I think that a great main dish would be a salmon dish like my "sans souci" salmon. The star of the show here is the great stainless steel fish poacher I have that was made in Italy so has more of a heaviness to it. Also it's quite large - oblong, and fits over two burners of a typical stove. You purchase preferably wild salmon - have it filleted - and follow the recipe. There's some prep time and you should invest in good wine in which to poach the salmon, but it comes out absolutely strikingly delicious!! And it doesn't take long to prepare, can be served hot or chilled, and is always a hit with my guests. I would do a simple starter like a honeydew melon, adorned perhaps with a few kiwi slices. Some nutty and plant-based salads, a healthy dessert like an arrangement of fruit - and the company will be won over. Platters of everything to save you the trouble of "plating" the food.
Like all the ideas so far. In addition, you might consider making one dish the star of the meal, whether it's your specialty, loved by many of the attendees, or more complicated to cook & thus worth the effort for the group. Then keep the rest of the meal simple, with easier dishes and/or good take out.
the more details you can give, the better we can help you. With that many people, I'd focus on food that can mostly be made ahead of time and finished just before meal time. You may also want to think about food that can be passed around so they can serve themselves.
If you could give us a few more details about your meal, we could really be more helpful. Are you serving family, friends, kids, people with special dietary needs? what cooking options are available? (grill, stove, oven, etc..)
A good mexican market will have banana leaves: Make packets with fish, lime, colorful mild peppers, tomatoes, squash and herbs. prepare the fish with garlic, olive oil, lime juice.
Make up another pack for vegetarians in a 'tamale' type idea: Masa Flour or cooked rice, Black beans, summer squash, tomatoes, and mexican spices.
Wrap those with twine soaked in water. (add green coloring to the twine for the veggie packets). Then grill fish packets and steam the veggie packets. (if you're using masa).
I recently cooked for a large group and made slow roasted black sea bass and roasted potatoes. At the table, we passed salsa verde and lemon wedges. For the first course I made a tomato salad. And for dessert, I served peach tart that I made on a sheet pan. You can make the peach tart, salsa verde, and potatoes ahead of time, and the fish cooks slowly and evenly, so it was a very low stress menu!
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If you could give us a few more details about your meal, we could really be more helpful. Are you serving family, friends, kids, people with special dietary needs? what cooking options are available? (grill, stove, oven, etc..)
Make up another pack for vegetarians in a 'tamale' type idea: Masa Flour or cooked rice, Black beans, summer squash, tomatoes, and mexican spices.
Wrap those with twine soaked in water. (add green coloring to the twine for the veggie packets). Then grill fish packets and steam the veggie packets. (if you're using masa).