Beef tenderloin, rump roast, whole salmon are all easy.

Thanks, I thought of those too. I would love to do salmon or roast beef.

Prime Rib? Roast turkey or chicken?

I always do a cheese strata as my entree, and then serve fresh asparagus and fresh fruit with poppyseed dressing on the side, and Sister Schubert rolls. For dessert, I make the old bunny cake that was featured on TV when I was a child in the early 1950's.

EVERYONE loves the cheese strata - even my pickiest grandson! It is made ahead of time, the egg half-and-half mixture poured on the night before, and the whole thing allowed to come up to room temp before baking. It could even be baked the day before as it reheats beautifully - even puffing up again. It is just so darned GOOD!

Easy and delicious main course for a buffet luncheon. From “Party

Potpourri”, Memphis Junior League.

8 slices white bread – stale, cut in . inch squares

. stick butter

1 . lb grated cheddar cheese – sharp

6 slightly beaten eggs

2 . cups half-and-half

1 tsp brown sugar – rounded

. tsp paprika

1 TB minced chives

. tsp Coleman’s Dry Mustard

. tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

. tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper powder

Grated Parmesan cheese to put on top - optional

Preheat oven to 300°.

Remove crust from bread. Butter generously, and cut in tiny . inch

squares.

Butter well a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Arrange diced bread on bottom.

Put generous layer of cheese over bread, using half of the cheese, then add

another layer of bread squares. Put remaining grated cheese over second

layer of bread. If using optional Parmesan cheese, sprinkle it over top.

Add remaining ingredients to beaten eggs and blend briefly; pour over

cheese and bread. If half-and-half does not show around edges, add more.

Cover with waxed paper and put dish in plastic bag in refrigerator. Leave in

refrigerator overnight.

Two hours before serving, remove from refrigerator and let stand for .

hour. Set dish in shallow pan of water which comes up no further than .

way. Bake for 1 hour. Leave in oven, heat turned off, for 20 minutes after

done.

Bread and cheese mix mixture can be kept in covered container in

refrigerator as long as one week before being used. The night before

serving, pour egg and half-and-half mixture over and proceed as directed

I usually do a turkey. Sometimes I do dressing like Thanksgiving and sometimes it is picnic sides.

Not exactly Easter-themed, but how about some lasagnas? Add pans of sausage & peppers, some simple baked chicken pieces, a large green salad, and garlic bread.

I would do beef -- either a brisket (baked), roast or beef tenderloin. You can still serve the traditional spring sides of roasted asparagus, your macaroni and cheese, a potato dish, a salad of romaine, strawberries, sliced red onion with a pink poppyseed dressing and a lemon or coconut cake for dessert.

braised beef short ribs.

This isn't a suggestion, since your attendees nearly certainly won't like this either, but years ago Dad finally talked Mom into having rabbit for Easter dinner. I remember it as pretty good.

Does that 18-25 people include the kids or 18-25 adults plus kids?

When I have a crowd like that (it's been a while), I prefer to do more entrees rather than one huge one. Some things can be served cold, like a whole salmon. Or a roast plus a large lasagna. The chicken wings fit here, since kids like them.

Sammy, that's why Mom didn't want to do it. But that one year it was just them, and us two kids... er, children.

Eyes closed, fingers in ears singing "la la la la". Reindeer for Christmas, anyone???

Seagrass, that would be venison, LOL. We did have moose for Christmas this year, is that close enough?

We often have turkey, and once I had duck, but it wasn't a hit with everyone, although I like it. This year we are having both ham (I have a 24 pounder!) and roast beef, roasted rare and sliced paper thin on the slicer so I can easily cook that the day before and reheat. I'm not a huge fan of ham, and much prefer the beef, so the girls can take ham leftovers home and cooked ham can go into the freezer.

Yes, we bought a whole pig locally and asked the processor to cut the hams in half. He didn't, so we have two 24 pound hams, whew. I might actually drag one into a local grocery and see if they'll cut it into ham slices for me...

Personally I love turkey and wouldn't mind having it, but with a whole cow, a whole pig and 3 deer in the freezer, it just wouldn't make much sense.

Thanks for the reminder, though, I plan to make macaroni and cheese as the kids all love it.

Annie

We're doing my home smoked dozen turkey legs and 2 dozen chicken drumsticks - brined on Friday, chilled O/N, smoked on Saturday, fridge O/N, then reheated 2hrs in oven Easter morning and then into crock pots on Warm to drive for the hour and a half to DH's daughter's house. (I didn't feel like spending 2 hours at her house waiting for them to reheat but want to serve them warm at 1:00 when his 20 family members showed up to eat (they bring the boring sides).

One year (20 ago) we had Chinese take-out that was really a lot of fun for little ones who had never or rarely eaten Chinese food. Of course "sword fights" with the chop sticks were a must and fortune cookies then had real future fortunes. One grand kept his that said "You will wear metal on your shirt." He is now in the Army with medals! But to be fair, he's kept all his fortune cookie papers.

And, once, while camping for 3 months in Alaska, we had caribou stew that I just loved. Hard to come by in the lower 48 though.

Whatever you serve, make something totally different than what you would have at a normal meal. Make it a celebration, not "normal" or "traditional" fare!!! Get people talking about the food - it should be FUN, not boring. I've been to too many boring buffet tables at his family's get-together's.

Over the years I've served sides of hot sauerkraut with caraway seeds and cold pickled red cabbage, a huge fruit trifle in a small glass aquarium (new, lined with plastic wrap), a Barbie doll centered cake, eggs baked in phyllo cups and arranged like a tower, Greek lemon chicken soup (avgolemono), oysters on the half shell (grands had never tasted them nor had his 3 daughters), and blue cheese popovers aka Yorkshire Puddings. None of these took inordinate amounts of time, just some imagination.

I'm a traditionalist and Easter dinner is as iconic as Thanksgiving for me. Roasted glazed ham, baked pineapple au gratin, corn pudding, scalloped potatoes, steamed asparagus with hardboiled egg garnish and fresh green beans. Cornbread. Pineapple upside down cake for dessert.

For a spring buffet I like something like pollo tonnato

Poach a chicken and remove the meat from the bone.

Mix tuna, home-made mayo, capers, anchovies, garlic and spread it in the chicken. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with lemon wedges, rice salad, green salad.

I'm doing meatloaf gyros. We will have about 28 or so, many children. I like to change things up when I can and this will be a good time to try. We will host on Saturday before Easter and everyone will partake in their traditional meals on Easter.

Thanks to all for the good suggestions and comments!

Looks like we'll be doing the wings and mac & cheese after all. I realized I have choir on Sunday morning, starting @ 9 am, and don't get back until after 2 pm, so won't have much time to do a ton of cooking on Sunday. I will make corn pudding, tho, and roasted asparagus, and there'll be salad and fresh fruit, along w/ desserts and chocolate and candy. Mom has mobility issues, and her house will be filled w/ visiting relatives, so we're trying to minimize labour & fuss as much as possible.

Haha - rabbit would be ironic, wouldn't it? Sort of reminds me of a friend who has a family tradition of making a beautiful lamb cake and then hacking it to death at the table...

I'm making Chicken Marbella. Way too many people to serve and suits all. No table big enough. So buffet it is. Easy prep ahead in gallon zip-locks for the overnight marinade. I'll get lots of extra legs, extra thighs, and cut the breasts in half. I plan to fill one big sheet tray, serve, then put another in the oven.

Wild rice and sprouted grain with seeds and nuts and maybe dried/soaked cranberries. Big tray of roasted veg and root veg for vegetarians to have with the rice/grain side. Salad.

We will have an all day affair. Actually three days. But I do the main day. And the day after.

Early risers breakfast,- granola, (check, made that), fresh fruit and yogurt. And whatever cereals my parents have...grape nuts, cherrios, wheaties, lol.

Brunch, - Strada, (thanks for that!) with leeks, mixed greens, and asparagus. Probably goat cheese or feta, cherry tomatoes top with parm. I was going to make mini quiche or muffin tin frittatas, but Strada can feed an army in a tall sided sheet pan. Love that it is another prep ahead.

Late Brunch, - 2-3pm, Cedar plank grilled salmon, shrimp/scallop skewers, mini veggie and lamb meatballs. (prep ahead as well.) Charcuterie plates and spring rolls.

Dinner 6pm, - Marbella and sides.

My family have always been 'grazers' and chatters. No point trying to sit down and so many friends and extended family stop by I like to have something on the 'grazing' table.

The extra chicken is fantastic leftovers. Usually something veg/potato to make a hash next morning. We love lamb and all types of expensive cuts of beef, but no need for my family.

It's a four hour drive day before. I can prep just about everything in my own kitchen, then it's just assembly and turn the oven on.

I only have the spring rolls to make and my niece and SIL will no doubt love to learn and help with that.

I'm making a special batch of those pickled mustard seeds to go on crackers and cheese … poor man's caviar

Haha, have you made them yet? Of course that will be on my charcuterie plate, wink. : )

Do please use the yellow seed. My brown/black seed trials have been very bitter.

Give them lots of slow heat to really soak up and plump. I soaked my last batch of seed overnight before the heating process and they are fantastic.

sleevendog, those will go with my ham too. Elery loves them, and my daughter Amanda is a fiend for mustard, she even dunks fries in it instead of catsup, so she's on a par with Elery about those mustard seeds. I've already made my second batch and ordered more seeds!

Carol, that dinner sounds good to me. I've been trying to figure out how to get some asparagus in my menu but here it's so "iffy" as to whether it will be available and how good it is, that I've stuck with green beans, I still have a lot canned from last year's bumper crop.

No lamb cake, but a bunny cake and I'm sure it'll be hacked up, LOL. Gluten free coconut cake, with coconut sprinkled on the frosted bunny to resemble fur.

Annie