[tinafromidaho]

I always stick to crockpot stuff and food I can leave at room temperature. I see a lot of more creative and tasty looking foods but I wonder, do you all use chafing dishes etc to keep stuff warm or what? For instance all the tasty looking stuff that is baked, do you just platter it and set it out? I know it can set out a couple of hours at least without spoiling. My party is always buffet style, help yourself whenever, and people nibble off and on throughout the evening. I try to avoid anything that would create memories of "remember when we all got sick after Tinas Halloween party" or "remember that time so and so caught on fire at Tinas party" (though nothing says Great Party like some one yelling "Stop, Drop, and Roll")

 

[Jenn&MattFromPA]

Ha ha at the "remember when we all got sick" comment! Yeah, I don't aspire to that either!
We do a buffet as well, since we have an open house & people stop by all at different times. We use crockpots for the main stuff (white chicken chili, meatballs & sauce), and we also have a couple of electric warming trays that work out pretty nicely.

Sort of like this, but ours are older -
http://www.amazon.com/Oster-CKSTWTL...637212&sr=8-1&keywords=electric+warming+trays

We use them all the time, and they're great for taking to other people's houses for events as well. Honestly, even if you only use them once a year, they're pretty much worth it, IMHO. I do like to cruise by our buffet table & check temps throughout the evening - I don't want things super hot either, but for the most part things stay well-heated. We only had a problem once when the meatball crockpot was emptied out but no one turned the temp down.

If you need to keep something cold, I sometimes put the bowl or dish into a larger dish that has ice or even frozen water balloons inside. I don't have a pic, but one year I partially filled orange & black balloons with water & froze them. Then I put them into a large glass baking dish and put a smaller glass baking dish nestled inside to keep a salad cold. It looked nice and did the job too.

 

[Chewbacca]

I bought one of these a couple of years ago and it works very well. Electric Countertop Food Warmer.

 

[ThePirateHouse]

Check your restaurant supply store or craigslist for a used pizza warmer, those like the convenience stores serve their pizza slices from. I bought one for $20, it has 5 shelves and heats to 300 degrees. Best $20 I ever spent.