Servings per steak will depend on the cuts I ultimately purchase, but the ones the butcher showed me were 3 people plus, per steak.
ETA I actually hope to be able to buy smaller ones, like 2 servings each.
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Very curious to hear the debrief after the event! So please post back.
Glad you laughed at the dessert (hard to insert sarcastic eye roll in text LOL) - it is so often an afterthought at big functions like this and after planning everything else with āfancyā in mind, people sometimes come up with grand dessert plans that end up being so hard to pull off after an event like this.
Sounds like tons of fun though!
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Cooking 6 large steaks for 18 ppl will be more manageable for sure, and letting them rest and pre slicing and plater-ing them will make it easier as well. This sounds crazy, but maybe the host can get an rough idea about temperatures of the steaks beforehand?
I cooked in pro kitchens for many years and spent the last 10 years of my career in catering, so I know the challenges of cooking for groups of fussy eaters 
. Also, are they all carnivores or will there be some vegetarian options available.
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For the past two Thanksgivings, Iāve made roasted rainbow carrots served on a bed of whipped ricotta. If I recall correctly, I added lemon zest to the ricotta and topped the whole dish with (a very small amount of) hot honey and either pistachios or almonds. Easy to make ahead and easily adaptable re: flavors/nuts/spice/etc.
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Do you boil the carrots before roasting ?
I havenāt - just roasted directly with some olive oil and S&P - although Iām sure you could. I was all for efficiency with this dish 
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And colorful, especially if you have different carrots!
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Fewer, larger steaks will be so much easier. I recently attended a group dinner at Bazaar Meat in Las Vegas - the host arranged a tasting menu for 15 people that included ribeye as the āmain.ā The restaurant supplied four MONSTER steaks, allowing them to suit a range of temp preferences from rare to medium (heresy) while also ensuring everyone was served at the same time.
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Cooking for 18, Iām glad youāll be in a space alone so you can concentrate. I hate being interrupted for conversation when Iām in the middle of a few complicated steps even for only one dish.
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Oh yes, super annoying!
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Sorry - question just popped to mind -
Are you planning buffet style or are you plating?
I ask because if youāre plating and doing more than one person per steak - there is no real reason to French the bones since guests wonāt see them (in theory). Should help drop the cost a little.
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This Melissa Clark recipe is delicious and may provide some inspiration for flavors.
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Iām afraid of that description!!!
Right? What in the world?
Itās been a while but Iāve hosted dinner for 18-24 at home several times. Even sit-downs for 18. Rest were buffets. That sit down was boneless prime rib roasts cooked on the Weber gas grill. I think I had 4 small end roasts, each about 5 lbs.
Plenty of apps. Sides as I recall were roasted spuds and asparagus. It was mid summer so guests wandered in and out until being seated.
The fancy winter dinners for a crowd were always stuffed beef tenderloins. Probably out of fashion but the presentation is very nice. Butterfly the meat, stuff
with spinach, cheese, red wine, red peppers or maybe sun dried tomatoes and currents. As I said itās been years. The advantage of this dish is itās not weather dependent.
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Iā ve cooked for 50+ people a couple of times for a party and for 40 people regularly as a student. I agree with Thimes, getting 18 steaks, different levels of done, would be a challengeā¦especially if this is sit down. Even if this is buffet styles, thatās a lot of work and timing to consider but easier. Agree, prep as much ahead of time, basically all of it to some degree or another so youāre mostly finishing a hour or two ahead. Anything that can be done ahead of time should be done ahead of time.
One party I did like 6 tri-tips because they can sit for a bit. Just separated by levels of done. Tri tip isnāt as special as a cooked to order steak but itās beef and cooked nicely there will be few complaints. If I were to try steaks, Iād sous vide them and finish right beforeā¦but might not work for special French cuts. Also, if you think you have to make every dish yourself to be good, you might kill yourself. I know everyone wants to Martha Stewart it all but she has a staff and you can buy some stuff already madeā¦like a tray of Mac and cheese.
In any case it can be done. My only big cooking was in a student cooperative cooking for 40 people on a regular basis. First as help, then as meal chef. Best of luck.
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Today I did a test run of the sides I am considering for the dinner, and my brother also tested a ribeye on his egg. So we basically had a dress rehearsal. We invited some friends over to be our guinea pigs.
The dishes I prepared:
Joshua McFaddenās kale salad with pecorino and breadcrumbs
Roasted whole carrots on a bed of whipped ricotta with thyme. I made McFaddenās whipped ricotta from āSix Seasons of Pastaā and just included a tbs of fresh thyme.
Citrus salad with fennel, avocado and mint from āLove and Lemonsā
Apparently my SIL hates kale, but she green-lit the salad. The specific citrus salad I made is new to me but definitely a keeper. It features roast fennel (which is wow, crazy delicious), supremed citrus, torn radicchio and some other elements, but itās well worth the effort. Everyone loved the carrots. I think that dish needs something contrasty sprinkled on top, but itās great as is.
My brother was ready to sign off on the whole menu, which was a nice surprise. I didnāt consult with him ahead of this trial run, so Iām pleased I was able to get the menu dialed in with little fuss.
For dessert, Iāll probably make two choices: a chocolate tart, and something else. Will test those this weekend.
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The ribeye we tested was not dry-aged. The intention with this dry run was to do a side-by-side test of regular vs dry-aged, but the butcher was surprisingly out of the aged stuff.
I thought the cut we had today was just fine, but he asked me to place the order for the dry-aged ones, which the butcher has already earmarked for me:)
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Sounds fabulous and glad you did a test run!
For a contrast in the carrots (assuming you meant texture) a toasted chopped nut pairs well with carrot and the ricotta - could do pine nuts (not as much crunch) but sounds like youāre leaning Italian so would fit the theme. - or hazelnuts would be fun too.
How far in advance did you make the fennel citrus salad? My experience is mixing that in advance can lead to a watery salad (though I typically do that with raw fennel) and sliced avocado can turn brown quickly (how fast always seems to change for me) even tossed in some of the citrus juice. So may have to think about when to prep that so it looks as great as it does in your picture. The rest should be okay in advance just toss together right before serving IMHO.
When is the big day?
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It all looks and sounds fabulous! I love that it looks great on the plate as well as assembled to serve. (But what is that at about 7:00 on the plate?) I donāt think you need to change a thing but if you want something on the carrots you could go with chopped nuts, as Thimes suggested, or a mix of chopped fresh mint and parsley, or some kind of microgreens if those are available to you (in my little town I cannot get broccoli rabe but I have my choice of locally grown microgreens, go figure). On that gorgeous citrus salad it looks like you omitted the cheese and pine nuts in the recipe (good choice IMO) but you might consider sprinkling some pomegranate arils.
I am SO RELIEVED on your behalf that you will not be faffing about with steaks!!! In fact, apart from the avocados, there will be little need for last-minute heroics which is wonderful and also excellent planning on your part!
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