Saturday, October 27, 2007

Organizing Meals

During the past week, three different people have talked to me about the difficulty they have getting all the dishes for a meal ready at the same time. One was talking about hosting a large dinner party and the other two were lamenting their inability to get a meal on the table for their families.

There are a few guiding principles for timing a meal so that the various items are ready to serve at the same time.

The first is planning. You know what you plan to serve and you have all the necessary ingredients available. Another aspect of planning is to consider the complexity of the menu and what items may be prepared ahead of time. For instance a salad may be put together prior to preparing a meal or while the roast rests prior to carving. A wonderful frozen desert can be made a day prior and kept in the freezer. Planning a mix of hot and cold dishes gives the cook more flexibility in preparing the meal

The second principle is preparation. Some sauces, deserts and sidedishes can be prepared prior to cook time. Caprese salad is an old stand-by that improves with some wait time prior to serving. Slicing, dicing and peeling of all items is best done prior to beginning to combine the items for cooking. Some exceptions apply of course. If you are cooking a turkey, for instance, you have time after you put the bird in the oven to peel potatoes or cut up squash. When in doubt, have every thing sliced, diced and ready to go before beginning cooking.

The third principle is execution and that is where timing comes in. If you are fixing a simple meal of chicken, asparagus and potato, you might consider that each of them takes the following times to cook:
Chicken: 25 minutes
Potatoes: 30 minutes
Asparagus: 12 minutes
Therefore, you start the potatoes first, the chicken five minutes after that and the asparagus thirteen minutes after the chicken. They should all be ready at the same time.

The fourth principle is serving. You may choose to plate the meal for each individual or you can serve it family style allowing your family or guests to pass the serving plates and help themselves. You could also serve buffet style by setting the food in an area away from the table and open for self-service. Simple buffets make serving easy, especially for a large group.

The last principle is enjoying yourself. Folks don’t mind if they have to wait a few minutes for the lasagna to cool. They are there for the pleasure of your company.

Getting yourself organized prior to the meal allows you to relax and have a little fun.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

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