Mac and cheese, meatloaf, pot pie, stew and mashed potatoes for 10: quantities, oven times, and the fixes for grainy sauce, gluey potatoes and tough stew.
Firehouse comfort meals for 10: mac and cheese, meatloaf, pot pie, stew and mashed potatoes, with quantities, oven times and make-ahead steps.
Comfort food suits a station kitchen because most of it improves with time. Stews and braises taste deeper the next day, mac and cheese and pot pie can be assembled hours ahead, and meatloaf slices cleanly after it rests. The problems at crew scale are predictable: cheese sauce that turns grainy, mashed potatoes that go gluey, stew meat that stays tough because it boiled, and a bake that is cold in the middle because it went into the oven straight from the fridge. Each has a specific cause and a specific fix. This guide gives quantities and oven times for 10, the technique behind each fix, and how to assemble ahead and reheat.
These amounts feed 10 hungry adults with a side or two. Temperatures are for a conventional oven; with convection, drop 25°F (15°C). For any dish containing meat or poultry, check the center with a thermometer rather than trusting the time, especially when two dishes share the oven.
| Dish | Main quantities | Pan | Oven and time | Done when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baked mac and cheese | 2 lb dry pasta, 8 cups milk, 1/2 cup each butter and flour, 2 lb cheese | Two 9 x 13 in | 350°F (175°C), 25 to 30 min | Bubbling at the edges, browned on top |
| Meatloaf | 4 lb ground beef or beef and pork, 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs, 4 eggs | Two free-form loaves on a sheet pan | 350°F (175°C), 60 to 75 min | 160°F (71°C) in the center; rest 10 min |
| Chicken pot pie | 4 lb boneless chicken, 6 cups vegetables, 6 cups sauce, pastry for the top | Two 9 x 13 in | 400°F (200°C), 25 to 35 min | Crust deep golden, filling 165°F (74°C) |
| Beef stew | 5 lb chuck in 1 1/2 in cubes, 3 lb potatoes, 2 lb carrots | 7 to 8 qt Dutch oven | 325°F (165°C), covered, 2 1/2 to 3 hours | Beef falls apart when pressed with a fork |
| Shepherd's pie | 3 1/2 lb ground lamb or beef, 4 lb potatoes | Two 9 x 13 in | 400°F (200°C), 25 to 30 min | Filling bubbling, potato peaks browned |
| Mashed potatoes | 5 lb Yukon Gold or russet, 1/2 cup butter, 1 1/2 cups milk | 8 qt pot | Stovetop simmer 15 to 20 min | A knife slides through without resistance |
Cheese sauce goes grainy for two reasons: it gets too hot after the cheese goes in, which makes the proteins tighten and squeeze out fat, or the cheese is pre-shredded and coated with starch that keeps it from melting smoothly. Grate the cheese from a block, and take the sauce off the heat before adding it. Very aged cheddar is the most likely to split; mixing it half and half with a good melting cheese such as Monterey Jack, young cheddar or American cheese gives both flavor and smoothness.
For a crew, undercook the pasta by 2 minutes, because it keeps absorbing sauce in the oven. Make the sauce looser than you want the finished dish, since it thickens as it bakes and again as it sits on the line.
Chuck, shoulder and short ribs are full of collagen, which slowly turns into gelatin when the meat is held well below boiling for a long time. That is what makes stew meat tender and the sauce silky. At a hard boil, the muscle fibers tighten and squeeze out their moisture faster than the collagen can soften, so boiled stew meat ends up dry and stringy even though it is surrounded by liquid. An oven at 300 to 325°F (150 to 165°C) with the lid on keeps the pot at a steady, gentle simmer without scorching the bottom.
Brown the beef in batches with space between the pieces; crowded meat steams and never develops the browned crust that flavors the whole pot. Stew is better on the second day, and chilling it overnight makes the fat set on the surface so you can lift it off. Reheat to a simmer, stirring, until it reaches 165°F (74°C).
Potatoes go gluey when their swollen starch cells are ruptured, which is what happens in a food processor or blender, or when they are mashed for too long. Use a masher or ricer and stop once they are smooth. Start them in cold, well-salted water so the outside does not overcook before the center is done, then drain and let them steam dry in the pot for 2 minutes. Add melted butter first, which coats the starch, and then warm milk.
To make them ahead, mash, spread in a buttered baking dish, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat covered at 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring once, to 165°F (74°C). For holding during service, a slow cooker on Warm with a thin layer of milk on top keeps them soft for about 2 hours.
Most of these dishes can be assembled up to a day in advance, which moves the work to a quiet part of the shift. The catch is that a dish going into the oven cold takes much longer to heat through, and the center is the last part to get there.
How far ahead can I make mac and cheese for a crowd?
Assemble it up to 24 hours ahead with the pasta slightly undercooked and the sauce a little loose, then cover and refrigerate. Bake from cold at 350°F (175°C), covered for the first 20 minutes, for 40 to 50 minutes total, until it bubbles and the center is hot.