Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people and are
wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while we serve all 200
people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook all the pasta ahead of
time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook individual batches, it will take
forever.

Welcome your suggestions!

Thanks.

Kellielabs wrote:
> Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people
> and are wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while
> we serve all 200 people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook
> all the pasta ahead of time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook
> individual batches, it will take forever.

Presumably you will have multiple large pots. Cook the pasta
beforehand to just short of doneness. Drain and reserve. As people
come in, finish batches of pasta by returning it to vigorously boiling
water for a minute while stirring well. Won't be quite perfect, but it
works well enough for your purposes. -aem

On Thu 31 Mar 2005 12:22:13p, Kellielabs wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people and
> are wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while we serve
> all 200 people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook all the pasta
> ahead of time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook individual batches,
> it will take forever.
>
> Welcome your suggestions!
>
> Thanks.

Dunno about 200 people, but one Italian I used to go to precooked most of
their spaghetti, then gave required portions of it a brief bath in boiling
water just before serving. The only spaghetti they cook from the start when
ordered was for those who ordered "al dente".

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

Kellielabs wrote:
> Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people and are
> wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while we serve all 200
> people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook all the pasta ahead of
> time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook individual batches, it will take
> forever.
>
> Welcome your suggestions!
>
> Thanks.
>
>

Oven warmed. Not the best. Prefer the same method as others have mentioned.


jim

"aem" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Kellielabs wrote:
> > Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people
> > and are wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while
> > we serve all 200 people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook
> > all the pasta ahead of time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook
> > individual batches, it will take forever.
>
> Presumably you will have multiple large pots. Cook the pasta
> beforehand to just short of doneness. Drain and reserve. As people
> come in, finish batches of pasta by returning it to vigorously boiling
> water for a minute while stirring well. Won't be quite perfect, but it
> works well enough for your purposes. -aem
>
Or leave it in a large strainer in the pot in the still hot water; it will
finish cooking. Pull up the strainer when it's time to serve and top with
sauce. Might be helpful to have sort of a production-line thing where one
person dishes up the pasta and passes the plate; the next puts on the sauce,
the third adds some salad greens, the fourth adds a slice of bread and there
you go.

Or they could always rent those huge covered chafing dishes and mix all the
cooked pasta with the sauce and leave them on warm and let people serve
themselves.

Jill

"aem" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Kellielabs wrote:
> > Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people
> > and are wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while
> > we serve all 200 people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook
> > all the pasta ahead of time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook
> > individual batches, it will take forever.
>
> Presumably you will have multiple large pots. Cook the pasta
> beforehand to just short of doneness. Drain and reserve. As people
> come in, finish batches of pasta by returning it to vigorously boiling
> water for a minute while stirring well. Won't be quite perfect, but it
> works well enough for your purposes. -aem
>
Or leave it in a large strainer in the pot in the still hot water; it will
finish cooking. Pull up the strainer when it's time to serve and top with
sauce. Might be helpful to have sort of a production-line thing where one
person dishes up the pasta and passes the plate; the next puts on the sauce,
the third adds some salad greens, the fourth adds a slice of bread and there
you go.

Or they could always rent those huge covered chafing dishes and mix all the
cooked pasta with the sauce and leave them on warm and let people serve
themselves.

Jill

"JimLane" > wrote in message
...
> Kellielabs wrote:
> > Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people and
are
> > wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while we serve all
200
> > people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook all the pasta ahead
of
> > time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook individual batches, it will
take
> > forever.
> >
> > Welcome your suggestions!

What about putting the pasta in a huge pot in a colander with hot water
beneath.

I dunno, just a thought.

Elaine

In article t>,
"Kellielabs" > wrote:

> Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people
> and are wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while
> we serve all 200 people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook
> all the pasta ahead of time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook
> individual batches, it will take forever.

> Welcome your suggestions!
>
> Thanks.

I cooked for about three or four such events when I was Mrs. Church Lady
(before they kicked me out of the church). Sauce was prepared early in
the week--no problem there. On the day of the dinner, I'd start cooking
the noodles an hour or so before meal time, drain them, pour a bit of
salad oil over them and mix, and put them in a large, covered
roaster-type pan in a 200 degree oven. When it's serving time, they
shouldn't stick together much, if at all. I do believe that this is
more efficient than dunking them in boiling water to heat just before
serving -- personally, I hate wet noodles under the sauce.

My fifty cents' worth.

Make some serious calculations about the amount of uncooked noodles
you'll need and what your serving portions will be. Do a test run --
cook two ounces and see what it looks like when it's drained. If you're
going to use one of those prongy spaghetti server thingies, see how many
scoopsful you need to achieve your desired serving. Make sure whomever
is slinging noodles stays at that amount and don't offer seconds until
everyone has been served once. Even the pastor/priest/vicar can wait
her or his turn. "-)

Here's the recipe I used to use; I believe it was originally a Betty
Crocker recipe that I increased for the dinners:

"Oodles of Noodles" Spaghetti Supper Sauce
4# lean ground beef
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 quarts canned tomatoes
3 quarts tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2-4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tsp ground black pepper

Cook and stir meat, onion, green pepper, and garlic in large heavy
kettle (8-12 quart capacity). When meat is browned, add tomatoes,
sauce, and remainder of ignredients; stir. Bring to boil; reduce heat
and simmer, uncovered, 3-4 hours to desired consistency. Stir
frequently to prevent sticking. Sauce may be used immediately or
divided and frozen for future use. Yield 24-30 servings, approximately
2/3 cup sauce per serving.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Arizona vacation pics added 3-24-05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

Kellielabs wrote:
>
> Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people and are
> wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while we serve all 200
> people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook all the pasta ahead of
> time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook individual batches, it will take
> forever.
>
> Welcome your suggestions!
>
> Thanks.

Have all the pasta cooked and mixed with the sauce by 5 pm. Keep it warm
in an oven in the foil serving dishes that come with the wire frames and
cans of gel fuel. When serving begins transfer the foil dishes to the
frames and light the gel fuel.

"Kellielabs" > wrote in message
k.net...
> Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people and
> are wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while we serve
> all 200 people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook all the pasta
> ahead of time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook individual batches, it
> will take forever.
>
> Welcome your suggestions!
>
> Thanks.

When I used to waitress in college, they would cook the pasta and then put
it into huge glass jars (I mean huge, think big, big pickle jars) with oil
and put it in the walk-in cooler. When they needed pasta, they just dunked
it quickly into boiling water.

Elisa
>

>Or leave it in a large strainer in the pot in the still hot water; it
will
>finish cooking.

Oh it'll finish cooking all right. You do know how much hotter steam
is than boiling water? It will be a pile of congealed mush in seconds.
Cook the pasta to al dente, rinse it (yes...rinse it) and drain
thoroughly. Toss with oil to keep it separate, or better yet toss with
hot sauce. The pasta can be room temp provided you are serving
quickly. Ladel the hot sauce on top and it heats the pasta along with
it. No mush, no fuss.

Doesn't the oil keep the sauce from adhering to the pasta??

Kellielabs wrote:
> Help. We're doing a spaghetti supper for church for about 200 people
and are
> wondering how to cook the pasta and then keep it warm while we serve
all 200
> people. We'll serve from 5 to 6:30 P.M. If we cook all the pasta
ahead of
> time, it will get cold. If we wait to cook individual batches, it
will take
> forever.

You don't indicate your cooking facility, you pretty much need a
commercial kitchen for that quantity

What you need are a few really large pots, one for the sauce and a
couple for the pasta, cook the pasta in two batches and stagger the
cooking by about a half hour. It would be nice if you had a steam
table, but a double boiler can be improvized with one large pot inside
an even larger one. Coat the pasta with a little olive oil and it will
keep quite well in the double boiler. The most difficult part is
serving spaghetti... a baked pasta dish is so much less cumbersome.

This recipe is for 100 portions, I'd triple, perhaps quadruple it to
feed 200, but you know your customers... if there are a lot of women
and children cut back.

http://206.39.201.109/docs/recipe/L03801.pdf

Sheldon

Food For Thought wrote:
>> Or leave it in a large strainer in the pot in the still hot water;
>> it will finish cooking.
>
> Oh it'll finish cooking all right. You do know how much hotter steam
> is than boiling water? It will be a pile of congealed mush in
> seconds.

Funny, we always did it this way in the restaurant and it wasn't a pile of
congealed mush.

Cook the pasta to al dente, rinse it (yes...rinse it) and
> drain thoroughly. Toss with oil to keep it separate, or better yet
> toss with hot sauce. The pasta can be room temp provided you are
> serving quickly. Ladel the hot sauce on top and it heats the pasta
> along with it. No mush, no fuss.

Foo, if you're gonna toss it with oil might as well throw in basil, garlic
and pignolis - pesto rather than a red sauce.

Jill

Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
>I cooked for about three or four such events when I was Mrs. Church Lady
>(before they kicked me out of the church).

I'll bet that's quite a story in it's own right <G>

In article >, x-no-archive: yes
wrote:

> Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
> >I cooked for about three or four such events when I was Mrs. Church Lady
> >(before they kicked me out of the church).
>
> I'll bet that's quite a story in it's own right <G>

I have emailed it to you.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Arizona vacation pics added 3-24-05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

In article .com>,
" > wrote:

> Doesn't the oil keep the sauce from adhering to the pasta??
>
Not in my experience. We're not talking about a lot of oil or
necessarily coating every noodle -- it's a very light amount.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Arizona vacation pics added 3-24-05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

jmcquown wrote:

> Foo, if you're gonna toss it with oil might as well throw in basil, garlic
> and pignolis - pesto rather than a red sauce.


Yup...and give the folx a choice of pasta - regular red sauce and a non -
red option...

What's on the rest of the OP's menu I wonder...???

--
Best
Greg

In article et>,
"Gregory Morrow"
<gregorymorrowEMERGENCYCANCELLATIONARCHIMEDES@eart hlink.net> wrote:

> jmcquown wrote:
>
> > Foo, if you're gonna toss it with oil might as well throw in basil,
> > garlic and pignolis - pesto rather than a red sauce.

> Yup...and give the folx a choice of pasta - regular red sauce and a non -
> red option...

Oh no you don't! The objective is to feed them and feed them quickly so
the program can start, be, and be done. Two choices: Take it or leave
it. And I'll bet the rest of the menu is a tossed green salad, bread
(maybe garlic, maybe not), and spumoni ice cream. :-) No one mistakes
these things for high culinary adventure.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Arizona vacation pics added 3-24-05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article et>,
> "Gregory Morrow"
> <gregorymorrowEMERGENCYCANCELLATIONARCHIMEDES@eart hlink.net> wrote:
>
> > jmcquown wrote:
> >
> > > Foo, if you're gonna toss it with oil might as well throw in
basil,
> > > garlic and pignolis - pesto rather than a red sauce.
>
> > Yup...and give the folx a choice of pasta - regular red sauce and a
non -
> > red option...
>
> Oh no you don't! The objective is to feed them and feed them quickly
so
> the program can start, be, and be done. Two choices: Take it or
leave
> it. And I'll bet the rest of the menu is a tossed green salad,
bread
> (maybe garlic, maybe not), and spumoni ice cream. :-) No one
mistakes
> these things for high culinary adventure.
> --
> -Barb

Yup, yup... country folks call it a "Church Feed"... wanna dress up the
pisghetti experience serve highbrow cocktail sammiches too, balogna n'
yallah 'merican on wonder white with yallah mustid and mayo.

Sheldon

Food For Thought wrote:

>You do know how much hotter steam is than boiling water?

steam isn't hotter than boiling water.

A.C. wrote:
> Food For Thought wrote:
>
>
>>You do know how much hotter steam is than boiling water?
>
>
> steam isn't hotter than boiling water.
>
>

Do you know how much thermal energy is in live steam? ;P

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> In article et>,
> "Gregory Morrow"
> <gregorymorrowEMERGENCYCANCELLATIONARCHIMEDES@eart hlink.net> wrote:
>
> > jmcquown wrote:
> >
> > > Foo, if you're gonna toss it with oil might as well throw in basil,
> > > garlic and pignolis - pesto rather than a red sauce.
>
> > Yup...and give the folx a choice of pasta - regular red sauce and a
non -
> > red option...
>
> Oh no you don't! The objective is to feed them and feed them quickly so
> the program can start, be, and be done. Two choices: Take it or leave
> it. And I'll bet the rest of the menu is a tossed green salad, bread
> (maybe garlic, maybe not), and spumoni ice cream. :-) No one mistakes
> these things for high culinary adventure.


This is true...a whiles back I re - visited my old Methodist church, the big
kitchen in the basement is *exactly* as it was 40 years ago...they still do
wakes and wedding receptions and after - church dinners...man they can do
institutional cooking like nobody's bizness.

How many chili suppers and sloppy joe suppers did we have there over the
years I wonder...???

Also my mom gave me a big bunch of those spiral - bound church cookbooks,
many are from our Norwegian relatives in northern Iowa c. 1965...I'm sure
Barb you would be familiar with most of the recipes :-)

--
Best
Greg