What an undertaking! My husband saw this sausage and leek casserole on tv and requested it for Christmas day:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/neelys/sausage-and-leek-casserole-recipe/index.html

It's certainly not an everyday kind of food (even though I did use all milk instead of cream), but it's very good and you can make the entire thing the night before and just pop it in the oven. Good luck, and congrats!

First, congratulations on your graduation!

We did a make-ahead brunch for my baby shower not long ago and we made Smitten Kitchen's overnight french toast (http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/12/new-years-day-2001/) using vanilla and/or almond extract and orange zest in lieu of the alcohol.

Since you'll have access to so many ovens, you can easily make sausage and/or bacon in the ovens, rather than on the stovetop. Just lay the item on a sheet pan (if you can put a cooling rack on the pan first to raise the meat up, all the better, but it'll work even if you don't) and throw 'em in the oven at 400 degrees until they're crispy.

We also had a really delicious grape salad (I know it sounds weird) from here, or something similar: http://www.wittyliving.com/recipes/salad/salad-recipe-19.html

I mention it because you can usually find grapes at a reasonable price this time of year, and it would hold well if you made it the day before and just put the topping on before your guests arrived.

Good luck - I hope it's stress-free and fabulous!

If you don't want to cook, and yes, I know that this is a cooking blog, I'd suggest that you get bagels and cream cheese, lox, good tomatoes, etc. This is more serving than cooking, but it leaves you free to party the night before you graduate. I remember having to pack up my entire dorm room the day of graduation, so don't overdo it in terms of planning a big shindig.

Strata is THE BEST. The one below is my favorite, though you should look at others if you have vegetarians. It's heartier than frittatas because of the bread AND you make it a day ahead of time.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Prosciutto-and-Goat-Cheese-Strata-108946

Muffins are very easy. They can be made ahead of time, are fairly easy to make. Also, with a simple and basic muffin recipe you can make a few alterations and have several variations. For example, put in a teaspoon of jam in some for a sweet difference. Add lemon peel and blueberries and voila! you've got tasty blueberry muffins. Choose to add cinnamon, nutmeg and apples and you have yet another type of muffin to tempt everyone's taste buds! Good luck with your brunch and your big day!

I second sciencegeek as the way to go.

On second thought, since you have seven ovens, get some frozen pie crust, eggs and your choice of fillings like cheese,
vegetables, sausage, crab, salmon etc and make quiches.
Fruit salad is alway superb.

Strata, quiche, cereal & milk, bagels & cream cheese/jam/butter/nut butter, bacon and/or sausage (easy to cook a lot of it, esp. in the oven), muffins, cut up fruit, bananas, yogurt (buy tubs to save money).

Eggs are probably the most cost-efficient and very filling, so something like a strata, quiche or frittata might work the best. They're simple to assemble and can all be cooked quickly the morning of. Accompany with some fruit, yogurt, perhaps some muffin or bread-like thing and you're set.

I cook bacon in the oven when I have more than 3 people. Lay them out on sheets, squirt some maple syrup all over them and bake until crisp. Keep warm in the oven until serving time. You can also do sausages in this way and why not do a tray of portobello mushrooms for the vegetarians. Don't forget the hollandaise sauce! For a large group, you are better off buying hollandaise rather than trying to make it. Just put the hollandaise in a couple of pots on the stovetop - low heat of course. You could also go English and do a few pots of baked beans. All you have to do is open cans so they are very easy and filling.

- Quiche, also known as "egg bake" when crustless (in the Midwest, anyway)
- cold sliced ham, with cold melon if you're feeling French
- muffins
- sliced quickbreads
- pancake bars (just search this site for that one)
- fruit salad or fresh sliced fruit
- a simple green salad (goes great with quiche) if you feel you need some veggies

If you want something hot, fried potatoes or hashbrowns made to order would probably not go unappreciated, but since it's your graduation party, I'd skip it!

Everything, even the quiche and ham, should be able to be served at room temp for at least a couple hours before needing refrigeration again. All of these things can be made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight or left out covered. Some muffin recipes are so easy, you could make them the morning of.

"Egg bake" is also incredibly easy. You essentially make scrambled eggs, but instead of cooking them stovetop them mix in cheese and/or meat and/or vegetables and pour them into a greased glass baking dish and bake until the eggs are done. You need quite a few eggs, but it's an easy way to serve 30 if you've got a couple of 9x13 glass dishes!

If it were me, I'd keep it really simple.

I'd mix up an enormous batch of muffins, blueberry or banana, something easy a couple of days in advance, and either bake them the day of or bake ahead and then just pop them in the oven to reheat. I'd probably just have some butter to spread on them.

If you want to go even easier than that, do a couple of loaves of banana bread. No fiddly muffin trays and can be made waaaay ahead.

The night before I'd chop up a massive fruit salad of whatever's in season and buy a couple of kilos of nice yogurt, maybe some passionfruits.

I'd have a massive jug of store-bought OJ and a plunger of coffee, milk, suger, sweetener etc.

With 30 people, make sure you have heaps of napkins, disposable plates or bowls, spoons, cups etc.

Good luck and congrats on graduating!

I'm with sciencegeek. You're going to want to spend time with your friends and need to spend time packing, not in the kitchen.

Here's an easy recipe for a chile relleno casserole that was served at a baby shower I attended a while back. The dish had good flavor and was a big hit among the guests. The hosts served guacamole, sour cream, and salsa alongside it and everyone helped themselves.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chili-Relleno-Casserole-2883

Congrats and good luck!

another vote for the lox and bagel bar ... with maybe 2 stratas (1 veg, 1 ham) on the side if you like to cook.
i also like the idea of virgin mimosas using club soda. blood orange soda is really delicious too.

oh yeah and tons of cut up fruit - cheap stuff like cantaloupe garnished with a few strawberries or make a full on fruit salad.

I would definitely suggest a baked french toast.. I came across a recipe last summer but can't find it. Search on here or on tastespotting.com for baked french toast or casserole. It can be made the night before and then stuck in the oven. Along with the basics (fruit, bagels, granola, etc), something warm would be nice.

You can also do homemade cinnamon rolls, also made in advance and baked the morning of.

Bacon boats; line a cupcake pan with a strip of bacon, crack an egg inside, sprinkle cheese on top, cover and bake.

Luck!