The menu for a formal dinner requires careful consideration. You’ll need to do some introspection to get it off successfully.
WHO? Who will be attending your party?
Is there anyone who might come who has dietary requirements or restrictions?
Perhaps they have a severe allergy to peanuts. Maybe someone has dietary restrictions. If someone at your party is allergic to shellfish, you shouldn’t serve Maryland crab cakes with chipotle tartar sauce as the main dish. Most guests with dietary restrictions will inquire about the menu well before the party; nevertheless, some guests may forget until the event day. A thoughtful host or hostess will remember that when deciding what to serve at the dinner party. Gather information about potential guests, including whether or not they have any dietary restrictions or food allergies. This could be the solution:
____Guest_______Allergy?______RSVP_____
1)____________________________________
2)____________________________________
3)____________________________________
4)____________________________________
5)____________________________________
6)____________________________________
7)____________________________________
8)____________________________________
9)____________________________________
10)___________________________________
WHEN? When would you recommend having the Dinner Party?
Which day of the week is it? Do most of your visitors follow a standard workweek?
When exactly does this occur? Is there a group that can arrive sooner but not later?
Please let me know if you have any idea when the garbage men will be here. After a gathering, more garbage will likely be disposed of than usual.
WHERE? Where do you hope your guests will congregate?
Is there going to be enough room for everyone who has been invited to your house?
Do you need to invite fewer people or move to a larger venue? Where do you propose we go?
WHY SO MANY? The number of courses depends on your needs.
Ask yourself some basic questions before jumping to conclusions.
How skilled are you as a cook? How well-versed in the kitchen would you call yourself? Do you require simple recipes, or can you produce elaborate French dishes?
Small Plates_________________________
Aperitifs froids________________________
Soup_________________________________
Warm Snacks_______________________
Salad_________________________________
Intermetzo____________________________
Fish__________________________________
Intermetzo____________________________
Pasta_________________________________
Intermetzo____________________________
Fowl__________________________________
Intermetzo____________________________
Vegetable_____________________________
Intermetzo____________________________
Beef__________________________________
Intermetzo____________________________
Vegetable No. 2______________________
Intermetzo____________________________
Entree________________________________
Cheese________________________________
Dessert_______________________________
Coffee/Tea____________________________
WHAT? Do you want to expand your culinary horizons?
Do you wish to sample any particular cuisines?
Imagine the aroma of your home as your first guest enters. Is fried fish on the menu tonight? Steak bourguignon? Before they even take a seat, you should have them drooling. Will you be able to get your hands on the stuff you need?
Is there a rainbow on your plate? Consider how this dish would look if…
Breast of Turkey Smothered in Cream Gravy
Stuffed Potatoes
Gratinéed cauliflower
Not quite mouthwatering. White and beige predominate throughout. Picture this dish in your mind’s eye now…
Breast of Turkey with White Wine and Cranberries
Diamonds of Polenta and Parmesan
Rapini with Broccoli in a Lemon-Zest Sauce
It’s a vast improvement. However, the turkey breast, potatoes, and vegetables remain the same as the main course. Those hues, though! Colors of the rainbow!!
Don’t make everything on your platter mushy or fried; instead, go for a range of textures. Incorporate a silky element into a crunchy plate or a crunchy element into a mostly soft platter. Consider the taste and texture of the meal as you eat it. Try to use a few distinct textures.
The plate should feature a variety of shapes, such as a triangle, a square, and a round. The secret is ensuring nothing is the same shape as everything else. However, not every detail needs to be changed.
Consider the connection between the dishes on your plate. Can they get along? What about the primary flavors? Do they mesh well? This is a tricky topic to answer without much background knowledge, but consider it this way… Does the same ingredient appear in multiple products? Is garlic used in every dish? Does more than one of these items have vinegar in them? Is there a delicate balance between the spiciness of one food and the subtlety of another?
Is there chemistry between the dishes?
Please don’t use too much garlic or onion so that it overpowers your guests. These foods are the building blocks of exquisite flavor, yet they can lead to foul breath if consumed excessively. Remember that eating beans might lead to embarrassing gas, especially at a formal dinner.
Also, make sure all of your tools are in working order.
In this context, “equipment” refers to:
Is there enough room at your table for…?
Do you have enough dinnerware for everybody, and if so, what kinds are they?
Are there enough napkins for the tables? Napkins?
Size, please. Which hue would you like?
Glassware?
Silverware?
Shakers for salt and pepper?
Have any items that could serve as table centerpieces?
What about something like a vase? Candles? Use Caution around the Fire!!
Do you have any unused card or craft tables you could drape a tablecloth over and use as a makeshift buffet in case you run out of room?
If you don’t already have enough of these things, you can buy them from a Party Supply Store or rent them for the event.
Tell me about the appliances and utensils in your kitchen.
Remember that you can’t prepare recipes for specific tools without such devices. Do you have any deep-frying appliances, for instance? Do you have a crepe pan? such as a bundt pan, etc. How about knives and forks?
Just how many rings does your stove have?
Six items that need to be cooked on the stovetop and served simultaneously would be impossible to prepare with only four burners.
How many ovens do you have?
Possible items on the menu: How many things require baking? Roasted? Braised?
I was wondering how many fridges you have.
How big are they, exactly? Is it possible to clear them out to make room?
How much room do you have for counters?
Where did you get your dishwasher?
Can all of the cutlery and serving utensils fit in there?
Method of Food Preparation:
Compute the following for each dish on the menu:
How will the food be distributed?
From the vault (where? Pantry? Fridge?
Refrigerator, porch, etc.
To Prepare (on) the Countertop or in the Sink. ……….
to Prepare Food on (Which) Stove or Oven?
Stovetop or microwave?
It’s important to remember that you’ll need adequate counter space to make everything on the menu.
Duration of each dish:
Review the steps in the recipe and estimate how long they will take.
Consider each recipe as though it were going to be the only one you ever made. How much prepping, cooking, reheating, and serving will be required? If anything needs to cool, be sure to allow enough time for it to do so.
It’s best to overestimate how long something will take to minimize tension.
When you sum up the total cooking times across all your recipes, you’ll have a good idea of how much time you’ll need to set aside. Most of us can perform multiple tasks simultaneously, such as mixing an ingredient while another is baking, but apply the math this way, and you’ll have a maximum amount of time.
What about the recipe itself? Can it be divided in any way? I mean, could you start the recipe and come back to it later? If that’s the case, you might be able to get most of the work done the day before the party, leaving just the finishing touches for the big day.
If the menu seems too complex, start over with something more manageable.
If you anxiously anticipate the upcoming dinner party, another option is to hold a dress rehearsal. To get a sense of how long everything will take and to iron out any kinks, try prepping and cooking everything a week or two before the party day. This is highly beneficial if you’re trying to cook a new dish.
Not having fun is a party day disaster.
CHECK YOURSELF!! Having a dinner party is fun, but planning it causes stress.
Professional private chef Chef Spicer has over 23 years of expertise in throwing fantastic dinner parties. You can reach her on her website.
Read also: Exactly What Is Recipe Free Cooking: A Guide To Improvisation With The Food Prep
