Dinner for 37 with no plan – Savannah themed meal

Ok, so McNack’s is always ‘preaching’ about how to prepare in advance for a big party and that without adequate preparation, who knows what will happen.

Well, I’ve been just a wee bit busy and realized that I committed to dinner for what was going to be 37 people at my house in less than 48 hours and I had no real plan. I definitely voluntarily invited my daughter’s Girl Scout Troop and their families to dinner and I wanted to do this. But, well, then life happened.

I also committed to making the theme of the meal “Savannah” as this is the year we take the girls to see the home of Juliet Gordon Lowe in Savannah (she’s the founder of the Girl Scouts). Hmm!? Now what?

First things first – I needed a menu. It was both kids and adults so I needed to be very kid friendly. So here is what I decided:

Savannah Themed Meal

Kids Menu:

Fried Chicken (plan was order from Chick-fil-a, see below for reality)

Macaroni and Cheese

Fruit (strawberries and grapes)

Chips

and whatever they want off the ‘adult’ menu

Adult Menu:

Homemade Pimento Cheese

Grilled Spicy Shrimp

Fried Green Tomatoes

Deviled Eggs

Cilantro Slaw

Sautéed Greens with Sausage

Desserts (I reached out to the parents who offered to help… when you need it, use it! Nothing wrong with that!) We had peach cobbler, a dessert bar one of the mom’s used to make when she lived in Savannah, brownies and cookies. Thanks ladies!!

An assortment of kid friendly and adult friendly beverages. Thanks again for those who helped in this arena too!!

The Last Minute Plan:

The good thing is nothing I was making was that difficult, it was just a lot. I went to the stores (all of them) the day before and reached out for help on the desserts. I went to order the nuggets from Chick-fil-a when it dawned on me the party was on Sunday! OMG! Now what? I love that Chick-fil-a is not open on Sunday but I was in a bind. While I was freaking out on my way to my car at my local grocer (Publix), the boy helping me out suggested I check with their deli. Duh!! Thanks! That worked out great.

I went ahead and made the pimento cheese and slaw, cut the fruit, sautéed the sausage, made the remoulade sauce, finished the deviled eggs and grated the cheese. I then got my tables and paper goods ready to go.

The day of I finished getting the house ready, got the serving, drinking and eating areas all setup and finalized the rest of the food. That included: marinating, grilling, and peeling the shrimp; making the mac n’ cheese; sautéing the greens; preparing the fried green tomatoes; and picking up the chicken tenders from the store (thanks Mark xoxo). Easy Peasy!!

Most everything was ready when guests arrived other than frying the tomatoes, getting the buffet area finalized, getting drinks for folks and other last minute things.

As typical for me, I made a whole lot more than I should have. Note to self: think about your guests. 60lb girls don’t eat as much as 200lb men. Oops. Leftovers!

All joking aside, it was fun. The girls had a nice ceremony and played well together. The parents had a nice time getting to know each other better. Looking forward to a great year!