Saturday, December 16, 2006

Party planning: muffin breakfast


The muffin extravaganza is Thursday morning. On that day we (I) will offer coffee, fruit and muffins for 120 people at my husband's workplace. That's a lot of baking coming out of this one-oven kitchen! Luckily, my recipes were saved in last year's post, so I don't have to shake them out of the broken hard drive. This year I'm doing a few things differently. Instead of fancy bottled teas (free with Wild Oats promotion), I'll have an urn of hot spiced fruit tea. I found a recipe at the bottom of this post by blogger Toni.
I decided that gingerbread muffins age well, so I'll bake those ahead of time and glaze them the night before. I'm also foregoing muffin cups, even if it means slowing down the assembly line to wash the pans more often. My cheapo paper cups started scorching the bottoms. They also made the breakfast messier.
My husband just informed me that the burlap table cover is missing from his closet. Now I have to forage for a tablecloth, too. I might just use a white cloth with the potted lemon trees on either end of the table. I could fill the planters with pinecones, lemons and greenery to cover the soil--or I could use the grapevine stag from last year with greenery all among the baskets of muffins.
Decisions, decisions! How fun is this?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Table covering - TV designers use plain white sheets a lot. Got a spare?

Anonymous said...

I'm curious ... what kind of job requires breakfast for 120, provided by the host and spouse? Will the office reimburse you for your expenses?

Throughout all my working years, I've seen companies provide this kind of spread. And I've seen lavish foods provided at conferences.

But I've never seen an individual bring so much to an office function. Not even the boss.

Anonymous said...

Ha! I know! My husband is a teacher! Is yours, too? This is something I would do for him... Teachers have to always pay for their own parties and as my husband says, "we don't even get a turkey or ham as a bonus at Christmas!". I have lost count of how many times I have cooked until the wee hours for his school, and mine too when I taught. Maybe teachers are used to spending their own money (most people would be shocked at how many supplies teachers buy). Anyway, you are a such a blessing to your husband, whatever he does for a living!

Ruth

Anonymous said...

how many students at the school...i'm asking cause is that 120 teachers and staff....our schools are way smaller....gosh some of the schools i've attended dont have 120 students...lol

good luck

Celina in canada

Anonymous said...

Yes, it's a school! 1600 students = many staff and faculty, which is why this is a "stop by and get coffee and a muffin" on the last day of exams. We did it last year as a way to thank everyone personally for my husband's first semester as administrator and also to repay all the dozens of small gifts people kept giving him for the holidays. I spent under $100 by doing it myself. Many companies would spend at least $1 per person on some kind of throwaway gift. This was much nicer. It was so appreciated that we decided to bite the bullet and do it again.

And yes, I can save the receipts and use it as a business-related expense on our taxes. This year we will finally have enough medical bills to itemize!

Anonymous said...

I was trying to figure out where the recipes from last year where archived, but didn't succeed. Any hints from other readers or Meredith? Also how to estimate quantities?

Thanks!
Alison

Anonymous said...

Sorry I guess the links were weren't working on my end last night but now I see they are here, and working!
"duh!"