How do I keep it all warm

[ricklea1953]

Looking for ideas as to how to keep serving dishes warm. Like to do entertaining with lots of hot and cold appetizers. Short of the professional catering equipment, how can I keep the hot stuff warm for extended periods of time? I have been looking for disposable type serving trays for use with sterno type fuels but haven't had any luck.

[Pete]

There are a number of ways. First, if you do lots of entertaining you can buy chafing dishes. They come in a variety of sizes, styles and price ranges. They also make electric "warming" trays for consumers. A cheaper way to go though is one of the things we used to do for our buffets. Buy some 12"x12" marble tiles and some glass blocks. Lightly warm the marble tiles in the oven then place on 2 glass blocks with a votive candle between the blocks and under the tile. Will help to keep finger foods somewhat warm (we used to use them for Hors sized pizzas.

[castironchef]

There are reasonably priced chafing dishes at places like Costco and Smart&Final.

Also, you may want to use a slow cooker, such the ubiquitous Crock Pot, to keep foods warm. They're available in many garage sales for cheap and can be covered with a decorative cloth to hide their rather ugly, utilitarian nature.

I would be leery of using flame on the disposable aluminum foil "pans," as they would not be able to conduct the heat properly.

[ricklea1953]

Thanks to both of you. I had thought about the crockpot as a way to keep it warm. Would work great for meat balls, etc. Still need a way to keep little skewers warm. I will look into the chafing dishes. From what I have seen, they are a little more than I wanted to spend.

[phatch]

Your standard insulated cooler will keep hot things hot for quite a while. Be sure and check temps though for food safety.

Phil

[Steve A]

Ricklea,

If you really want disposable chafers, you can find them at Wally-world and the like. However, if you do buy them on occasion, you'd be better off looking in a restaurant supply store or even eBay. They're a lot cheaper in the long run.

The insulated cooler does work well. And you can make it work better by warming a few bricks in the oven. Wrap them in a towel and placing them in the bottom of the cooler. Plate a metal sheetpan over top, and put your wrapped product on that.

Ciao,

[CapeCodder]

Whatever method you use, be sure that the plates and bowls are warm before adding the food. Nothing seems to suck the warmth out of food like a cold plate.