I need to think a bit....and figure amounts etc....but if the labor is free......you should be able to put on a very VERY elegant meal, without alcohol for $5 a head. If you will include a bar and wine....more of course but...no where near $35!
I am thinking of things like Whole beef filet, grilled off site and served room temp, sliced thinley, beautiful salad, shrimp, perhaps a chaffer of something like mushrooms and cauliflower and perhaps red peppers in a sherry cream sauce....home made brioche rolls and assorted bars, mini pastrys etc for dessert. Perhaps a wild rice pilaf....with pecans and dried apricots...or maybe a coconut shrimp with...maybe mangos?
First you need to see how much help you have then what the facilities are.
Sounds like fun!!
Linda C

What fun!

I was seriously involved in the show horse world (and local Hunt Club) for many years - my first question is which club and details on the show! You never know, it may entice me into a road trip to come spectate.

A couple questions about the event location. Are you in a building or is this a tent party? What sort of cooking facilities are there or are you doing all steam trays and chafing dishes?

I recently did an event where most of the protein (pork shoulder and burgers) was donated by a local organic farmer in exchange for advertising, could you approach local veggie farmers or meat producers to provide some of the ingredients? That will definitely help off set the costs. Even a local caterer may donate preparation time for advertising too. What about local vineyards or restaurants donating beverages (alcoholic or non).

I will certainly be checking back in - your event sounds like great fun!

Alexa

For years I was on the executive of a yacht club that put on many, many dinners for the members and friends. Generally we did it ourselves, without the help of caterers but much depends on the number of people you have that will actually "work" at the event.

Also matters what type of mood you wish to create. My best advice is to decide on a "theme" and "mood". From there you can decide on menu, decorations etc. You also need to decide how much work the members actually want to do themselves and receive a commitment. Form a committee now, you need to be thinking preparation, budget, theme, decorating , cooking , serving, and clean up!

It's not all that difficult just needs to be approached as a business problem!

My first thought is it buffet or plated?

For many years I was the chairman of the Food Committee for our annual community gala and I also catered our DDs wedding (350 people) and have helped numerous friends with their similar events.

You don't say where you are and that does make a difference as to cost -- where we are you can get a hot plate dinner out for less than $10 (salad, meat, vegetable, potato and bread or roll) and often drinks are $3 or less -- the "better" places charge $5!

When I worked on the Gala food committee which was a buffet dinner, we found that most casseroles (after the first few have went through) look like a dog's breakfast so we shied away from them. We always did a steamship round (we like our meat here) served with BBQ and horseradish sauce (usually) and then we did another meat dish (either fish or pork or chicken -- whole pieces not a casserole type dish), one starch (usually potatoes because we are after all a meat and potatoes type of area) and then we usually did 3 to 4 vegetables/salads.

We often used vegetable salads (i.e. broccoli salad, corn salad, etc.) for they ARE vegetables but you don't have to worry about chafing dishes and keeping them hot as you do with vegetables. And the last spoonful is as good as the first one because there are no heat lamps to lessen the quality of the dish.

One potato dish that we used a lot was "make ahead mashed potatoes" -- easy and oh so good -- 5 pounds of potatoes cooked (and if you use the little red ones you don't have to peel), 8 ounces cream cheese, 8 ounces sour cream and a stick of butter -- salt and pepper to taste. Mash the potatoes, add the cheese and sour cream and butter and stir until it is incorporated. Then you can go "fancy" -- add garlic and/or rosemary, add Parmesan cheese, add bleu cheese or do "the works" (cheddar, green onion, bacon) . Put it in a buttered casserole, cover and refrigerate for as long as overnight. Heat at 350 until they're heated through. And if they need to stay in the oven a little longer, turn it down, they'll hold for a long time.

One of our favorite salad recipes is a broccoli salad that is super easy -- broccoli crowns cut into manageable pieces, a container of cherry or grape tomatoes halved, and a bottle of your favorite Italian dressing. Pour over vegetables. Salt and pepper to taste. It, too, can be made ahead and can sit overnight. Everyone seems to like it.

I'm just being curious,. . . what does a 'Hunt Club' hunt?

A hunt club hunts foxes.....presumably.

I would agree with Linda - especially if they are running a Horse Show.

Alexa

Yes, fox. We have quite a few hunt clubs in Connecticut. Here's a link to our local Mystic Valley Hunt Club for an idea of their activities. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy's equestrian team is part of MVHC.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: Mystic Valley Hunt Club

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Yes, the Hunt Club hunts foxes. Or more strictly speaking they get dressed up and ride across beautiful countryside following the hounds which supposedly are following the scent of foxes. I've never ridden on any of the hunts, but I go to most of the tailgate brunches after them. :-)

The facility is a large indoor horse arena that has a 25 foot wide by 150 foot long (or so) spectator area alongside the riding ring in the arena, which is where the dinner will be held.

There is electric in the arena, but I'm pretty sure there are no cooking facilities. (A group that sets up a food booth at most shows there usually brings their own portable, propane-fired range.)

I'm starting to like the idea of some sort of roast beef as the main course, although what cut, and whether it would be served hot or cold and how best to cook it remains to be determined. One thought I had based on reading postings here from dcarch and FOAS, was to sous vide an eye of round roast however I have exactly zero experience with that.

This Wednesday I'm going to test cook an eye of round using the low-and-slow roast method to see whether the results might be acceptable.

I also like the idea of approaching local farms for free (or even reduced price) in exchange for advertising. There is a relatively new organic farm less than 3 miles from the arena, that sells poultry, pork and beef. The owners might even be members of the Hunt.

I think a buffet might be easier to manage, and I think we should be able to recruit people to help out: tending the bar, maybe passing hors d'oeuvre platters, and maybe even helping cook some of the food or desserts.

Thanks again for the suggestions so far. Keep them coming! I'll check back in frequently as the date nears.

-Bob in Cville

P.S. Here's a photo I took of a couple of fox cubs at a recent horse show:

"----One thought I had based on reading postings here from dcarch and FOAS, was to sous vide an eye of round roast ---"

Sous vide meat dishes works great for large parties. You can time the serving with hot dish much better, without having to worry about overcooking.

You can cook a large quantity ahead of time.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: hot tub sous vide

Wondering how you would cook an eye of the round, sous vide for 150 and serve it easily and quickly?
If you could find servers, a giant roast turkey, several whole beef sirloin roasts, several pork loins....all sliced and served at a buffet....
Baked potatoes and all the fixins...sour cream, butter, shredded cheese, chopped cooked broccoli, bacon bits...
huge salad....already dressed....with add ons to add...
2 vegetables....chunks of French bread....and an assortment of bars, cookies mini cup cakes and other finger foods...
Coffee, tea....and a bar. Cheese and perhaps sliced cold sausage type meats.

Posted by LindaC "--Wondering how you would cook an eye of the round, sous vide for 150 and serve it easily and quickly? ---"

Good question.

1. Before the party, this can be done months before the party, sous vide prepare eye of the round the regular way.

2. Slice meat to serving portions, bag and freeze.

3. Continue until you have sous vided enough meat for 150 guests, with estimated portions done in rare, medium rare, medium, and medium well.

4. Make enough sauce/gravy and freeze.

Now you are all ready for the party, days before.

An hour before the party:

1. Put all the frozen bags of meat in the bath tub, or large garbage container.

2. Pour hot water to cover all the bags and measure to make sure that the water is about 125 F. Add more hot water as required.

3. Heat up the sauce/gravy.

4. It does not matter when exactly the meat is served. The meat can never be overcooked.

The meat will be hot with hot sauce, done perfectly for all, and served to all in a reasonable amount of time.

Actually, you can plan to have salmon, chicken to be served hot at the same time, all sous vided.

dcarch

So, are the foxes that are 'hunted'. Slaughtered and
eaten? (no I am not a PETA member), I just don't like
for wildlife to be slaughtered for just 'sport'.
(and yes, I used to hunt wildlife).

This should answer your questions about fox hunting in the U.S.

/t

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ

Traditionally the fox is chased by the hounds and the riders until it is cornered and killed by the dogs. But I think we now do a "scent chase"...someone goes before and drags a scented sack along the ground and the hounds chase that....and the horses and riders chase the hounds.

1. Before the party, this can be done months before the party, sous vide prepare eye of the round the regular way.

Dcarch to be honest if I was paying $35.00 a head or more I would want fresh cooked meat not meat that had been cooked months in advance.

He is in Charlottesville, VA which I am very familiar with. Have you ever been to Horton's winery? Nice wine and very, very nice people. They would help you out I bet.

dixiedog, I can understand your thinking. However, if it is done correctly, you will not be able to tell the difference. The end result will be much better than eating cold steak.

It is a common practice for many high-end restaurants to sous vide cook steaks ahead of time.

dcarch

Here is a three-months old rack of lamb, nice and hot, still medium rare.

I imagine that a "high end restaurant" would not be serving sous vide prime rib dinner to 150 all at once in a venue without cooking facilities. Likely they would provide carved on the spot baron of beef, or boneless pork loin, kept warm in a roaster until put on the craving board....and salmon on a bed of ice.

lbpod: The FAQ that triciae posted seems pretty close to the mark. The riders follow the hounds, the hounds do chase actual live wild foxes, but rarely, if ever, do the hounds catch or kill a fox.

dixiedog: I've not been to Horton's winery. There are about 30 wineries in the area, and I've only been to 6 or 7 of them and have sampled wine from only a couple more.

dcarch: I loved the video of the hot tub sous vided hog. I have a hot tub, however its maximum temperature is 104 deg F, so that probably wouldn't work. One question though: what is it about the sous vide process that allows it to be safe even though the food stays in the "danger zone" of 41 deg F - 135 deg F for lengthy periods of time? At first glance it seems it would be a great technique for careful temperature controlled incubation of various bacterial fauna. :-)

-Bob

LindaC, that is just specifically to answer your question regarding how the sous vide method can be used to service 150 in Bob's situation, which as I understand, is not going to take place in a high end restaurant.

Bob, low temperature cooking safety is an important issue. Without going into too much exact numbers, bascially:

1. Keep everything clean.
2. Safety cooking temperature is time dependent, the longer the cooking time, the lower the temperature you can use. (there are charts you can use)
3. Quality beef is clean inside.
4. After cooking clean the outside of the meat using high heat (grilling)
5. Immediate cooling if food is not to be served soon.

dcarch

Information about the safety concerns of sous vide cooking...in the link.
And of course these concerns are multiplied many times over when the cooking is done by those new at the process and for a large group.
When I cook for a lot of people, I am many times more careful about cross contamination, safe temperatures and cleanliness than I am for just my family or a couple of good friends.

Here is a link that might be useful: sous vide info

As with any topic, it is important to check your information resources.

I am not sure the link LindaC provided is most current or authoritative. It even contradicts itself:

Opening statement in one paragraph:

"----Sous vide is a new and largely untested method of cooking. It carries many inherit health risks that may not be fully understood.---"

Then:

"----Sous vide was first used in kitchens in France in the 1970s and traditionally is the process of cooking vacuum sealed food in a low temperature water bath. This process helps to achieve texture and doneness not found in other cooking techniques. Sous Vide has slowly been spreading around the world in professional kitchens everywhere and is finally making the jump to home kitchens.----"

IMHO, correct sous vide cooking is safer then poking around with your thermometer, or watching the silly plastic thing to pop up in your roast chicken, or "If you touch the meat and it bounces back, then it is cooked".

dcarch

Bob - Based on my personal experience, I wouldn't use dinner for 150 as my first experiment with sous vide as a "cooking" method. While I'm still in the experimental phase - and I've had enough recent successes to keep my interest up - overall I've had more failures. As a reheating method, maybe.

dcarch -

2. Safety cooking temperature is time dependent, the longer the cooking time, the lower the temperature you can use. (there are charts you can use)

Those charts that you refer do, do you know of anything published online that's more extensive than Douglas Baldwin's charts? I'm trying to figure out how long to "cook" chicken at room temperature before it's safe to eat.

3. Quality beef is clean inside.

Question: What do you mean by "quality" garlic beef?

(j/k on both counts - though I really am curious about other charts.)

Tricia - Thanks for the link. I never assumed "hunting for fox" meant killing the fox, at least not in my neck of the woods, any more than there being death involved when the neighborhood kids play man-hunt. But you've confirmed that. Coincidentally, within the past couple days I saw a news clip where there are fox brazenly tormenting a suburban neighborhood and it's been going on for quite some time. I was wondering why nobody shot them until the reporter noted that harming fox is illegal in New York State.

FOAS, Actually I have not referred to any charts for a while. I don't cook too many meats rare, mostly medium rare and medium. So I don't need to go too close to the danger zones.

Mostly when I have doubts, I just go to various forums and post the question.

For instance, I just bought some really nice looking short rib chuck boneless. Well, I have done short ribs many times, but not short rib chuck boneless. So I posted the question, and I got three answers so far:

1. 16 hours at 56c

2. 45 hours at 55.6 followed by a quick sear and they are perfect

3. I use them all the time in Momofuku's 48 hours short ribs. These are done at 60C for 48 hours.

dcarch

Sorry for not checking back in sooner. The person who was organizing contacted the caterers who did her reception a few months earlier, and they agreed to prepare the main courses, and sides for something like $14/person. The organizer also arranged for a great price for wine from the winery that is literally right across the street from her. So my role has be greatly diminished (thankfully).

I am on the hook for making some of the appetizers and helping set up the tables. I will be making my stuffed mushroom caps and a large batch of cold cucumber yogurt soup. The party is this weekend, and I'll post a followup after it is over.