On Wednesday, we talked about everyday menu planning – figuring out what you’re cooking in an average week. But hopefully that’s not the only cooking you’re doing – a big part of life in the Den is parties, and today we’ll talk about menu planning for parties.
Whether you’re having a few people over for an elegant dinner or planning a potluck for 100, most party meals follow the same basic concept. There’s starters – maybe chips and dip, maybe a sit-down appetizer course, but there’s something to begin with. Then there’s the main course – it could be a takeout pizza or the Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings, but for this purpose, it’s all a main course. Last, but never least, there’s dessert. Again, this can be anything from putting a tub of ice cream on the table to serving petits fours on gold plates (can’t say I’ve ever done that, but it could happen), but almost everyone appreciates something sweet.
The biggest difference between everyday menu planning and party menu planning is that you usually know what your family can and will eat, but when you’re throwing a party, you have to consider your guests. How old are they? How fancy a party are you planning? Do people have allergies or special diets? If you don’t know, aren’t sure, or are planning for a large group, it’s best to avoid obvious allergens like peanuts (or label anything containing nuts well and keep it away from other foods), and plan to have something vegetarians/vegans can enjoy, as well as something for the gluten-free/carb conscious.
So…now you’ve got those basic ideas in mind. Now what? Back to the starter-main-dessert idea, and I have some examples. I apologize in advance for the awful pictures, and for somewhat contradicting my “something for everyone” advice, but in both cases, I knew the guests and their dietary preferences well.
Here’s a (terrible) picture of a menu for a dinner we gave for eight friends last New Year’s Eve. You’ll note this exactly follows the starter-main-dessert template, which is a good basic template for any kind of sit-down dinner, from dinner for you and that special someone through a kid’s birthday cookout to Thanksgiving for 40 – only the foods themselves change. For instance, let’s say you’re having a kid’s birthday cookout. You might have goldfish crackers out on the tables to start, move on to hamburgers and macaroni and cheese for a “main course”, and finish up with the birthday cake.
Now, how does this work for a cocktail party, office party, or open house when you aren’t doing a sit-down dinner? Shown below is (another terrible) picture from a post-Christmas party I gave last year. Although it doesn’t exactly look like it’s following the template, the veggie tree and caprese salad wreath were out when people arrived, followed by the hot foods, and then dessert, which was sitting on a side table. For that kind of party, it’s almost more important to have food out when people get there, because drinks will often be served and you don’t want everyone drinking on an empty stomach!
You’ll notice I typed these up, and they were actually taped to my kitchen cabinets! Just like your everyday menus, hanging them somewhere you can see them is really important. There are a lot of distractions when you’re having a party and having the menu hanging up will help you remember what you’re doing (there’s nothing worse than cleaning up after a party and discovering something in the back of the fridge that never got served), as well as letting you easily direct any guests who want to help. At the repast after my mother-in-law’s funeral, my parents and some dear friends were able to come to the house and set out the chips and dips and cheese while we went to the cemetery, because it was all written out and hanging on the counter – we had nothing to worry about. You don’t need to type the menus up, but sometimes I feel like if I’m hanging something up that people can see, I’d like it to look nice.
Hopefully these tips will help you the next time you’re having a party! And if you’re looking for a super-easy dessert for your Labor Day weekend entertaining, here’s a delicious trifle!
Patriotic Trifle – serves 12
1 angel food cake (I made this one myself from a mix and added blue food coloring before baking)
16 oz strawberries, sliced
Whipped cream (1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla – chill your bowl and beaters for at least 15 minutes and whip on high speed until peaks form (or buy a tub of the pre-made if you want to make life really easy))
Cut angel food cake into cubes. Layer angel food cake, strawberries, and whipped cream. Top with strawberries.
If you use a pre-made cake and a tub of whipped cream, it will literally take you longer to find a bowl to put it in than to make it, but it looks completely impressive!
Here’s hoping all your parties are a smashing success!