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(I'm not trying to 'win' Iron Blogger, I'm just having lots of thoughts.)
I'm still bugged by the expenditures. You can live on like $5-6/day, surely I shouldn't be spending more than that per person for one meal? I spent $40 hoping for six people, that's nearly $7/person. In hindsight, given 4 people and what was consumed, I could have skipped the cashews, chips and salsa, less popular sausage, and one bag of pita, bringing cost down to $24, or $6/person, and we've probably have scoured everything clean except the chicken, due to lack of enough carnivores.
But, I guess it depends on what you get: eating frugally means stuff like pasta and rice and beans, or bread and peanut butter. Cheese, (good) crackers, and tomatoes are comparatively expensive: e.g. the crackers were about $5/lb. They're nutrient dense, being dry and fatty, but still twice the $/calorie of even overpriced whole wheat pasta. The tomatoes were $6, or $4/lb, which might be expensive even for tomatoes -- it's been a while since I bought any other kinds -- though as we ate nearly all, I have no regrets.
So basically, yes you can feed people cheaply if you prepare normal staple-based meals, but if you go for savory finger food, it'll be more expensive. Which is fine, it's just good to know and set my expectations accordingly. We probably still came in under restaurant cost, and finger food has advantages in prep (good for me as host) and not tying people to a table and large plate (good for guest circulation and freedom, though that's more relevant for larger parties.)
(Conversely it may be easier to overeat with finger food, if you just keep eating until it's gone or you feel dangerously stuffed.)
(I have a dim possible memory of realizing my old parties were more expensive than I expected, too.)
I'm still bugged by the expenditures. You can live on like $5-6/day, surely I shouldn't be spending more than that per person for one meal? I spent $40 hoping for six people, that's nearly $7/person. In hindsight, given 4 people and what was consumed, I could have skipped the cashews, chips and salsa, less popular sausage, and one bag of pita, bringing cost down to $24, or $6/person, and we've probably have scoured everything clean except the chicken, due to lack of enough carnivores.
But, I guess it depends on what you get: eating frugally means stuff like pasta and rice and beans, or bread and peanut butter. Cheese, (good) crackers, and tomatoes are comparatively expensive: e.g. the crackers were about $5/lb. They're nutrient dense, being dry and fatty, but still twice the $/calorie of even overpriced whole wheat pasta. The tomatoes were $6, or $4/lb, which might be expensive even for tomatoes -- it's been a while since I bought any other kinds -- though as we ate nearly all, I have no regrets.
So basically, yes you can feed people cheaply if you prepare normal staple-based meals, but if you go for savory finger food, it'll be more expensive. Which is fine, it's just good to know and set my expectations accordingly. We probably still came in under restaurant cost, and finger food has advantages in prep (good for me as host) and not tying people to a table and large plate (good for guest circulation and freedom, though that's more relevant for larger parties.)
(Conversely it may be easier to overeat with finger food, if you just keep eating until it's gone or you feel dangerously stuffed.)
(I have a dim possible memory of realizing my old parties were more expensive than I expected, too.)