Raise your hand if you've heard this one: A chef is asked how he or she creates dishes and responds, "Oh, I go to the farmers' market in the morning and see what's good, and then build dishes around that." Doesn't that sound delightful? It certainly can be, but when you're putting together a menu, it's usually best to do a little planning beforehand.
What You Need
Tools
Cookbooks and/or computer
Pen and paper
A comfy chair
Instructions
1. Gather a stack of cookbooks that you think might be the most helpful, pull up some of your favorite cooking web sites (perhaps the list of recipes you've tagged in your Google Reader), grab a pen and paper and settle into a nice comfy chair.
2. Make a list of the people who will be joining you for the meal and note any dietary restrictions. You don't necessarily have to write this list out, but it can be help keep things organized. And when you're planning a menu, more organization means less stress. And less stress means a more enjoyable experience for the cook.
3. Think about ingredients. What is in season right now? What do you already have in your pantry? Are there any ingredients that need to be used up soon?
4. Choose your dishes and write out your menu. If you'd like, leave a little flexibility so you can choose a few ingredients as you shop. For instance, we're making roasted vegetable pizzas, but we're going to wait until we get to the market to choose our vegetables, and then stop by our neighborhood cheese shop and make some selections there. This way, we can still pick up whatever looks the best that day, but focusing our efforts prevents aimless wandering and unnecessary stress.
5. Write out a shopping list. Even if you're leaving some wiggle room, there are ingredients that you will definitely need. You may want to list the items in the order they're arranged in the store. If you'll be serving wine, it can be helpful to do a little research on pairing before you shop and jot down a couple of options to look for. Even if you don't find those exact wines, it will give you some direction.
Additional Notes: You'll most likely discover ways to make the process easier on yourself as you plan more menus. Do whatever is best for you! Just be sure to keep it fun for yourself and enjoy the process – and the meal – as much as your guests.
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(Images: Joanna Miller)
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I find using an excel spreadsheet is very helpful when planning a menu. First I decide on the menu, then the next sheet is for the ingredients needed for each dish and the shopping list.
Another sheet is used to help time the dishes, what can be made 2 days before, 1 day before, 1 hour before....
I found that it keeps me organized for large dinner parties, in the past I've forgotten to serve a dish that I'd made in advance!
Although my boyfriend thinks I'm a little crazy for making all the prep lists, it saves time and removes a good deal of stress the days leading up to a party.
Don't forget to jot down timing and making sure that you can double and triple up on some appliances if need be. If four dishes need the oven simultaneously, you might want to rethink.
A really skilled and experienced chef has a repertoire of ideas for dishes that makes those trips to the market a bit different than for an inexperienced cook.
I'm no chef, definitely a home cook, but I've been reading cook books for over 30 years and cooking almost that long every day, so nothing is more fun for me than to see what I've got on hand, or from a trip to the market, and to spontaneously decide what I'll whip up that night. But that takes time to achieve. In my early 20s I panicked in the store because I had no idea what to do with stuff.
When making a big meal for a lot of people the advice in morgandhi's comment is invaluable. Count back from the time you plan to serve and write down your plan. Also be sure that you have serving pieces AND a place to serve from if your table isn't big enough or you don't like family-style service.
I definitely agree with Charlotte on this one. The ability to build on what's fresh in the store is developed through a lot of cooking over a lot of time. Slowly you figure out what works.
I generally make a week's dinner menu and shop based on that. There are ingredients I always stock, though - for other meals and if something comes up. And I am experienced enough that if I see a good price or an amazing ingredient I generally know how to prepare it and then I change the menu on the fly in the store. I find that combining the two approaches works best for the average week in our household.
I've recently discovered the Six O'Clock Scramble, and it's really helped me plan my meals!
i want to know how to make a weekly menu - It's so hard for me to keep on a cooking schedule, especially with impromptu dinner invitations. I want to be able to cook, have a lunch for work, not let food rot and still be open enough for dinner out once or twice a week.
@powwlita - we have been menu planning for a little while and after failing to keep to a strict regime we evolved to the following!
We think of about three or four main evening meals we want to have - one of these usally lasts a couple of days and can be cooked at the weekend before if we have time. Then we plan the other meals to be either from the storecupboard/freezer or out. That way we can change our plans to suit. We don't plan which evening we're going to eat things on as that was too restrictive for us. Mainly we want to know what type of veg and meat to buy at the market so we don't waste food and still eat meals which fit together.
Lunches are rolls kept in the freezer (so not wasted if not used), soup made on a Sunday, leftovers, or bought depending on supply.
I've been planning our meals weekly for a while now, and it really helps with budgeting.
I only shop for what I need. The bonus is I am much less likely to be seduced by BOGOF offers that I don't really want and, It helps keep my larder organised and I don't end up with six bottles of 'sausage tonight' mix! I use a planner by http://www.organised-mum.co.uk and Design sponge posted a good planner http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/01/diy-project-kates-grocery-planner.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=diy-project-kates-grocery-planner
I do do the market wander, buy what looks most intriguing and then cook in order of spoilage. For everyday dinners, I guess I have four guiding principles: 1. A variety of colors (but at least something red, something yellow/orange and something green); 2. Some form of protein; 3. Light-to-heavy progression; 4. We always start or end with some kind of salad, but that is loosely defined as something raw with dressing - last night we were out of lettuce so our salad was "tropical surprise" - grapefruit, kiwi and banana with coconut and sesame seeds dressed in plain yogurt.
As everyone above has said, a detailed timeline is invaluable for planning a dinner party. Even if I ultimately forget to print it out, just having gone through the mental process makes me less frantic when it's time to execute. My mother used to always lay out all her serving dishes the night before with a sticky note naming the food to go in each - things like that are really useful if you are likely to have helpers so you don't need to micromanage.
Um, isn't a hack something you cobbled together creatively, from things not originally intended for your specific purpose?
How is this a hack??????? ARGH.
"Um, isn't a hack something you cobbled together creatively, from things not originally intended for your specific purpose?"
Not anymore apparently...until this post I thought it was being used as a "cool" botched replacement for diy...
Except this post is exerting further flattening...anything anyone does related to anything is a hack, it seems. Now it's all h'd up...poor little 4-letter word...