Recipe: Haluski/Halushki for a Crowd (serves 50)

HALUSKI FOR A CROWD

3 to 6 cups butter, divided us
15 lbs cabbage, coarsely chopped
5 lbs onions, coarsely chopped
4 bags (1 lb each) extra-broad egg noodles
salt
celery salt
garlic powder

In a large electric roaster (like Hamilton Beach) set on 175 degrees F. Melt 4 sticks (2 cups) butter.

Pack chopped cabbage and onions into roaster. Roast for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare noodles (one bag at a time) according to package directions. To each bag of cooked and drained noodles add 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) of butter, salt, celery salt and garlic powder to taste. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to prepare and add all of the noodles.

Continue roasting the cabbage for 1 additional hour (or until cabbage and onion are tender).

Adapted from source: Scott Orlowski

Hi Chris,

I found this recipe on the Net and I'm hoping it will bring you close to what you're looking for. This is a recipe handed down to Scott from his Polish grandmother. I've taken the liberty of modifying the instructions a little for clarity but I haven't tried it myself. The recipe doesn't say and you're probably very familiar with the assembly of this dish, but I would add the cooked noodles just before serving so they don't get soggy - and undercook them a bit if they're going to stand in the hot liquid a while. If you have a large enough pot for boiling, I would suggest cooking more than one package of noodles at a time to speed up the process, but don't overcrowd them. I'd also consider cooking a pound or two of bacon and replacing some of the first 2 cups of butter used with bacon grease for some added flavor.

Of course, multiplying this recipe by 5 will give you 250 servings. But, you may not need that much depending on what other dishes you're serving. If this is a side to a large main course that's been proceeded by appetizers then maybe 100 servings would do. You may want to cook up a few extra pounds of noodles, mix them with butter and keep them warm and waiting. You can stir them into the cabbage mixture to stretch it if you see it running low (hopefully you won't be the one keeping an on the cabbage on your big day!)

Catering for 250 for any event is a major undertaking - be sure to accept all help offered so you can have some time to enjoy your wedding reception!

Happy Wedding!

Betsy