Pasta Sauces

Crock pots are great for holding and serving things such as pasta sauces.

I would (just for my own peace of mind) limit the range of sauces to those that have no egg in the ingredient list.

No sense in poking the bear, IMO.

You can freeze just about any tomato sauce, thaw and heat.  Slow cookers would work very well, indeed.  If you don't have your own, the people who rent catering gear (you're probably getting your tables and chairs from them) can also rent you appropriate electrically heated serving equipment. 

There are limits to what you can and can't do for an event, especially an outdoor event.  Ideally the pasta is brought to the sauce, and the two are mixed in the pan over heat, or tossed together in the service pan.  That just may not be happening given your limitations.   

You can make a true Alfredo -- which is just butter and grated cheese whipped together, NO eggs, NO cream -- and hold in the refrigerator, in batches.  For service, you'd (1) take one batch at a time out of an ice chest, let it soften a bit, serve the sauce using a scoop, allow the residual heat from the noodles to melt the sauce, and each guest would mix her or his sauce into the pasta.  Alternatively, you'd take some softened sauce and add it to the noodles in a chaffer, toss and serve.  Even though it's a little clunky, I think a true Alfredo would be a huge hit.  Most people have only had the very heavy, gluey version made with reduced cream and over-cooked cheese.

Garlic, herb infused olive oil is another great sauce.   It can be made several days in advance, and held and served at room temperature. 

BDL

The 3 mostly used sauces for a pasta bars are :

ALFREDO  , MARINARA and  PESTO

pesto cream  sauces freeze very well,either sundried tomato or basil, but you will need to be able to stir it back into health.....since it is august and it will be hot, personally i would make an italian vegetable sauce...summer squash, zucchini, button mushroom, eggplant etc....tomato based and very chunky....think rattatouille.....if you are thinking any meat.....perhaps a bolognese, or you can either pre cook or buy cooked chicken breast strips, freeze, warm and add to the pasta and sauce on site.....also perhaps replace the marinara with a puttanesca or arrabiata sauce...something with a kick!

joey

Filet D Pomodoro, Marinara, Meatsauce, Alfreddo, Basil Pesto. These are the popular ones at parties. They all freeze well just take out 2or 3 days before and leave in fridge . Don't thaw outside.

With the talk of slow-cookers, I feel it's important to mention the importance of rethermalizing your cold sauce.  You can't just heat the sauce real slow in the crock pot and once it's "hot", consider that you're good.  Bring up to a simmer relatively quickly, and then you can turn it down to hold at a minimum of 140F, although you'll likely want it hotter than that.  

Can be done and is done.

On a buffet pasta bar station  have 2 propane stoves and 2 split chaffers. Your sauce is at room temp around you as is 2 different kinds of precooked pasta. Put sauce in saute pan, heat add pasta and then serve to guest. excess goes in chaffer . Decorate the pasta bar with  differnt kinds of pasta in tall glass containers , a few loaves of breads, a can or 2 of imported tomatoes and some boxed pasta, a large grater  as well as italian flags or those colors  of clothes. This gives them a show and makes sure pasta is good and not overcooked and gummy. If this done correctly, people will gravitate to this station and it will fill them and maybe cut down on more expensive items that it will replace.

Aglio Olio! Marinara, Rich cream!

Consider that you may be able to do all the components of a sauce ahead of time, and assemble at the event.  Roast a ton of tomatoes, crumble and brown a ton of sausage.  At the event have a large pot over the grill.  Sweat some onions and garlic in olive oil, scoop in some of the tomatoes and sausage and heat with the proper herbs added.  Repeat.  That assumes you'd have someone to work the station, would be different if you want to just set it up and not mess with it during the reception.

mjb.