I really should be keeping track of head count but for now I’ll just jot down what I did for Easter meal at church so I’ll have a record for next year. Note that this is for a Chinese church so it was really not the usual amount of ham per person. We were a bit short on ham but I think everyone had some. And we did run out of corn and yam towards the end so it wouldn’t hurt to increase the amounts. I thought we’d have too much bread and salad but they were pretty much gone too.

Menu: ham, candied yam, corn, salad, garlic bread, of course a Chinese church has got to have rice but we just make a pot using the “small” rice cooker.

Ham:

• 2 Spiral sliced hams from Costco (Picked the largest ones they had which were about 10 lbs each)
• 1/2 c Brown sugar
• 2 cans pineapple chunks
• 2 oven bags

Put a ham in oven bag and sprinkle ham with contents for the glaze and about a handful of brown sugar then add a can of pineapple chunks, juice and all. Tie the bag and put in a pan and cook at 325 degrees for about 3 hours.

Candied Yam (should make 3 cans next year):

• 2 #10 cans of yam, mostly drained (got these from Shamrock)
• 1 c brown sugar
• 2 bags of marshmallow
• 1 hotel pan liner

Line roaster oven. Put drained yam in the pan. Sprinkle on brown sugar. Cook at 200 degrees for 3 hours. I took the liner with the yam in it out of the roaster oven pan and set it in a hotel pan. chop up/mash the yam a bit. Sprinkle the marshmallows on top of the yam and bake in 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes until the tops of the marshmallows are golden brown.

Corn (should make 3 cans next year):

• 2 #10 cans of corn drained (got these from Shamrock)
• 1 hotel pan liner

Line roaster oven (just make clean up easier). Dump drained corn into the pan. Cook at 200 degrees for 3 hours.

Garlic Bread (5 pre-sliced loaves from Walmart)

• 5 loaves of pre-sliced loaves from Walmart
• 2 sticks of butter melted
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t salt

Add garlic powder and salt to melted butter. Brush onto bread slices.

Salad (Based on Copycat Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad) May not need as much next year with additional yam and corn Wash, dry, and mix together:

• 1-1/2 bags of romaine lettuce from Costco, cut into bite size
• 1 head of Nappa Cabbage chopped
• 1 small red cabbage chopped
• 2 cups of shredded carrots

For dressing, whisk together:

• 2 C Mayonnaise
• 1-1/2 C honey
• 3/4 c rice wine vinegar
• 2-1/2 T dijon mustard
• 1 t sesame oil

Mix dressing into the salad just before serving along with

• 1 bag of La Choy chow mein noodles (brand is not important, just don’t mistake it with other types of chow mein noodles)

Order of operation:

• Make all the purchases by Saturday
  • Shamrock (whenever) 2 cans of Yam, 2 cans of Corn, hotel pan liners (if needed)
  • Costco: 2 hams, 2 bags of romaine lettuce
  • Walmart (Saturday): 5 loaves pre-sliced bread, 1 nappa cabbage, small red cabbage, 1 bag shredded carrots, 1 bag chow mein noodles, 2 bags of marshmallows, 2 cans of pineapples chunks, 1 box oven bags (probably around aluminum foil)
  • If needed Mayonnaise, honey, rice wine vinegar, dijon mustard, sesame oil, butter (2 sticks), garlic powder, salt, brown sugar
• Make salad Saturday (just to be sure I have time)
• Make salad dressing Saturday (just to be sure I have time)
• Arrive at church at 8:30
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Prep the ham and put it in the oven
• Get yam and corn started
• Start rice after worship
• After people more or less clear out of the kitchen/fellowship area when Sunday School starts then make the garlic bread.
• Salad can be chopped at this time too, but I wanted to avoid potential conflicts in kitchen space use.
• 11:30, take out ham and let them rest and turn oven up to 400 degrees
• Take out the yam and sprinkle on marshmallows
• Bake marshmallows until the tops are golden brown
• Cut hams
• Finish salad

See that wasn’t so bad for cooking for a crowd.