grapes.
A basket of bread and rolls and you are good.
Linda C

My husband's family is not adventurous when it comes to food (boy is that an understatement!). My standard menu when I have all of them around is Honey Baked Ham, asparagus casserole, corn pudding, deviled eggs, and Sister Shubert rolls. Dessert is usually a caramel cake from the bakery.

Not exciting, but they eat every morsel. I tried to add a spinach casserole once and, but for what I ate, it was untouched.