When my whole family comes home I always at least 2 meats, one a 10-14 lb roast which now days I have to order from the butcher a couple of weeks early. The other is usually something easy that the men fix - barbequed ribs- it keeps them all together and talking and keeps them outside out of the way. About 20-30 lbs of ribs.
A cold slaw made a couple days earlier, and a fruit salad made the night before. Mashed potatoes and canned yams both made the day before. The mashed potatoes are put back into baked potato shells to be heated in the oven and the yams are in a casserole dishs, one with marshmellows and one without. Fresh rolls. Gravy .Green peas with tiny onions, green beans, black-eyed peas, baked beans, then desserts. Usually family members bring cakes and pies.
It's a very plain, basic menu, but I don't do well with a complicated one with that many people. And, since we retired and downsized I can no longer put up enough tables to have a sit-down dinner for 40, so it is a buffet and people eat where they can. It was much nicer when I could have tables for everyone.
Last edited by TanyaL; 10-18-2012 at 07:43 AM.