Cooking for Crowds – Tips to Get Over The Show Smoothly
Cooking for one or two may seem a cake walk for many but when you ask someone to cook for a large crowd and then they back off! With the mere mention of cooking for crowds make all of us visualize of a traditional cooking where there are huge broilers and stockpots that are connected to a huge furnace stove and not to mention the endless sweating hours people have to wait till the ingredients are decently cooked. This is the main reason why people shy away from cooking for a large crowd and also prefer being the last in the dinner line.
Well, to all those who balk away with this idea should understand that cooking for crowd is not as difficult and complicated as it is posed by many. Like any other event, cooking for crowd should be well planned mainly making a note on what is going to be served. This is not it, you will have to also take a note of the number of servings people may have. It is most important and tricky part of the show as you dont know the appetite of your guests. So it is always good to arrange for more than expected that can suffice the crowd even when a few people take additional servings. Make sure you plan double servings, especially for college students and teens.
Then next phase is to decide what variety you would like to present and modify the recipe to accommodate your guests preference and need. A few smartly plan multiple recipes than cooking one single recipe for many. If you think this is a good way to handle your cooking then you can stick to it every time you cook for crowd.
When you are preparing to cook for crowd you should make sure that yo have the right ingredients and adequate amount of it all. This is very important while cooking in bulk than while cooking for a smaller meal. This will help you while making a list of all that you need to before going to the grocers shop.
A few of the experienced cooks keep the cooking for crowds in the same line as their normal cooking practice. This means, rather than cooking lasagna in a massive pan for thrice the number of people than normal, these people prefer to cook lasagna in their regular pans three times. Regardless of the extra time you may have to spend in the kitchen it will for sure make the cooking process easier and comfortable.
Just in case you find one of the portions inconsistent then you have to dump only one third of the meal cooked instead of throwing away the entire meal. People often find cooking intheir own range of crockery more convenient that cooking in big utensil they may not know to handle. All your experience in manipulating recipes will of help to you now when you are cooking for crowds.
The best way to overcome the fear of cooking for crowds is to relax, plan, list and then cook the meals your way. If you are more comfortable with a single dish being prepared at a go then you should go for it. But if you prefer serving a variety of dishes prepared in smaller quantities probably that is a good way too. Determine the techniques you are comfortable cooking for crowds and then plan accordingly.
Another significant matter one must remember before cooking for crowds is to have a good tight sleep the previous night. All of us know that cooking for crowds demands more time and effort and so the person cooking deserves a good rest before and after the preparation though we can understand the stress and excitement you may feel the day before and after the show!