I'm a wife, I'm a mom, I'm a writer, and I'm a school volunteer. But once a year I morph into a caterer--and it's not even a job I get paid for. 
You see, I married the Cubmaster, and when you're a Scouting family, you do what you have to do to make Scout events happen.
Besides, I love to cook. Cleaning up is another story, which is why this post is not titled "Secrets of a Volunteer Party-Picker-Upper."
Last weekend I spent a good chunk of Friday and all of Saturday cooking and hosting our Cub Scout Pack's Blue and Gold Dinner. We served spaghetti and meatballs, which takes a little time up front but is kid-friendly and easy to serve. With a little help from Mr. Cubmaster and our very own Cub Scout, I made 320 meatballs on Friday evening (yes, I made Mr. Third Grader wear gloves. No one's getting food poisoning on my watch.)
I woke up at 5:30 Saturday morning, not because it was time to start cooking, but because I was in an absolute panic that 24 pounds of pasta wasn't going to be enough to feed 105 guests. I couldn't go to the supermarket until 7, but there was no going back to sleep at that point. Later that morning I did stop at the store for a few extra boxes of pasta to keep on hand in case we started running out. I never did need them.
Friends of mine wanted to know my secret for keeping 24 pounds of cooked pasta hot and ready to serve. It's really quite easy. Here's the recipe: Cook pasta as usual. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of chafing-dish pans. Place cooked pasta in pans. Pour a little more olive oil over the top, toss, and cover. Keep warm in warm (200-degree) oven or over chafing dish.
My other secrets: have two reliable people to help you out during the cooking stage. And assign the cleaning to someone else!
