Creating a meal for a family means catering to different tastes, dietary restrictions and nutritional needs. If you're cooking for a holiday, you may have even more restrictions as you try to keep to specific dishes. This may not be a problem for an immediate family, but as you add aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents and in-laws, you may find yourself with more than a few disappointed guests if you don't plan well. Learn your family members' preferences in advance, then adjust recipes to present a meal that appeals to everyone.
Step 1
Calculate the number of family members and guests who will be attending your meal. Write a menu, including the number of servings you will need of each dish. Include all courses, including any appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, side dishes and desserts you plan on serving. Plan a buffet so family members can put foods they want on their plates, rather than having to eat what you put before them.
Step 2
Contact family members who may have dietary restrictions of which you are not aware. These might include foods for diabetics, those with high-blood pressure who need low-sodium, those who keep kosher or are Muslim, those with high cholesterol, vegetarians and vegans and those with food allergies. Ask anyone who identifies himself as a vegetarian if he is lacto/ovo/pecto, meaning he will eat milk, eggs or fish. Ask for suggestions for ingredients for the dishes you plan to make, rather than for individual dish preferences.
Step 3
Read your menu, examining the recipes for each dish you plan to serve. Consider where you can substitute ingredients to make dishes acceptable to those with special dietary needs. For example, the soup course might be a low-sodium vegetable soup, which will accommodate almost all guests. Add beans to give any vegetarians who won't be eating meat more protein. Eliminate cheese and dairy dressings from your salad. Add nuts for more protein. Make garlic mashed potatoes with a trans-fat-free butter substitute and skim milk, suggests the Mayo Clinic. Skip the creamy, high-fat, high-cholesterol green bean casserole in favor of steamed green beans with slivered almonds and garlic.
Step 4
Write a shopping list, including quantities, to guide you in your shopping. Include all ingredients--don't assume you have enough eggs in the refrigerator or flour in the cupboard. Check your kitchen for the availability of any ingredients that you think you don't need to buy.
Step 5
Examine your menu to make sure you have enough cookware. If you are making many servings and many dishes, you may run short of pots, pans, serving dishes and utensils. This is especially true if you have a guest who keeps kosher. You may not prepare meat and dairy in the same pot or serve them on the same plate. You can find more tips on cooking kosher at the website Kashrut.com. Check your tablecloths, napkins, glassware, cutlery and chairs. Count the number of people you can seat in your dining and living rooms.
Step 6
Prepare dishes in two different pots. Put traditional ingredients in one pot, with all of the regular animal products you would normally use. Eliminate milk, butter, cheese, meats and salt from the second pot for those with dietary restrictions. Reduce the saturated fat and cholesterol in traditional versions of dishes by using leaner cuts of beef, baking a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey, and using low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Separate the fat from drippings before making gravy. Use whole-grain bread for stuffing, using vegetable stock instead of butter for moistness, and apples, raisins, carrots, celery, onions and herbs for flavor and nutrition.
Tips and Warnings
- Read nutrition labels on dairy substitute to avoid trans fats. Cook with monounsaturated cooking oils such as olive, canola, almond or avocado oil.
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