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Hosting a great party hardly necessitates that everything be done at the last minute. In fact, planning, prepping and even cooking certain dishes ahead of time can not only save the hours you spend labouring in the kitchen when the party is under way but it also helps keep you more organised as you would have everything ready even before guests start to arrive. And one of the best things about planning a make-ahead party menu is that when the spontaneous scramble is cut out, you can actually spend time with the guests you so graciously invite into your home. Some easy-to-follow culinary tips and hacks can enable executing this make-ahead party menu with much efficiency.
Prep In Stages
Another important hack is to never undertake all the prepping right on the day of the party. Certain marinades, dips, sauces and pastes can be prepared and stocked in the fridge a day before the actual gathering to save time. Cakes and chocolate truffles that would serve as sweet treats can be just as easily prepared a day or two in advance and stored in the pantry. All you have to do on the actual day is reheat the cooked gravies, assemble the small bites and desserts and build casseroles for baking as required.
A Menu That Is Easy To Reheat
Many times, fried goodies or shallow-fried wraps and bar bites lose out on their crispiness and freshness if they are kept out on the serving trays for too long. While planning a make-ahead menu, avoid any such appetisers that will lose out on their lustre at serving time. Instead choose dishes like warm pasta salads, roasted veggies, grilled chicken wings and jacket potatoes which can be prepared ahead of time and reheated before serving. Also keep their dipping sauces, like a sriracha mayo or a mint mayo dip or a honey mustard dressing ready, so the dishes can be quickly warmed and plated as guests start to arrive.
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Pick Dishes That Improve With Time
Go for stews, curries and gravies whose flavours steep better when they are rested for a while after cooking. Think Kashmiri dum aloo, egg masala curry or even fish marinating in simple Konkani masalas as options which can be prepared before guests start to arrive. At a dinner party, these dishes can simply be warmed-up or shallow-fried to serve them piping hot, ready with deeper, more layered tasting notes. Certain dips like hummus, some bean salads and aromatic slow-cooked mutton gravies can be prepared ahead of time, so the flavours of the spices and condiments added to them are released and bloom gradually until service starts.
Grab-And-Go Dishes
Small bites are easier to serve because they can be circulated among guests or can simply be kept on the coffee table or the bar, wherever the party people have chosen to assemble. These grab-and-go small bites like sliders, skewers and salad cups make it easier for guests to binge and mingle simultaneously. They also reduce plating hassles, and cut down possible culinary messes.
Include Cooked And No-Flame Recipes
What also eases the process of curating a make-ahead menu is a mixture of grazing boards and cooked appetisers, which substantially reduces the time spent in the kitchen. On the one hand, cheese platters and charcuterie boards can be set-up before a party begins and on the other hand, certain warm salads and roasted vegetables can be popped in the oven as cooked bites served warm. A combination of these two culinary styles will keep the kitchen chaos to a minimum and enable timely service once the food starts being circulated among guests.
