Cooking is part of the fun when you are planning a party but some people get into a panic, worrying that they have under- or overestimated the amount of food required, whether the food they are making will be enjoyed by everyone or whether their party food recipes will turn out right.
Guessing How Much Food for a Party
Unfortunately, there is no scientific formula for working out how much food for a party. It is more of an art and the more parties you cater for, the more you will be able to estimate the right food amounts. Here are a few tips that will allow you to estimate how much food for a party and will help you to relax rather than panic!
First of all, who is coming to your party? Is it mainly adults or will you need to make some child-friendly dishes too? How long will your party go on for? You would need more food for an afternoon barbecue, for example, that you would for an after dinner cocktail party.
Work out which dishes will be more popular and make more of those. Boneless chicken appetizers, for example, tend to be more popular than shellfish or pork appetizers, simply because nearly everybody likes boneless chicken recipes, so make more of those.
The more different choices you offer the less of each one your guests will have. Therefore, if you have twenty things to choose from, each guest will want to taste every dish that he or she likes and will only take a small bit of each one.
You can estimate how much food for a party quite well if you know how many people are coming and how much they are likely to eat. Round up your guesses rather than rounding them down because it is better to have a bit of food left over than running out before everybody has finished eating!
Make sure you have some bulk food items too, such as bread if you are having a sit-down dinner or nuts and olives for a cocktail party. People will nibble on these foods before starting on the main dishes or if they are still hungry between courses.
The Right Portion Sizes
Six bites per guest is a good allowance for an appetizer. Seven ounces of meat or fish, an ounce and a half of grains, an ounce of undressed salad, five ounces of potatoes and four ounces of vegetables per person is about right for the main meal. For dessert, allow everyone five ounces of ice cream, four ounces of creamy dessert like mousse or a slice of cake or pie. These measures are just to give you an idea because some people have a big appetite and others have a small one.
Other Party Food Cooking Tips
* Avoid repeating the main ingredient if you are having a dinner party. Do not serve a boneless chicken appetizer followed by a boneless chicken main course, for example.
* If you are having buffet food, offer a choice of both warm and cold foods.
* Offer different food textures with the buffet or meal, so you have a range of soft, hard, crispy, and crunchy food items.
* Using different colored foods is a great way to make your dinner table or buffet table look exciting. - 15634
Guessing How Much Food for a Party
Unfortunately, there is no scientific formula for working out how much food for a party. It is more of an art and the more parties you cater for, the more you will be able to estimate the right food amounts. Here are a few tips that will allow you to estimate how much food for a party and will help you to relax rather than panic!
First of all, who is coming to your party? Is it mainly adults or will you need to make some child-friendly dishes too? How long will your party go on for? You would need more food for an afternoon barbecue, for example, that you would for an after dinner cocktail party.
Work out which dishes will be more popular and make more of those. Boneless chicken appetizers, for example, tend to be more popular than shellfish or pork appetizers, simply because nearly everybody likes boneless chicken recipes, so make more of those.
The more different choices you offer the less of each one your guests will have. Therefore, if you have twenty things to choose from, each guest will want to taste every dish that he or she likes and will only take a small bit of each one.
You can estimate how much food for a party quite well if you know how many people are coming and how much they are likely to eat. Round up your guesses rather than rounding them down because it is better to have a bit of food left over than running out before everybody has finished eating!
Make sure you have some bulk food items too, such as bread if you are having a sit-down dinner or nuts and olives for a cocktail party. People will nibble on these foods before starting on the main dishes or if they are still hungry between courses.
The Right Portion Sizes
Six bites per guest is a good allowance for an appetizer. Seven ounces of meat or fish, an ounce and a half of grains, an ounce of undressed salad, five ounces of potatoes and four ounces of vegetables per person is about right for the main meal. For dessert, allow everyone five ounces of ice cream, four ounces of creamy dessert like mousse or a slice of cake or pie. These measures are just to give you an idea because some people have a big appetite and others have a small one.
Other Party Food Cooking Tips
* Avoid repeating the main ingredient if you are having a dinner party. Do not serve a boneless chicken appetizer followed by a boneless chicken main course, for example.
* If you are having buffet food, offer a choice of both warm and cold foods.
* Offer different food textures with the buffet or meal, so you have a range of soft, hard, crispy, and crunchy food items.
* Using different colored foods is a great way to make your dinner table or buffet table look exciting. - 15634
About the Author:
Looking for something special for dinner try our chicken Marsala with mushrooms recipe just one of the many chicken recipes on our site.
