Prepping and Cooking a Successful Gathering
By Phillip Szabo
Writer for Meeting Meat with Szabo the Butcher
Linden, N.J Sept. 2018
Welcome to my first true editorial here on the Meeting Meat blog. I will be doing these from time to time. Mostly on topics pertaining to the meat industry as a whole but will also delve into other related topics. As you see I'm doing this today. Hope You enjoy!
So, prepping and cooking for parties large and small is something I truly relish. In the moment, I find myself fully engaged. Feverishly working to beat the clock I tend to raise my game as I move from project to project. With every experience I continuously add to my repertoire, learning new ways of cooking entrees, presenting dishes, and ways to save on time and money. I go into gatherings as a personal challenge in which satiating all comers is the ultimate goal. Completing this is extremely gratifying and I hope that you may also find catering parties for friends and family just as satisfying.
I am going to make a few suggestions for beginner or intermediate home cooks that may be doing a large party for the first time.
Myself, I like large family oriented meals. Some I would include are Jersey Red Gravy which is a large pot of tomato sauce slow cooked for 4 to 6 hours using peeled and diced garden tomatoes (Choice) peeled and crushed tomatoes, finely diced onions, thin sliced garlic. a bit of shaved carrots, olive oil, bay leaf, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed and dried red pepper, a few chopped red or yellow peppers. and different meats. Meat balls, homemade sausage, and bone in country style pork ribs (rib end of a pork loin) are my favorites.
Other meals like My Oma's Goulash (see recipe in this blog) are also great for a big gathering. One more I really enjoy is the Polish comfort food Perogies which I admittedly do not make by hand but If you have a Polish market or Deli in town go get them fresh. Boil them for about 5 minutes then fry with butter. I saute my onions separately and add them to the serving dish. With a little dollop of sour cream you can't go wrong!
I'm going to add one more tip that has done me well. When planning a party if you want to try something new.....Do IT! Just make sure to give the dish a trial run a week or so before. Cut the recipe down to 2/3 or so. Let's say a dish for 12 people try making it for 4. This is an easy fractional way of learning your cooking times and estimating your prepping times. Plan it out because although size will directly alter the prep time it may not alter cooking times. Things that are baking yes they would. However, how long you fry a perogie obviously wouldn't change and how many you can do at a time would vary by pan size etc. These are all things to consider.
Remember this doesn't have to be work. Parties can be fun as the cook. Events can also be extremely satisfying so I hope you get in there and get your family involved too!
Happy Creations til next time!
Szabo
I am going to make a few suggestions for beginner or intermediate home cooks that may be doing a large party for the first time.
- Choose a dish that you know well even if it's something you have never made. Knowing what something should taste like eliminates worry and will lead to saving time. This will also boost your confidence as you will find you will probably get it right.
- Don't be afraid of mountains of prep work. This is a matter of allotting time and for many things you can do much of that work the night before. (dicing, cleaning, precooking etc.)
- Interactive dishes are fun for parties and a great way to deal with ranging pallets. Examples: Taco building platters. Sandwich building platters. Burger stations all are easy ways to feed a large number of people while limiting your kitchen time as people will be platting themselves. This also gives you the ability to accommodate vegetarian and vegan guests as you will be able to separate ingredients allowing for everyone to enjoy gustation.
Myself, I like large family oriented meals. Some I would include are Jersey Red Gravy which is a large pot of tomato sauce slow cooked for 4 to 6 hours using peeled and diced garden tomatoes (Choice) peeled and crushed tomatoes, finely diced onions, thin sliced garlic. a bit of shaved carrots, olive oil, bay leaf, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed and dried red pepper, a few chopped red or yellow peppers. and different meats. Meat balls, homemade sausage, and bone in country style pork ribs (rib end of a pork loin) are my favorites.
Other meals like My Oma's Goulash (see recipe in this blog) are also great for a big gathering. One more I really enjoy is the Polish comfort food Perogies which I admittedly do not make by hand but If you have a Polish market or Deli in town go get them fresh. Boil them for about 5 minutes then fry with butter. I saute my onions separately and add them to the serving dish. With a little dollop of sour cream you can't go wrong!
I'm going to add one more tip that has done me well. When planning a party if you want to try something new.....Do IT! Just make sure to give the dish a trial run a week or so before. Cut the recipe down to 2/3 or so. Let's say a dish for 12 people try making it for 4. This is an easy fractional way of learning your cooking times and estimating your prepping times. Plan it out because although size will directly alter the prep time it may not alter cooking times. Things that are baking yes they would. However, how long you fry a perogie obviously wouldn't change and how many you can do at a time would vary by pan size etc. These are all things to consider.
Remember this doesn't have to be work. Parties can be fun as the cook. Events can also be extremely satisfying so I hope you get in there and get your family involved too!
Happy Creations til next time!
Szabo
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