Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
While I definitely get wrapped up in the cooking element of a dinner party, I really don't get to be the kind of host I want to be. Forget that actually, I don't want to host, I simply want to enjoy everyone's company, and that can be difficult when you are wrapped up in the task of it all.
We are very similar in many ways. I just love to cook and you don't, but I'd venture to guess you're still good at it.
I really wish I could enjoy cooking as I do it pretty often but by the time I have shopped for it, prepped it , cooked it and cleaned after it I usually have no interest in eating it which seems to defeat the purpose of it.
I am a reasonable cook, but more often than not , not a "recipe" cook as I usually make it up as I go along depending on the ingredients at hand. Which is why I don't bake as this requires great precision and I am more of a "winging it" sort of cook !
I was brought up going to restaurants since I was a Baby and was lucky to be surrounded by a lot of great and very varied food since then so eating is a huge part of my life.
I have had about 18 max...i loove entertaining and cooking for large parties. I will typically prep everything early so i can get to enjoy the company...always a success!
For a sit-down?
Somewhere between 18 and 20. But it averages more like 10-12.
We cooked for about 75 people in 2009, but that was not a sit-down, it was a buffet.
I love to cook and entertain, but hosting huge sit-down dinners can be a frantic experience. If it is over 6 people, you really can't enjoy their company.
Christmas/Thanksgiving holidays aren't so bad because the menu is usually a lot of make-ahead stuff (but Yorkshire pudding can be tricky!)
So many of my favorite foods are from really fresh ingredients with last-minute duties, and this can be crazy with more than 6 people. I had about 6 women over last night, and my feet are killing me today because of all the cleaning and prep beforehand. But they ate all my food. My husband was mad because there weren't any leftovers for him.
About 7 people. I did a roast turkey with the traditional trimmings and a Cajun style crab boil thing with stone crab claws, crawdads, shrimp, lobster tails, red potatoes, corn on the cob etc.. I made a flaming Bananas Foster for dessert and the people were so stuffed that they couldn't eat it. I knew in advance that it was WAY too much food, but I wanted to provide a choice of feast; it was my big moment, to cook for that many people. Of course, I could have just served Beefaroni.
34 for our engagement party back in 2005. We had it at our house and we cooked it all.... a labor of love it was!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.