Holiday Event Planning 101

For many people, one of the toughest challenges when planning a party is trying to decide how much food they will need to serve. Unfortunately there is no fool-proof formula to solve this dilemma but, in the end, the answer to this question involves more art than science.
Many factors come into play when you make your plans including the length of your party, the type of food you'll be serving, the composition of men, women and children in your group, and what time of day your event is to be held.
Anticipate which food selections will be most popular and serve more of them than the general portion guidelines suggest and the more choices you offer, the smaller your calculation of individual portion size should be. Another great idea is to add "bulk" items to your menu. For a sit-down dinner have plenty of bread to fill in any hungry spots. When hosting a cocktail party, nuts, olives, pretzels, etc. provide a little extra security that you'll have enough for all but requires no extra work.
Below are basic guidelines for individual serving sizes of various foods. Multiply these estimates by your number of guests and always round up your estimates.

Portion Size Per Person

Hors D'oeuvres
· 6 bites when preceeding a meal.
· 4 - 6 bites per hour when hors d'oeuvres are the meal.
· The longer your party and the larger your guest list, the greater the number of selections you should offer.

The Main Meal
· Poultry, meat or fish - 6 ounces when you have one main dish, 8 ounces when you offer two or more main courses.
· Rice, grains - 1.5 ounces as a side dish, 2 ounces in a main dish such as risotto.
· Potatoes - 5 ounces
· Vegetables - 4 ounces
· Beans - 2 ounces as a side dish
· Pasta - 2 ounces for a side dish, 3 ounces for a first course, 4 ounces for a main dish
· Green Salad - 1 ounce undressed weight

Desserts
· 1 slice cake, tart or pastry
· 4 ounces creamy dessert such as pudding or mousse
· 5 ounces ice cream
· When serving two of the above, reduce each by a little less than half.

A Few Other Menu Planning Tips
· Don't repeat a main ingredient. For example, don't serve a shrimp appetizer and shrimp main dish.
· Consider the colors of the food that will be served together and make sure there is variety.
· Offer both hot and cold foods on a buffet.
· Mix textures such as a crisp potato’s served with a soft vegetable as side dishes.