Food is the major and most essential component of any gathering. However, cooking food for a group of people, whether large or small, can be a daunting task. The reason is that cooking only one dish for several people can never be enough.
If you want to make your party interesting and fun, you must cook food including various dishes and sweet dishes. However, preparing everything at once can be difficult. Therefore, you can make a few dishes ahead of time so that you can streamline your cooking process.
Following are a few tips that you can follow to cook food for your big event without worrying. It will allow you to stay relaxed and plan everything before time.
Decide the Menu for the Big Event
The essential thing that you must decide ahead of time is a menu. Having a menu will help you stay on time, and you will not feel overwhelmed. One thing you must keep in mind while deciding on the menu is that you must make easy dishes.
You can choose food recipes for small groups that are easy to make and include minimal ingredients. Adding fewer ingredients to a dish means that you will not have to invest a lot of time in measuring and prepping. Moreover, fewer ingredients in a dish will allow it to be done faster.
One thing you can do to make things easy for yourself is to avoid making food that includes multiple steps. Similarly, just like selecting simple dishes to cook, you can select a minimal number of dishes to reduce your workload.
While preparing the meal ensure that you are not cooking less than your guest stays hungry. Moreover, do not cook twenty different recipes that you end up with a huge number of leftovers. You must limit your dishes but ensure that the quantity of dishes is according to the number of people attending the function.
One more thing you can do is to select the dishes that you know how to prepare well. The reason is that if you have made something numerous times, you will be able to complete the dish on time. moreover, you will feel more confident about cooking the dishes you know well.
Practice New Dishes
As discussed above, making the dishes you know well is an efficient choice to reduce your stress. However, if you want to try something new for the party, you must make it before the event to see how it will taste. Running a test and making the dish earlier will allow you to follow certain steps without worrying.
Also read: Indian Food and Your Health
Shopping for Grocery
After planning for the menu, you will get an idea of the ingredients necessary to complete the dishes. Make a list of all the necessary things you need to complete your dishes. After making the list go to the store for grocery shopping.
One thing you can do before going grocery shopping is check your cupboards. It will help you verify whether you have any essential ingredients present or not. If you do not check the cupboards and assume that you have some ingredients present in the cupboard but cannot, find them at the last minute, you will have to make a last-minute trip to the store.
Keep Everything Organized
After purchasing all the groceries, the next thing you must do is to organize everything. It will allow you to save a lot of time while cooking. You can also place the ingredients according to their need in a dish. For example, you can place the ingredients that you will use for preparation. Similarly, you can place the ingredient you will need on the day of the party. These techniques will allow you to spend less time in finding different ingredients in your pantry and refrigerator.
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Making Room for Food
As you can save a lot of your time by preparing for different things before time. you will also have to make room for these dishes. For example, you must make room in your freezer for cold food. One thing you can do is to clean your refrigerator and your freezer before the party. Similarly, you can place nonperishable food on your kitchen countertops or dining room table.
Making a Task List
You must create a list of the most essential tasks you need to complete before the party. Moreover, you must know how you are going to execute your plan of entertaining your guests in an efficient way. the list will function as a timeline for you and will help you keep everything on track.
For example, you might want to make a salad or cook meat a day before the party. Similarly, you can make the dessert or cut the veggies before time. writing every task on your list will allow you to follow the steps and complete the tasks according to their priority.
Keeping Your Financial Situation in Mind
The most essential factor that you must consider while planning your meals is to plan your budget. You must not spend more than 15% of your money income on the food you are making for a big event. For example, if your yearly income is $60,000, you can spend about $173 on groceries a week. Therefore, if you want to stay within the budget, you must buy some grocery items from the sale.
Keep Track of Available Time
Keeping track of your time is another important thing that you must follow. Following a timeline will allow you to stay on time. moreover, it will allow you to make some essential decisions. For example, if you do not have enough time, instead of making a salad, you can just grab a bagged salad and can open and serve it.
However, if you have enough time, you can purchase ingredients and make a salad on your own. Similarly, if you are busy during the noontime, you can cook the food on a slow cooker and let it cook during the day.
Bottom Line
Following these essential steps will allow you to cook the food for your big event without worrying about anything. Cooking food for a large or small group only become a daunting task when you do not have a plan. However, if you have everything in mind and a list that can allow you to complete essential tasks on time, you are good to go.
