Cooking For Crowds For Dummies Cheat Sheet

How much to cook when you cook for a crowd

When you’re cooking for a crowd, knowing how much to cook is your biggest concern. The following tables help you determine how much food you need to prepare — everything from appetizers through desserts — for your big gatherings:

How much to cook up to serve for Thanksgiving dinner

Nothing is worse than cooking Thanksgiving dinner and running out of food. It is important to err on the side of excess while sticking to your budget.

There is no exact formula for cooking for a crowd, so you have to consider your crowd. Do they really enjoy eating? Will many children be present? Are most people in your crowd weight conscious? All these questions and similar ones impact how much food you prepare.

Quantity planning for holiday appetizers

Appetizers and drinks don’t have to be a pain in the neck, but planning them tends to be confusing. Because appetizers don’t lend themselves to a quantity chart per se, you can let the following list guide you:

• For appetizers preceding a full meal: Offer at least four different types of appetizers and six to eight pieces per person. For example, say you have 20 guests. In that case, you’d need at least 120 total appetizer pieces.

• The more variety you have, the smaller portion size each type of appetizer will need to have: Therefore, you don’t need to make as much of any one particular appetizer.

• When you serve appetizers to a crowd, always include bulk-type appetizers: Bulk-type foods are items that aren’t individually made, such as dips or spreads. If you forgo the dips and spreads, you’ll end up making hundreds of individual appetizer items, which may push you over the edge. To calculate bulk items, assume 1 ounce equals 1 piece.

• Always try to have extra items: Black and green olives and are great for extra filler.

Quantity planning for holiday drinks

The following list give you some general beverage-serving guidelines for entertaining:

• Soft drinks: One to two 8-ounce servings per person per hour.

• Punch: One to two 4-ounce servings per person per hour.

• Tea: One to two 8-ounce servings per person per hour.

• Coffee: One to two 4-ounce servings per person per hour.

• Water: Always provide it. Two standard serving pitchers are usually enough.

Quantity planning for soups, sides, main courses, and desserts

The following tables can help you determine how much food you need for some typical soups, sides, main courses, and desserts. If the item you’re serving isn’t listed here, you can probably find an item in the same food group to guide you.

Buffet-style affairs typically figure at a lower serving per person, because buffets typically feature more side dish items than a plated meal does.

Don’t use the quantity tables as an exact science; use them to guide you and help you make decisions for your particular crowd. If you’re serving a dish that you know everyone loves, make more than the table suggests. If you have a dish that isn’t as popular, you can get by with less.

How to plan Christmas dinner with a budget

Naturally, cooking Christmas dinner for a crowd can be expensive, so it’s important to plan with a budget in mind. begin with a firm look at your budget. If you’re the one making Christmas dinner for the crowd, ask yourself the following questions:

• How much can you spend? You may be thinking goose or duck, when your budget calls for turkey.

• What are the age group and gender of the guests you’ll be cooking for? Teenagers, both girls and boys, can eat, eat, and eat some more. However, tots aren’t going to eat as much.

• What items can you borrow? Borrowing items can save you a lot of money. For example, if you’re hosting an upscale buffet served on china, you’ll certainly save money if you can borrow the dishes rather than rent them.

• What are you responsible for cooking? Are you cooking the appetizers, dessert, and everything in between? Or are you cooking only the main course?

• What can you borrow? You may need extra plates, tables, chairs, glasses, cooking tools, and such items. Borrow them. Don’t waste your budget on items that you’ll rarely use and can borrow from friends and family. Nothing is wrong with getting some help and borrowing things you need instead of buying them.

Planning a budget doesn’t have an exact formula, because a number of factors come into play. Remember that your budget should be a relatively firm guideline for how much money you spend — not necessarily 100 percent set in stone. The idea is to come up with a budget that helps you have a great event without maxing out your credit cards.

Keep these issues in mind:

• Before you start planning anything, think about your bottom line. Don’t start with what you’d ideally prefer and then see what happens with your budget — you won’t like the results. Rather, start with a reasonable budget and work backwards.

• Plan the event according to your budget, not the other way around. If you’re cooking Christmas dinner for a crowd of 20 and you want something really elegant, but your budget won’t allow you to prepare everything you want. Instead of overspending, find ways to compromise. You may spend more on the entree and try to find a few less expensive side dishes and appetizers to make up the difference.

  Remember, you can cook great food without breaking the bank, so think about how you can find a win-win resolution with what you want and what your budget will allow.

• Watch out for “budget creep.” As you plan, think about everything you need to buy so that your needs and budget are accurate. When you’re shopping, it’s easy to think “Oh, those colored paper plates are so much prettier than plain white!” or “Maybe I should get another bottle of wine, just in case.” Be strong — stick to your budget!

• Be reasonable and flexible. You may try to tackle the world with the best crowd meal ever, but be reasonable about what you can spend and what you can prepare.