Party Planning Tips

From "Ask Martha"  August 2003, Martha Stewart Living

Throwing a buffet-style party is a wonderful idea for summer, when laid-back affairs are preferred and sit-down dinners seem too stuffy.  If you’re offering finger foods—from casual tea sandwiches or deviled eggs to fancier items such as sushi rolls or canapés—know that people usually eat three to five small servings each.

To be on the safe side, make your calculations by using a five-servings-per-guest formula.  If you are having a party for thirty, for example, look at the yield for each dish and make sure you have 150 servings (five times thirty), and enough that everyone can sample at least one of everything.

Serve at least two choices for the entrée, making one a vegetarian option if some of your guests don’t eat meat.  You could serve grilled chicken breasts and a pasta with fresh summer vegetables, or grilled leg of lamb and falafels. 

Either way, plan on one main-course serving total per guest, with an extra portion for every fourth guest; to feed thirty guests, you would need eighteen or nineteen servings of each of the two entrees.

If you’re making spaghetti or other pasta, plan on four ounces per person as a main course, two ounces as a side dish.  For sandwiches, prepare one and a half per guest.

Offer two salads (enough for guests to have a serving of each):  Try a simple green salad with romaine, red onion cucumber, tomato, and a tangy vinaigrette; for variety, make the other a corn or grain salad.  And put out enough bread slices or rolls for each guest to have two.

When it’s time for dessert, you might offer a couple of choices so people can sample a bit of each, (though one type of dessert would be perfectly acceptable).  When figuring out amounts to serve, allow for two thin slices of cake or pie and two or three scoops of ice cream or sorbet per person.

For beverages, assume each guest will have two drinks in the first hour and one drink in each subsequent hour.  (A 750-milliliter bottle of wine yields about five glasses.)  And do not forget the ice:  A pound per person is the standard formula, which includes enough for both chilling and serving.

If you’re unsure of your estimates, err on the generous side — It’s always better to have leftovers than not quite enough.