It is often hard to find just the right large quantity recipe for the theme of
your party or for the "culinary experience" you are aspiring to offer your
guests. Here are a few tips and suggestions on how to modify your favorite 4-6
serving recipes when you find yourself cooking for a crowd of 20 or more.
But what constitutes a crowd? Of course it's all relative (your relatives, not
mine). Seriously, if you are accustomed to cooking for one to three, cooking for
20-50 people may seem overwhelming.
When cooking for a crowd,
there are three important considerations; adequate cookware, sufficient
refrigerator space and recipe selection. Obviously you should seek out
recipes geared towards feeding a crowd. It is often easy to find large quantity
recipes for basic dishes such as lasagna and mashed potatoes. But what do you do
if you have your heart set on using your favorite 4-serving recipe for Corn and
Black Bean Polenta for a party of 25?
Even for expert cooks, modifying a
recipe for large quantity cooking is not just a matter of endless
multiplications. If you expand a recipe too much--you are bound to run into
trouble and end up with an off tasting or a poorly flavored dish.
For a
basic dish like mashed potatoes, it would be acceptable to multiply all of the
ingredients in a 4-serving recipe by two, thus doubling the recipe to serve
8. However, recipes are not indefinitely expandable (or shrinkable for
that matter) and enlarging a recipe any more then 2-4 times is not
recommended.
You may also use recipe converters which are easily
found online. The converters however, simply "do the math", multiplying each
ingredient amount by the increased number of servings you enter into the
converter. It does not take into account, for example, the pungency or texture
of the ingredients. If a 4-serving recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of finely
chopped rosemary and you want to triple the recipe to serve 12; 3
tablespoons of rosemary will probably overwhelm all the other flavors and
seasonings in the dish.
It is a good idea to be cautious when
multiplying ingredients like salt, flour, cornstarch, eggs, seafood, meats,
robust herbs, oils, onions, garlic, celery and peppers. Some ingredients will
impart enough flavor, texture or body when only increased a fraction. In
addition some of these ingredients can be added a little at a time as you
continually check for taste.
What if you want to serve 25 people with a
not-so-simple, 4-serving recipe with numerous ingredients? Doubling or tripling
more complex recipes could get complicated. One trick is to batch cook. Batch
cooking requires planning ahead and cooking in advance. It may also mean
freezing prepared dishes. It is also a matter of "doing the math".
To serve 25 with a 4-serving recipe, you can cook 5-6 individual batches of that
recipe or, you can expand the recipe (no more then 2-4 times) and cook in
batches accordingly. For example, to serve 25 from a 4-serving recipe, double
the recipe to 8 and cook three batches or, triple it and cook two batches. To
serve 18 with a 6-serving recipe, cook it three times or cook one 6-serving
batch and one batch that has been doubled to serve 12. You get the idea.
It is almost impossible to double or triple recipe ingredients for
cakes, cookies, pie dough, or breads, without meeting with utter disaster. It's
a chemistry thing. Instead, prepare a single batch repeatedly until you have
enough food to feed your guests. Again, cooking in advance is the key.
Chances are you can successfully double or triple the ingredients of recipes
for individual appetizers, such as stuffed mushrooms or crostini; and for snack
mixes, dips, salsas, punches, one serving-size pieces of meat, poultry or fish,
tossed salads, pasta salads and vegetables dishes.
If you are cooking
for a crowd of 25 or more you will most likely serve buffet style. It is the
best way to serve larger crowds. On a buffet of numerous dishes, people will
take smaller portions of each in order to sample everything. Also, not everyone
will sample every dish. This means that every dish you prepare need not serve
25. You need only prepare a few large quantity dishes. Look for recipes that
serve 8-12 and double them (or not).
With a calculator and a little
ingredient know-how you can comfortably convert most of your party food recipes
and present a tantalizing menu to your guests.
Have fun!
Debra
Haydel publishes
http://www.chef-menus.com. This site is packed with information and tips on
party menu planning. Not only recipes but complete, coordinated menus for
all your special occasions.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
