Dinner party - sharing work with husband

@rihana-i havnt heard of people freezing food in India...because you have maids there..its easy that way.

here, i was constantly studying for exams...and the only option was freeze food..though no one likes it at my place...but then if you dont like it make it yourself was the only option i gave them ...but,never served frozen food at parties....too dicey for me.

 

If it's a large party (10 or more) people it's catered. If it's a more intimate affair my mom cooks. I do help my mom with the cooking sometimes if I'm around. I fry the pappadams, cutlets and occasionally some prep work. My mum tried to get me to chop vegetables once but when she wasn't looking I got out the food processor and used that. Apparently, cleaning the food processor is more work that chopping with a knife.

 

I prefer to do shopping and cooking myself. Reason, with DH, we end up buying 3 times more than we need and if he is around when I am cooking he keeps nagging that food is not looking enough. I am good at estimates and usually I cook accurate amount, but he confuses me and I end up worrying and it takes away the pleasure in cooking. I hate to have left overs that would last more than a day.
DH is a great help looking after the guests. He makes sure they are well fed and entertained. He also helps me winding up. That's all the help I need from him.

 

Me: Chops veggies, cooking end to end
Hubby: Last minute shopping, kids feeding, taking care, entertainment while I cook. Also cleaning up before and after the party.
Both: Shopping, menu decision, guest list prep, chatting after the party, putting away leftovers

Tips:
1. Cut veggies day before, including for raitas.
2. Avoid last minute purchases as it wastes time of both you and hubby (Hubby has to go to the shop, and you have to wait it out/entertain the kids till you can continue. It spoils the speed of work. )
3. Last time, I made the onion tomato fried paste for NI curries the day before and the next day all i had to do was add masala powders and veggies and curries got done very fast. I am going to repeat this method going forward
4. Dont spend too much time on desserts. I made the mistake a couple of times, and the guests were too full to appreciate the effort . Kheer, ice cream with choc sauce etc take less time and finish the meal nicely.
5. Dont spend too much time on RIGOROUS cleaning. Most of the house will get quite dirty during the course of the party anyways. So spending 1 whole day scrubbing all the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom is probably not such a good idea. It just tires you out for cooking. I learnt this the hard way
6. Finish ALL of the cooking required, furniture rearranging, serving bowls and spoons cleaning, arranging etc by 4 PM for a dinner party. This gives enough time to relax, dress the kids and look fresh before the guests start coming in, say by 7:00 PM. Of course, joint effort with you and husband.

 

Hi

In my house,

from planning to cleaning we both will share. Once we finish the dish, immediately we transfer the dish to serving bowl and clean that vessels.

 

about the same here, except i usually plan the menu, he does the place setting according to my instructions.

this reminds me of the first 'fancy' dinner party we did. just two other couples were invited. i had the brilliant idea to prepare halibut en papillote for the main course. well, bought too much fish, left it in the oven too long. et voila- dried fish in paper!

at least the pears in chocolate sauce turned out good!

 

At home, this is how it happens:
Menu: We discuss and decide; most of the times its like I suggest and he gives in based on ease of preparation and taste.
Shopping: it’s either together, or, I prepare the list of items to be bought and he goes by it.
Chopping: Me, with some help from the maid on ginger-garlic, coconut scraping etc.
Dusting/ Cleaning/ Mopping the house on the day of the dinner: He
Cooking : Me, though he tastes dishes even while they’re still on stove, and gives suggestions.
Arranging potions on serving dishes: me, he cleans and arranges the dishes though.
Cleaning vessels: DH cleans the crockery, cups, cutlery, serving dishes etc while I cook and after-dinner cleaning is done by me and finished off by the maid the next day.
Cleaning after party: together and final cleaning is left to maid.
Who doesn’t do what: I never let him to cook, because then, he will keep asking every minute whether it is time for the next step cooking of every dishL
Tips: Prepare dishes that you are quite confident about and have tried out earlier, do not try making complicated dishes for the first time on the dinner day.
Prepare the marinades, sauces etc, and chop veggies etc the day before itself.