Cooking for a Crowd: How To Cook a Stress-Free Feast

Thanksgiving brings out dinner party anxiety in the best of us, but it's really just a heightened version of the more common dinner parties we all throw throughout the year. So how does one plan a Thanksgiving meal — or any other big meal for lots of people? Here are a few thoughts on planning a well-balanced meal and staying (relatively!) unstressed while preparing it.

We've done several posts on planning a meal and organizing your thoughts for cooking. Here's a look back at them:

• Dinner Party Timing: Five Tips for Cooking a Full Meal
• Dinner Party Planning: Scheduling Backward
• Entertaining Tips: Get Organized! - With a spreadsheet!

It seems like the planning and then COORDINATING all that planned food on the day of Thanksgiving is what is most daunting to many of you.

Here are some thoughts, which partially recap and also build upon our posts above.

1. Make as much as possible ahead - Give yourself breathing room and empty space with making as much as possible ahead. Potatoes can be made and refrigerated, then baked. You can make cranberry sauce, rolls, salad, and many other dishes for Thanksgiving (or other meals) ahead.

2. Have no more than ONE "tricky" dish to handle at once - If there is something new you're making (a turkey, for instance, or a pie) let that be the ONE experimental or new thing you are handling on the day of the dinner party. Do everything else ahead of time.

3. Schedule backwards, then add an hour - Don't schedule too tightly; if you think you need three hours to prepare, then add an extra hour and make it four.

4. Put your menu (and timeline) where you can see it - Don't keep your menu in your head. This is how we forget green beans and never take the salad out of the fridge until after pumpkin pie. Put your menu somewhere highly visible, with notes on timing, if necessary. We always write our dinner party menu on a whiteboard, right next to where we hang our recipes.

5. Give yourself a moment to get centered before guests arrive - The whole point of a dinner party, of course, is to be with people. So if you're harried and worried leading right up to the time the doorbell rings, it's hard to be present with people. So build in five minutes to go have a glass of wine, light some candles, and powder your nose, if necessary! Even if it means the roast is five minutes late. Your guests would rather have you be warm and less stressed; they'll be more in tune to that than the timing of the food. Honest.

All of these are really common sense solutions, of course. What are your own coping mechanisms for big dinner parties? Any tips for being less stressed? We lean on these methods really hard; the more we do ahead, the happier we are on the day of!

(Image: Flickr member roland licensed for use under Creative Commons)

Comments (12)

Excellent post! Whenever I host a party, I create a huge master list at least the week before (quite often 2 weeks before) with the breakdown of jobs by day. The day before & the day of, I have a timed breakdown. It has saved me countless hours & prevented me from forgetting any items. My family thinks I'm crazy, but the method works well for me. Plus, I am much nicer to be around when I know exactly what I'm supposed to be doing & can cross things off my list.

Happy entertaining everyone!

This DOES work. Can't recommend enough.

I begin working on this type of list sometimes when i am creating my menu even if this is months in advance. This allows me to not make mistakes in menu planning such as two dishes that must be fussed over at once before it is too late.

Include on your list both the vessel you are cooking your dish in and the serving dish you will use for it. This helps prevent things like, gee, I really need the square casserole dish for the stuffing, but I'm baking the gingerbread in it, so I guess I'll have to serve the stuffing in a gladware disposable container . . .

My problem is, I want to make ahead RIGHT NOW. But what is the point of buying fresh ingredients for say, a cake, and then freezing it? I plan to make my desserts and boil/bake potatoes on Tuesday -- I have a feeling I'll be more stressed on Tuesday evening that I am on Thursday morning!

And Amen to doing whatever it takes to keep a smile on your face and resentment at bay as your guests are arriving. The year my aunt got down on her knees in front of everyone after the Thanksgiving prayer was said, to scrub the kitchen floor while loudly complaining that someone had tracked in some dirt, was the last year my uncle let her host dinner.

Seconding heatherk - only in addition, my menu plans for the events I cater (which get me roundly mocked for approaching food like a military operation) also include notes on when things will need to on the heat - thus ensuring that I don't need to have 7 pans on a 6-ring range at once, or 5 trays in an oven with only room for 4...

My mom always used a list like this, and now, so do I. She would also lay out all the serving pieces and put a little note in each one as to what was intended for each dish, so we could help fill them when it was time... just remember to remove the piece of paper first!!

Great advice. We entertain 5 people at least a couple of times a week. I think that you hit the nail on the head with only one tricky dish at a time. A list is always helpful too

And have a rotation of 5 or so apps or sides you can put together in a minute. I can't tell you how many times I've had last-minute add-ons for dinner. I always have giant cans of chickpeas or cannelloni beans for such emergencies--I can make an extra large platter of bean dip (hummus with Indian or Moroccan spices; white bean dip with rosemary lemon flavors, whatever...); or crostini; or a 15 minute soup with sauteed onion and garlic, some rosemary, a can of beans, and a can of tomatoes. I also always keep carrots and celery around for crudite (made with bean dip, yogurt dip, aioli, bagna cauda, etc.).

Great tips! I would also recommend "clean as you go" -- this makes me a lot more organized.

You can also do things like setting the table ahead of time. And if you are late in putting out dinner, a little champagned always pacifies the guests. :) Happy Thanksgiving, all.

I had a big "drop in between these hours" party a few winters ago and put out cassoulet in one slow cooker and spiked cider in another. The food and drink stayed warm and I didn't have to think about it. I also had cupcakes on a tiered stand.

I've learned a lot about this recently, after starting a catering business where I do events in people's homes.

1. Plan all the serving dishes, utensils, linens and table dishes you'll be using a few days ahead of time. Label the serving dishes with what will go in them, iron your linens and get a good idea how you'll set up the party (everyone seated at a big table? buffet line with seating everywhere? etc.)

2. Anything that can be made the day before, or the week before, do it!

3. Plan out how you'll use your oven(s), burners and refrigerator space. Diagrams are your friend, and specifying times is also really helpful. Storing food in gallon-size ziploc bags instead of tupperware or serving dishes can save TONS of space in the fridge.

4. Check stock of your basic pantry essentials. This is not the time to run out of butter, salt, pepper, lemons, flour, etc.

5. Clean as you cook. Be vigilant about this. If you start to get burned out on cooking, or feel overwhelmed, stop and clean up. When you have a clean slate to work on, it is much easier to be creative and think on your feet.

6. Plan your menu carefully so it includes dishes that can be made in advance, on the morning of the event, and has only 1 or 2 items that require intense last-minute attention.

7. To avoid forgetting small but important items, visualize/think through the entire party and what will be needed, from the first thing your guests will do (where will they put their coats?) to what coffee cups you'll use with dessert.

Raising hand as Thanksgiving Control Freak #1. I have a 4 page Word document with menu, shopping list and day by day blow of what to do starting on Sunday. The schedule moves to hour by hour on Thanksgiving and I find myself updating it at least 3-4x a day. I already have pie crusts, gravy and 1st batch of rolls in the freezer.

If only I ran the rest of my life so well.

Canadian Thanksgiving has already passed, and I can say that having a timed list made all the difference. I timed in 15 minutes blocks and most of the day I was running slightly ahead of schedule. My husband helped a lot and we set the table in advance. The night before I made the pumpkin cheesecake and nut bake. I made the stuffing in the slow cooker because I have a very small oven.