How to Plan a Successful Dinner Party Menu

There is a lot of planning that goes into a successful dinner party menu. In order to pull it off, you'll have to ask yourself some questions.

WHO? Who are your guests going to be? Do any of the potential guests have any food allergies or food restrictions? For example, Maybe someone can't eat peanuts. Or maybe some one is Vegetarian. It would be a shame to have someone who is allergic to shellfish come to the party only to find that the main course is Maryland Crab Cakes with Chipotle Tartar Sauce. Now, most people with food allergies or food intolerances will remember to ask what is being served, but sometimes they don't do so until the day of the party. A good host or hostess will take that fact into consideration when planning the dinner party menu. Make a list of potential guests and find out if they have any food allergies and/or food restrictions. Something like this might work:

WHEN? When is a good time to have the Dinner Party? What day of the week? Do most of your guests have the same work schedule? What time of the day? Are there people who can come earlier but not later? When do the Trash men come? You'll usually have more trash to take out after a party.

WHERE? Where do you want the guests to be? Do you have enough space in your home for the invited guests? Do you have to trim the guest list or find a larger space? What about outdoors?

HOW MANY? How many courses do you want to serve? Before you get too carried away, ask yourself some simple questions… How good a chef are you? Would you rate yourself a gourmet chef or are you just learning how to cook? Can you prepare fancy French recipes or do you need quick and easy recipes?

WHAT? Would you like to try new recipes? Are there foods that you would like to try out? Think how your home will smell when the first guest arrives. You want to make their mouths water before they even sit down. Will the the ingredients you need be available to you? Do you have a variety of colours on the plate? Try to get a variety of textures and shapes on the plate. Think about the relationship that the foods on the plate have with each other. Are they compatible? Do the major flavors blend? This is a somewhat esoteric question and difficult to get without a lot of experience, but think about it.

You'll also have to check your equipment. By "equipment", here, I mean: How many guests can fit at your table? How many place settings and what kind of tableware do you have? Do you have enough table linens? napkins? Glassware? Silverware? Salt and pepper shakers? Do you have anything to use as a centerpiece? For example, a vase? Candles? Be Careful with the flame!!! Remember, you can't make recipes that need special equipment, if you don't have the special equipment.

Food Preparation Flow: For each menu item, figure: What will be the flow of the food? Remember that you have to have enough space to prepare everything on your menu.

Timing For each menu item: Go over the recipe and figure how much time each will take. Figure it as if each recipe were the ONLY thing you are going to make. How much washing, peeling, cutting, slicing, dicing, sauteing, baking, roasting? Don't forget cooling time if something needs to cool! Over estimate on time, because something can always go wrong, and you want to stress as little as possible. Then add up the times for all of the recipes and you know how much time you must allow for preparation and cooking. If it looks like too much work, begin again with another, simpler menu. Another idea is that if you are stressing about the dinner party, do a dress rehersal. Prepare and cook everything a week or two before the party day, just to see how long it actually will take, and if there are any glitches that need to be worked out. This is especially helpful if you are trying to prepare an unfamiliar recipe. Disaster on Party Day isn't fun.

DON'T OVERDO!! It just Causes stress and the idea of a Dinner Party is FUN!

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 985