Meal Planning for a Crowd

It was a pleasure to help with Jenn’s baby shower last month, but I must admit it was one heck of a challenge. Food allergies, intolerance and various styles of eating can make meal planning for a large group a bit tricky.

Since Jenn’s body doesn’t tolerate wheat well, a gluten-free menu was top priority, but there were other considerations, too. As always, it needed to be appropriate for the season, but also budget-friendly and easily portable.
My earlier success with a Curried Coconut Carrot Soup made it a no-brainer for diverse appetites and perfect for the cold weather. The mildly spicy, meatless soup is gluten-, dairy- and soy-free, making it a safe option for celiac, vegetarian, vegan and paleo eaters.
Party-worthy Belgian endive stuffed with colorful quinoa salad, provided by another volunteer, rounded out the entrée portion of the mini-meal.

I really wanted dessert to be foodie-spectacular for the Fit Bottomed Mama-to-be, who just happens to be a major food geek with a discerning palate. The wheat issue ruled out most cakes, cookies and pastries; the prettiest fruits and berries were out of season and liqueur-based desserts hardly seemed suitable. I scoured tons of recipe books and Googled like a madwoman.
Some epicurean delights were too time consuming and others, like the Bon Appétit buttermilk, apricot and candied fennel concoction were possibly too weird. (Forever etched in my memory is the dinner party when an uber-gourmet dessert failed to impress and was met with blank stares and whispers of, “Um, what’s that?”)
I finally decided on individual Caramel Pear Cheesecake Trifles (everybody adores cheesecake, right?) and did a test run for my neighbors. A few tweaks to the recipe were required, but the little desserts received the thumbs up.
The week of the party I planned my prep. Tuesday: grocery shop; Wednesday: make caramel sauce; Thursday: chop onions and carrots (18 cups!); Friday: cook pears. My pre-prep paid off; Saturday I enjoyed a leisurely day in the kitchen simmering soup and layering trifles.

Cooking for a crowd (or even your family) may seem like an overwhelming chore, but a piecemeal approach will help to make it doable. Once your weekly meal plan is set, break down the workload for effortless execution. Take advantage of the little pockets of time you have and prep whatever you can in advance to turn frenzied dinnertime into a labor of love.
Oh, and the shower, it was a great success! The hardest part of the process was deciding what to make!
What tips and tricks can you share to help make mealtimes effortless, even if it’s for a crowd with dietary issues? —Karen