Jim, this sounds like a job for "Feijoada" , it's prolly the national dish. it's a sort of stew made with meats, served with black beans & rice. it generally contains a "Tabasco-type sauce" but you can hot-up any way you like. should go well at a party that size. the New York Times Cookbook has a recipe or try one of these URLs. http://www.eatdangerously.com/feijoada.html http://www.recipesource.com/cgi-bin/search?search_string=Feijoada http://www.brazzil.com/p24nov96.htm there are hundreds of recipes out there on the web . have fun peter g