Cooking for a crowd
"cooking for large numbers is about more than simply doubling up the ingredients" Nigel Slater
On Sunday it's the annual Easter egg hunt which is a huge amount of fun, though it is getting dubious as to how many of the grandchildren actually believe in the Easter Bunny - or in our case the Easter Bunny's third son Alfred who is responsible for our particular hunt. Whether they believe or not, a great deal of fun is had in interpreting Alfred's map and running round the garden and the house finding the hidden eggs. And almost as much fun is had sharing them all out equally, with some for the poor people, afterwards.
Anyway the hunt is followed by lunch, and since this is an extended family affair - two families with children, two sets of grandparents and an extra 'mum' it's a pretty large number of people. My husband goes into a mild form of panic over this every time, and I do try not to let it get to me, but it's difficult. And to add to the problem it's going to be hot.
In some ways this is good because it means that we can eat outside where we have a larger table, another table which can be added to the big one and many more chairs. But it also means that I probably can't use the oven for too long - "it will heat up the house" or there may be a total fire ban (I don't think so but you never know' and so relying on a barbecue is a bit dodgy. And what do I cook that will please everyone?
Of course there are lots of ideas and tips out there, and I was really pleased to see this from Nigel Slater:
"I can't pretend I enjoy cooking for large numbers. Two great, three fun, four or five a walk in the park. Yet I have always felt that anything more than six crosses some sort of invisible line between pleasure and work, whereas cooking for eight or nine almost dips its toe into catering. Once the invitation gets into double figures I am more likely to suggest we go to the pub instead. Add to this the fact that I have never enough chairs or cutlery and you probably know where I am coming from." Nigel Slater
I was pleased (even though it's probably not true what he is saying) to see that somebody who is a food guru can be daunted by cooking for lots of people. And I'm ahead of him in that we have plenty of cutlery, plenty of crockery and plenty of chairs. We just need to put tables together to be able to seat everyone comfortably. I think it will be a bit like this, although our table is a glass one - mistake by the way - go for wood for an outside table. Much easier to care for. I remember one set of friends who have now moved to Adelaide had two identical medium sized wooden tables that could be put together to form one long table if necessary.
Actually, to be honest, if it wasn't for the panic around me I wouldn't be all that daunted. One of the common tips that I found was to accept help if it's offered. And I have. The antipasti platter will be provided by the other grandparents, and I'm hoping the two families will provide dessert. Cheese - there's always a cheese course in our house - is just a matter of going to the shop and taking stuff out of the fridge - another cooking for crowds tip.
And yes, it will all be put out on platters - some on the table, some in the kitchen so that everyone can help themselves. No fancy plating for me.
Here in Australia one tends to barbecue if you have a crowd, and I might do this - or rather I might cook a big tray of marinated chicken in the Weber or the gas barbecue, whichever one it will fit. Because that's what I think I am going to cook. Though in my head I hear some of the men moaning about it being chicken, so maybe I should do another tray of differently marinaded beef. Plus a carbohydrate salad of some kind - currently I'm thinking Delia's pesto rice salad which is gorgeous and maybe just a plain mixed green salad. Oh and I shall add some sausages to one of the tray bakes. So I'm hoping that I shall feel like Nigel Slater at the end of it all:
"It is my guess that my guests will think I have been slaving over this dinner all day. Little do they know that the meal they are about to tuck into was mostly knocked up last night. A bit of calm and therapeutic cooking done at my own pace, listening to some music with a glass of wine at my side." Nigel Slater
Yes I should have a glass of wine at my side. And yes I shall be doing most of it tomorrow - it's lunch after all and there won't be much time to do anything on Sunday.
But there's a much darker side of cooking for a crowd. When I was looking for pictures to illustrate this post I found that almost all of them were of big celebrations. Everyone was happy, there was a lot of wine and a lot of food. But think of all the large families of the past and the large families of most of the less developed world. In those families mothers feed a crowd every day. Or attempt to anyway. Not only do they have to worry about chairs and cutlery, and big enough pots and pans, but they also have to worry about how to provide a nourishing meal with almost nothing.
So next time you find yourselves having to feed a crowd be grateful that you are who you are and able to just worry about whether you have enough knives and forks.
