Party Food Planning Recipes Food Cooking International Guide
Party Food Planning Tips And Ideas
By Patricia Gorginas
Party food planning can be easy when the party is a simple process
of having everything together on the day. If it is a large party,
than there needs to be planning weeks or months in advance, to
arrange supplies of plenty of food, drinks and savories to cater
for your guests.
If it is a small adult birthday party, you need to consider the
food to serve at the party. Do you have guests who may be allergic
to certain food ingredients or are on special diets? You may need
to find out before the party, so that you do not have one or two
guests who will not eat anything you give them.
The secret to a successful party, is careful party food planning.
Party Food Planning, Shopping And Cooking
Parties are fun events we all look forward to attending. If you’re
hosting the party, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with all the
preparations to be made. Invitations, table settings, decorations
and rounding up extra glassware all take time. Then there’s the
party food planning, shopping and cooking.
Unless you’re hosting a pot luck, a party is a lot of work! However,
with a little organization, you can make short work of your menu
and party food planning. Here are some fail-safe tips to make
your party a success.
A Buffet Style Party For A Large Guest List
If your guest list is large, a buffet style party is the way
to go. All the dishes are laid out and your guests help themselves.
If you’re just having a few friends in, it’s not much work to
set the dining table for a sit-down dinner and it is a bit more
elegant.
Easy party food planning begins with careful menu selections.
One main entree and perhaps two hot side dishes should be the
most you need to deal with on the day of the party. Remember,
some dishes taste better when cooked the day before, allowing
the flavors to marry.
Casserole Style Dishes For Casual Gatherings
As a main entree, consider casserole style dishes like lasagna
or manicotti for casual gatherings. Fancier dishes, like Beef
Bourguignon, definitely improve in taste when prepared a day or
two before you plan to serve.
The classic German Sauerbraten owes its fantastic taste to four
days of marinating. You then pop the roast in the oven the day
of your party with little effort. You just make the gravy when
the meat’s done. So think do-ahead when planning party food for
your menu.
Hot Side Dishes And Big Green Salads
For your hot side dishes, a rice pilaf would go well with the
Bourguignon and can be done on the morning of your party and warmed
just before serving. For the Sauerbraten, roast potato wedges
in the same pan. Gingered carrots in orange sauce is an easy dish,
as are creamed baby onions with nutmeg. These elegant vegetable
dishes are also good do-aheads as the flavor improves when allowed
to sit overnight in the frig.
A big green salad is always welcome. Wash the greens in the morning.
Keeping leaves separated from one another, layer them on paper
towels in a large rectangular plastic container. In another bowl,
put your tomato wedges, onions and fresh or dried salad seasonings.
Keep other salad veggies, like mushrooms, olives and cucumbers
in separate containers. When you’re ready to assemble the salad,
your greens will be nice and crisp. The salad goes together in
five minutes.
Make your menu work for you! You can see that careful party food
planning is the key to assuring a sumptuous meal for your guests
without frantic last-minute preparations.
Catering For Your Guests
You should also consider the type of guests attending your social
gatherings. If guests bring their children then you may need to
include food for the children to enjoy, like cordial, fruit juices,
soda pops, cookies and chocolate brownies. You can either bake
your own hot delicious cookies and chocolate brownies, or buy
them from the gourmet food store. If you are restricted for time,
you can place the order over the phone and have them delivered
to your home on the day of the party.
You may want to base your choice of food depending on the theme
for your party. If it is Italian night, then there are a wide
range of Italian food choices including pastas, pizza and Italian
ice cream for dessert. If you have not cooked Italian, you can
either use an Italian recipes cookbook or place an order with
your favorite Italian restaurant. Many restaurants these days,
cater for parties. So you can arrange for delivery of the order
on the day of your social gathering.
These are some of the many ideas you can use to become a success
with thoughtful party food planning.
About the Author:
Patricia Gorginas has written a number of articles on food and
cooking including Bachelorette
Party Ideas, Italian
Cooking, Jalapeno
Stuffed Olives, Quick
and Easy Dinner Recipes, Boost
your metabolism, Spicy
Hot Peppers, Easy
and Quick Dinners, Chocolate
Covered Strawberries, Salad
Dressing, Muffin
Baskets, Chocolate
Covered Potato Chips.
Keep a lookout for more articles on this website.
Did You Know?
What are the kitchen basics I need?
Kitchen basics that every kitchen should have are
pots and pans (in a variety of sizes), measuring cups, measuring spoons,
mixing bowls and an assortment of kitchen gadgets that make life easier.
One of these gadgets is a can opener. Being forced to saw off
the bottom of a can could take a little of the fervor away from
cooking. Also consider keeping whisks, spatulas and tongs as part
of your cooking basics.
Another item basic that is used often is a drainer/strainer.
These can come in the form of bowls or be part of a boiling pan
set. It is used to drain spaghetti water from the pasta or can
be used for anything similar.
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