cooking Lasagne for 20 people

Do you have enough cookware ? Can you borrow from the other hens ?

I would be tempted to prepare them the day before, leave them in the fridge overnight, then bung in the oven on the night.

Why does it have to be lasagne ? A big old spag bog (or similar) would be much simpler.

As for quantities, just scale up from your usual recipe.

20?! Flippin 'eck!

I'd say a 5x4" chunk of lasagne would feed one person if there was salad with it? I get 4 servings out of my dish, thats using one 1lb bag of mince, plus 1 each red/green/yellow peppers, one corgette, 1 pack baby sweetcorn, one pack slugs mushrooms, 1 tin chopped toms, one jar white sauce and one jar pasta sauce <cough>cheat<cough>? . and one pack of pasta sheet thingies. (ish - haven't made it for ages)

So times that by 5 and you should be off the starting blocks! All the very best!!

(I'd personally make it the day before and stick in the fridge, and transport it in a coolbox)

Does it have to be lasagna? Spag bol would be waay easier.

I'd prepare everything and then assemble on location - far easier to transport that way - just a case of makign sure you have enough dishes to cook it in.

I find lasagne works really well done as you suggest. Plus if you have to transport it anywhere, factoring travelling time into defrost time means there's les need to keep it cold. You want the sauces slightly thinner than you would usually make them.

Wilkinsons sell large foil trays which are great for this and can be binned once done with, or near christmas I've also made it in big turkey roasting tins ( in supermarkets any day at about £2) whcih works well and again not worth the effoet to clean them.

You could make the lasagne(s) up and freeze it (uncooked).

Assembly at the location might be easier.

Thanks for all the replies

think its going to be spag bowl instead, cheaper and a lot easier to do and transport

Oh and I'd multiply what you normally do for 4 ish by 4. not 5. That'll be plenty with salad and garlic bread

If you're doing spag bol, make sure there is a really vast stock pot for you to cook the pasta in. Most places wouldn't have one big enough. Pasta is one of the hardest things to cook in bulk - poor you!

Was just going to say I'd far rather make and freeze lasagne in advance (and as someone said not oven it til the day) than try to cook pasta for 20. It'll always be part mush and part raw and a nightmare to drain properly.

We had this dilemma for a friend's hen weekend recently - we went for chilli in the end as it was easy to do a big pot of chilli, a big pan of easy-cook rice, and then we dressed it up with all the grated cheese, creme fraiche etc in bowls on the table with salad - is that an option at all?

Good luck!

Or an oven full of jacket spuds instead of the rice, though it's harder to eat that way

Or sausage/fishfinger sarnies. Or practically anything except pasta ?