Several of the soups suggested sound just great. Especially, the borscht, carrot, corn, and avgolemeno.
I'm a big fan of soup and you should probably expect to see me at your door on Christmas. Don't worry, I'll bring my own spoon.
Anyway, the beet borscht got me thinking about a different sort of borscht, and that's a different sort of borscht -- a sweet and sour
beef soup with cabbage and sausage (like kielbasa). It's got enough meat (
beef as well as sausage), potatoes, and vegetables in it for you to think of it as a stew. It's very good as a one plate (well, soup plate) meal and should serve you well.
Another possibility is a gumbo or etouffe (rice on the side), made without seafood.
Chicken,
beef and sausage can be done very nicely whether singly or in combination.
Kids like meatball soups.
Kouokouvagia -- Avgolemeno is one of my favorites, but I've never held it hot for a long buffet service. How does it hold up? Does it need a lot of stirring to keep the egg from settling? Presumably the lemon loses a lot of brightness, but that can always be refreshed.
I make mine very simply with
chicken stock, rice, egg, lemon, and a little bit of seasoning. If you do anything else, I'd sure like to see your recipe if it isn't too much trouble. I'll continue to follow this thread, or you can PM it if you like.
Have a Merry,
BDL