COOKING
FOR 
CROWDS

 
From the Kitchen of Nancy Wilkins 
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Menus
 
When putting together a meal there are several considerations. 

 Taste    /    Texture    /    Color    /    Nutrition    /    Cooking Method    /    Cost 

Taste 
Every dish should not taste the same, nor should the tastes clash with each other. You should have a little tart, a little sweet and a little bland. No one part should overwhelm the rest of the menu. Sometimes, it is a little hard. Curry dishes come to mind when I think of overwhelming flavors. One would have to give a lot of thought when deciding what to serve with curry.
Texture 
The textures of the foods served should be considered. Only those people who have dental problems want all their food to be soft and mushy. But, if everything is crisp and crunchy, then that too, could become boring. Crisp, crunchy, smooth, mushy, liquid, solid, mealy, these all are textures of foods that can become part of your menu. These textures need to be varied to keep the meal interesting. 
Color 
The meal should be visually appealing also. The colors and shapes of the foods should be varied and not clash either. A meal of all white foods would be just as bland as a meal of all mushy foods. Pick your menu choices to appeal to the eye as well as to the mouth.
Nutrition 
Consider the nutritious aspect of the meal also when choosing the foods for the menu. There is lots of information available about nutrition. But, you would be generally safe if you had one protein food, one starchy food, a fruit or non starchy vegetable, and a bread. The dessert may or may not be taken into consideration when trying to stay nutritious. Most desserts cancel out any good nutrition points earned by the meal. That's why they need to be so sinfully appealing as to wipe out any good intentions on the part of the diner.
Method of Cooking 
Again, variation is the keyword here. Do not serve all fried food, or all baked food. Vary the method of cooking to increase the appeal of the food. But you also need to vary the method of cooking in order to be able to ease your preparation time. You may not be able to fit the whole meal into the oven.
Cost 
Just how much do you want to spend on this meal? Serve the best quality food you can afford. But some foods are a whole lot more expensive than other foods. Spend the most on your entrée and vegetable. Then, decide how far you want to go on the dessert. You may want to spend less on your vegetables in order to spend more on the dessert. Remember though, that when it comes to desserts you can't please all the people all the time. There will more people abstaining from the dessert than from any other part of the meal. 
 
 
Sample Menus
Lasagna with Meat 
Tossed Salad with Garlic Dressing 
Steamed Baby Carrots 
Torpedo Rolls 
New York Style Cheesecake 
Raspberry Ice Tea
Smoked Pork Ribs 
Barbecue Beans 
Stuffed Baked Potato 
Buttered Corn on the Cob 
Homemade Ice Cream
Tortilla Soup 
Beef Enchiladas 
Spanish Rice, Refried Beans 
Guacamole Sauce with chips 
Baked Vanilla Custard
Sausage Pilaf 
Broccoli with Cheese Sauce 
Fried Apple Rings 
Whole Wheat Cloverleaf Roll
Sweet and Sour Soup 
Stirred Fried Beef Strips 
Steamed White Rice 
Egg Rolls 
Fortune Cookies
Send me a menu that you have found to be crowd pleasing.  Perhaps I could add it to this page for everyone to see and use. 
Betty Crocker provides a lot of help in making menus and grocery lists. Visit her site at http://www.bettycrocer.com/ for ideas.
Continue on the the  next page  for practice in making menus. 
   
 
made by 
Nancy Wilkins 
University of Houston Clear Lake 
Spring, 1998