We all have memories of those special meals at home – holidays or parties when the table was set beautifully and the food flowed easily from the kitchen to the dining room. But where was the host or hostess during those meals? Was the person responsible for organizing the event spending most of the time in the kitchen?
If you enjoy preparing special meals for dinner parties and home events, you probably would enjoy taking part in them, too. Most of us find ourselves spending so much time in the kitchen that we hardly have a chance to taste the fruits of our labor, never mind enjoy the company of our guests. It’s possible, however, to both host and enjoy a special dinner.
Samsung offers a number of great tips to help you “serve up a memorable meal without missing the party.” They include:
- Pre-chop and pre-measure ingredients for your meals in advance. If you have proper storage containers, such as glass or plastic bowls with good lids, you can store everything from chopped nuts to shredded cheese and sliced onions in advance. Meal preparation on the day of the event will go much more quickly if you’ve prepared your ingredients in advance.
- Make sure your dishwasher is empty at the start of the evening, and prepare the sink by filling it with warm, soapy water. This way you can stay ahead of dirty dishes by loading prep bowls and earlier-course dishes into the machine as the evening progresses, and you can load pots and pans into the sink for soaking once they’ve cooled off. If your whole family will be part of the evening, assign the task of keeping dishes moving along to another family member.
- Use a communal salad bowl instead of individual salad plates to save on prep time and to give guests the opportunity to choose their own portions. If they add salad to their large plates instead of a separate dish, this will also save on clean-up time. Refrigerators like this GE Profile™ ENERGY STAR® 25.6 Cu. Ft. Side-by-Side Refrigerator offer plenty of storage space for larger dishes before a meal. Just be careful not to add ingredients such as croutons or salad dressing until you’re ready to serve the salad (to avoid sogginess).
- Consider serving a dessert that you can prepare ahead of time, such as a home-baked cake or a bowl of fresh berries served with the topping of your choice. If you choose a dessert that requires at-the-moment preparation and presentation, you’ll spend too much time preparing and handling it while your guests relax after dinner.
- If your menu makes use of all your kitchen appliances, you’ll be able to save time while multi-tasking as dinner is prepared and served. Cooktops such as Thermador’s Masterpiece™ 30″ Stainless Steel Gas Cooktop 5 Burner SGSX305FS provide superior performance on five burners for preparing large meals. The Dacor 30″ Over The Range Convection Microwave Hood maximizes the benefits of microwave technology with a convection system, and features sensor cooking and automatic settings for broiling, roasting, and baking – perfect when you have to multi-task in order to entertain. And dual-ranges such as Fisher & Paykel’s 48″ Dual Fuel Range combine the convenience of two self cleaning pyrolytic ovens and even feature warming drawers for prepared dishes.
Do basic cleaning tasks as the meal progresses (loading dishes into the dishwasher and soaking pots and pans, as we mentioned earlier, tackling spills as they occur and clearing crumbs from the table after the main meal) but leave the major cleaning until after the evening is over. As tempting as it is to clean your kitchen right away, you don’t want to spend the after-dinner hours cleaning up when your guests would prefer to have your company (and you theirs!). Get the whole family involved in the final clean up at the end of the night, and graciously accept help from close friends who decide to stay late to help out. You know you’ll do the same when you’re invited to their house!
Serving a special meal can be a rewarding pleasure, but you’ll enjoy it even more if you take the chance to also experience the evening and your guests. Have fun, and happy entertaining!
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