Here’s the situation: next week my workplace is going to host an international buffet for students- probably around 75 of them judging by past turnouts. The theme is “Foods from Around the World (but Mostly From Around Here)”- I added the last part. The budget is $200. The person who was overseeing it had to take off due to a family emergency and her mantel has fallen upon me.
Can you recommend international foods that are relatively inexpensive (enough that $200 can give 75 people less than a meal perhaps but more than a taste) and that are relatively easy to prepare (we’re talking crockpots and microwaves and a barbecue grill- our range is busted) but that would represent a reasonable international flavor.
I’m thinking of lamb for the main course- our maintenance man is a Griller Extraordinaire- and maybe some bratwurst and other sausages. Can you think of side dishes or better meat dishes? (Again- this isn’t a sitdown just a buffet and so long as nobody pulls a “Lou Grant with the Veal Prince Olav” it doesn’t have to be a full meal so long as everybody gets ‘heavy appetizer’ portions.)
If you have an electric skillet available, latkes. Potatoes are inexpensive and filling as well as tasty prepared this way. A bit of applesauce and sour cream to top and Bob’s your uncle.
I’d be cooking a fair amount of rice, noodles and pasta, to give filling food reasonably cheaply, but with some finely chopped vegetables and/or meats to add a bit of flavour to them. I’d also be trying hard to make sure that vegetarians had a reasonable variety of food, and that Muslims did not find pork, ham or bacon unexpectedly mixed in with dishes that they might otherwise eat. If it’s a large group of international students, you’ll find some of each of those in the group.
As long as you’re firing up the grill, you could get some vegetables to kebab-ify for pretty cheap. Thick slices of zucchini work pretty well this way (thread them skin-to-skin so the cut side gets the grill marks) and if you sprinkled them with some curry powder you’d get a bit of international flavah. Alternate green zucchini with yellow squash for extra prettiness!
Boil a package of spaghetini in veg soup cubes and water, once boiled remove from water with tongs so the water is still boiling on the stove top.
In the water, blanch some thinly sliced; carrots (matchstick size), celery, snowpeas.
Season the noodles to taste, using soya sauce, chillie sauce, sesame oil, throw in the blanched vegetables and a large package of bean sprouts. Toss. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.
Voila, a mountain of vegetarian Asia noodles that can be served cold or reheated.
Seriously, it makes a ton of food, for very little prep, and will be very warmly received, I promise.
Pretty cheap! You could cook up a ton of falafels for not much.
Now, I just bought this awesome tamale steamer at Walmart for $25. I think I could fit 100 tamales in it. I’m hoping that I can throw a picnic or something so that I can make a 100 tamales and they get eaten. I’m going for jalpeño and jack cheese!
You can cut up some chicken and add various sauces to make it “international”: Chinese sweet and sour, Cuban mojito, Indian tandoori, Jamaican jerk, Japanese teriyaki, Mexican fajita, Thai peanut.
