Cooking For a Crowd

Cooking for a Crowd - introduction

2008-08-03T08:22:00.000-07:00

Everybody experiences occasions that cry out for a crowd to help celebrate. Milestone birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, holidays, and family reunions become extra special with many friends and family members gathered around. This course is designed for those who want to prepare and share food at home while creating an occasion that is a little special.

Surveys have shown that many people regard entertaining as stressful as having a root canal, especially if you don’t regard yourself as an expert chef. To avoid the trauma, you can hire a private chef or caterer, or take everyone to a restaurant or function hall. But sometimes these options simply don’t work– whether due to cost, or space availability, or more likely that you want your guests to feel an intimate, at-home ambiance.

So you draw up the guest list, send out the invitations, and bask in anticipatory pleasure. As they respond, guests congratulate you for taking on such a daunting challenge. Then the date approaches and panic sets in.

There are some easy ways out. Make the party a potluck event or call your local deli and order meat platters or hot trays of pasta. There’s nothing at all wrong with that, but you have a real desire to give a gift of your own time and talents and make it your own special achievement.

The course picks you up at the point of panic, but before you fall back on the tried and true. We’ll show you how to select recipes that produce great food but don’t require extraordinary culinary skill. If necessary, we’ll supersize them. We’ll walk through timetables that don’t rush you. We’ll calculate how much food to serve. We’ll work out a beverage plan. You’ll have a road map and checklist for the preparation and cooking, as well as advice about hiring help. We'll discuss food safety. Topics for discussion will be proposed, and hopefully we'll share ideas and experience. At the end, you’ll enjoy the compliments.

Let’s take one example. You’re having a large birthday party and the cost of a bakery cake to feed 75 is exorbitant. But baking is not one of your specialties.

Here’s a road map for dessert. First, select an appropriate cake. A carrot cake is ideal – people love it and it’s rich, so you can satisfy people with a single layer. Carrot cake doesn’t require the finesse of a genoise or angel food cake. You don’t need special equipment and the cake isn’t fussy about a little variation in baking time or temperature.

You can prepare the batter a couple weeks ahead of time. The only time consuming part of preparing a carrot cake is peeling and shredding all those carrots. The easy solution is to use jars of baby food, as the carrots are wholesome and already prepped.

Refrigerate the batter until you’re free to bake three layers, which you can do at one time or at different times. Make each layer in a 13 x 9” pan. If you don’t own one, you can buy foil ones cheaply at the grocery store. After baking, wrap each layer and freeze them separately. Carrot cake freezes very well.

Sometime during the week before the party, make a simple cream cheese frosting and refrigerate. On the day of the party, lay each cake layer side by side on a large piece of cardboard or boarding that is wrapped in aluminum foil. Frost the top, sides, and cracks between the layers. Decorating can also be simplified. Buy or pick fresh flowers (no pesticides used) and decorate the top. If the guest of honor is older, you’ll have lots of room for candles.

So sit back, relax, and join the course. Not only will you enjoy the kudos at the end of your party, but you’ll even have time to enjoy it yourself.

To cook for a crowd, you need to be prepared

2008-08-03T08:19:00.000-07:00

Preparation Tips

It goes without saying that planning ahead will relieve the stress of cooking for a crowd and help you to get out of the kitchen faster. Here are a few tips:

• Make a list of all dishes you plan on serving, and consider the cost of the ingredients you will need as you choose your recipe(s).
• Make a shopping list from your recipe(s). Check it twice.
• Some kitchen work can be done ahead of time, such as chopping vegetables, pre-cooking beans, veggies or meats for soups and stews, sandwiches, and dessert items.
• Decide in advance which recipes to make first. Plan cooking and preparation times accordingly.
• Plan ahead to have space in your refrigerator or stove for all you will be cooking. And don't forget you will also need to store leftovers. Those large dishes need space!
• Be sure you have pots, pans and serving dishes large enough to prepare and serve your recipe(s).
• Crockpots are perfect for keeping foods warm. Plan on borrowing an extra one for a large party.
• To keep foods cold, nestle the serving dish in a bowl or tray of ice. An ice chest can also come in handy.
• Be sure you have enough serving utensils, and bring them if you are transporting the food.
• When transporting food, plan in advance how your food will be kept hot or cold.
• Be realistic about how much you can do by yourself. Enlist help and delegate chores so you don't get overwhelmed.

Cooking For a Crowd. Basics.

2008-08-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

Whether you've agreed to bring a dish for 12 or 24 to a potluck dinner or have completely flipped and need to cook for a guestlist of 50 or 100, one of these days you will probably have a need for large quantity recipes. You'll find plenty of recipes below whether you're cooking for a crowd, planning a buffet, or just a very large family, plus tips on organization so you won't be stuck in the kitchen while your guests are having all the fun.

Safety First
Obviously the most important consideration when feeding a crowd is proper safety measures. You wouldn't want to make anyone sick at that potluck dinner. Cleanliness is paramount. When cooking large batches of food, it's important that they are cooked thoroughly all the way through. If you are transporting food, you must think ahead to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold for the duration of the trip and during the serving period.

To Double or Not To Double?
Many standard recipes can be multiplied to feed larger crowds. However, not all ingredients need to be multiplied. For example, fat needed for sauteing need not be multiplied, as long as you have a proper amount to cover the bottom of the pan. Cooking times may not necessarily need to be multiplied by the same factor as the recipe ingredients. Some dishes may take less than double time and some may take even more, depending on the size of the dish. Use an instant-read thermometer to be sure foods are cooked thoroughly. You may expect a recipe to serve four that you have quadrupled will serve sixteen, but it will most likely serve more. Avoid multiplying by an odd number. For some odd reason, they just don't turn out as well. Division usually works well on those recipes that are too large for your purposes.