Palmabella's Passions

Some of my friends have asked me, "How do you cook for 48 (or more) people for dinner without getting stressed out? "

I PLAN! Some might say I obsess. I make lots of lists, spread out the tasks, start early, and do some recipes that can me made weeks ahead and frozen.

I thought I'd share some of my "tricks" that help me plan and execute a party, so I can relax and have a good time too! Last year, I had time for a nap before the party!

My first task was really to set the date, and create a "doable" menu. By doable, I mean are there dishes I can make ahead? What is last minute? Will I have fridge/freezer space? Enough for vegetarians to choose from? Some new dishes, and and "tried and true". What worked last year?

So here is what I came up with: *** I reserve the right to change something at the last minute if I can't find an ingredient, or can't fit one more thing in the fridges (my only fear).

Antipasti:

Panzarotti (filled phyllo dough triangles)
Baked Brie with fig jam
Prosciutto-salami platter
Cheese tray/pecorino with Italian honey
Mozzarella/tomato/basil skewers
Hot Crab dip
Antipasti of marinated/grilled veggies
Assorted flatbreads, crackers, crostini

David's Fabulous Caesar Salad

Artichoke-lemon lasagna
Gorgonzola-pear ravioli

Pancetta-wrapped pork roasts with fig-port reduction sauce (requested re-run)
Lamb meatballs with mint pesto
Grilled asparagus
Baked Cippolini with apricots, chestnuts, and cognac
Palma's Stuffed mushrooms

Dessert:

Black and White Cake
Butterscotch cake
Panna cotta with toppings
Chocolate dipped Caramels with sea salt

This menu gives me 18 dishes to make (in quantity), BUT, 9 of them are do ahead, and only 6 (mostly easy appetizes to put on trays) need to be done the DAY OF the party. I also have great cooks as houseguests, that have offered to keep me in coffee or wine on Friday.

So I've done a week-by-week countdown:

7 weeks before:
Decide menu
Start emptying freezer
Call and book 2 kitchen helpers for the day of the event (Robin and Nina were FABULOUS last year, and asked to come back anytime for the Slow Trav people!) THIS is money well-spent! They come early, and I have everything written out for them. "At 7:30 put meatballs in top oven at 350 for ___ minutes..." All platters, etc. are marked with what food goes on it. They clean up as they go. They stay til dessert is out, and they have run several loads of dishes. This year that will be REALLY important, as we'll have 48 chargers, dinner plates, pasta plates, and salad plates! The only time I even need to go into the kitchen is to boil the ravioli, and tell them when we want to serve dessert! I get to enjoy!

6 weeks before:
Rent tables, chairs, tablecloths
Decide on dishes for each table (we're using mine)
Decide on centerpieces for each table (from stuff I have)
FInd napkin rings, napkins, salt & pepper, water glasses for each table (from my stash)
Make and freeze lamb meatballs and mint pesto
Make panzarrotti and freeze
**Check on serving platters/bowls/utensils for each dish

** I have typed menu into computer. I copy it, and in colored ink, type what platter each dish will need. Then I copy it AGAIN and write WHEN I can make it, marking those to do far ahead and freeze in one color, Thursday before the party in another color, Friday another color, etc.

5 weeks before:
Make and freeze 3 pans of artichoke-lemon pesto lasagna
Make caramels
Order special treat wine
Clean my pantry (optional, but it needed it!)
Make MORE room in freezer!
Think about entertainment...DUH

4 weeks before: (WHOA...that's THIS week!)
Dip caramels in dark chocolate and sea salt
Buy paper plates/napkins for appetizers & dessert
iron napkins
make dozens of pear-gorgonzola ravioli and freeze

I'll keep this current the next four weeks!

Three Weeks Before:
Plant fall flowers in my hanging baskets
Make grocery lists for week of party
Buy candles for pool area
Get large chafing dishes down from the garage (Brad)
Pick up "special wine treat"

It's an easy week. We did all this over the weekend except the grocery list. Brad even polished my copper pots. I'm going to keep working on my GTG scrapbook, and lay low this week! There is nothing else I can cook ahead...unless...hmmmmm maybe I'll find that recipe...

Oh how I love to cook for friends who like to eat!

Here are the flash frozen ravioli before I bagged them in zip-locks (each bag will be enough for a bowl for each of the six tables).

2 Weeks Before:

This weekend, it was Brad who did all the work. I happily sat at my computer, or kitchen table printing photos, cropping, cutting, and gluing scrapbook projects.

Brad cleaned ice chests, hung more Christmas lights on one of our olive trees where the gardner accidently cut the cord while trimming the tree, did some yardwork, cleaned the fountain and installed a new pump, and carried home 4 cases of large bottles of water.

I did laundry and straightened my craft closet. (not party-related)

We "found" (in the garage), 48 wine glasses, LOTS of champagne flutes for prosecco, and 48 water glasses.

I ordered the pork roasts from Bristol Farms.

My shopping lists are ready for next week for Costco, Trader Joe's, Bristol Farms, and a regular grocery store!

This week, my only party tasks are:
Touch base with kitchen helpers.
Re-confirm restaurant reservations and counts.
Iron the dinner napkins (that I didn't do 2 weeks ago).

Maybe I'll read my book club book for this month!

As is my usual "problem", I was too well-planned, so this past week, I had little to do except wait...until closer to the party date. I am excited and hyper. I can't WAIT!

Today: (Saturday)
Clean house
Wash all glasses on bar (over 120)
Clean yard and all patio furniture/BBQ (Brad)

Sunday:
Brunch with Marcia and David
Costco

Monday:
Work 10 hrs. (supervision/therapy)
Take out all serving pieces

Tuesday:
Bristol Farms
Albertsons – rest of groceries

Wednesday:
Make Butterscotch Cake
Have windows washed
Clean house

Thursday:
Prep Hot Crab dip
Prep Cippolini Onion dish
Black and white cake
Panna Cotta
Get nails done
Gail, John, Sandi, Jerry arrive tonight!

Friday:
Bristol Farms with Jerry (pick up pork roasts, asparagus, cheese, antipasti)
Kathy, Terry arrive!
Marinate pork
Fig reduction sauce
Grill veggies (Jerry)
Prep Mushroom filling
Make and chill Ganache for Black and white cake
Frost Black and White cake
Set up tables/chairs (houseguest helpers)
Take out wine, prosecco and water glasses (Brad)
Acqua Pazza!

Saturday morning:
Set tables (houseguest helpers)
Stuff mushrooms
Cook pork roasts (to be reheated)
Mozarella-tomato skewers
Go buy ice (Brad)
Ice prosecco, water, white wine (Brad)
Put out pool candles (Brad)

Saturday afternoon:
Brie with fig jam
Prosciutto-salami platter
Cheese tray
Antipasti
Crackers, flatbreads

4:00: PARTY!

It appears that everyone had a good time!

Next, let's go BEHIND the scenes...(coming soon)

Thiursday night, our amazing friends began to arrive for the GTG weekend. Gail, John and Sandi landed in Palm Springs shortly after 9, and arrived just as I had made the last of the 48 panna cottas. We enjoyed some wine on the patio while we waited for Brad and Jerry to get home from the Ontario airport. It was a 2:30 a.m. bedtime.

I crawled out at 6:30, after 4 hours of sleep, to find Jerry up and blogging. After enough coffee, a print out of today's list, and a light breakfast for my guests, Jerry and I took off for Bristal Farms. We bought cheeses for the cheese tray, picked up the ordered pork roasts, chose veggies for Jerry to grill, chocolate "pencils" to decorate the cheesecake, and a few flatbreads and breadsticks. We sampled a few cheeses for a snack, and ran into Sandi on our way out. Jerry managed to pick up a few goodies to take home.

I had a great team! The tables, chairs and linens arrived from the rental company, and in seconds, the tables were set up. I did various prep jobs, marinated the roasts, and took frequent coffee/smoke breaks. Sandi picked up Kathy and Terry from the airport, dropped their stuff off at their condo, and they arrived with our phone ordered list of sandwiches from the sub shop. Jerry helped me brilliantly manage refridgerator space at home, and my neighbor, Diana, took home whatever didn't quite fit in one of mine.

John cools off:

I put the ladies to work stuffing mushrooms, and the guys took naps.

THEN we were able to have a Slowchick rehearsal! We had time for a shower before leaving for dinner at Acqua Pazza.

How can I thank the amazing group of friends/house guests and hard workers who helped me behind the scenes? I will sing their praises in a blog post!

It goes without saying that my wonderful husband helped for weeks before the party! He was "pasta man", "yard guy", schlepper of bags, wine buyer, and ice guy. He also loves the Slow Travel group, and enjoyed hosting and MCing the Slowchicks.

Jerry was my right hand in the kitchen! I can't wait until our next opportunity to cook together. Since we were on my turf, he whipped through my lists, was self-directed, took orders well, cleaned up after himself (and others), never complained, and helped me manage refridgerator space in the house and garage! He was the first one up with me with coffee in the dark early morning hours, and the last one to bed at night. Here he is grilling veggies around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday!

Gail and John were also fabulous houseguests. The did WHATEVER needed doing, from setting up tables and chairs, carrying chargers, dishes, plates and glasses wherever I pointed, filling salt and pepper, opening packages of dessert plates, cocktail napkins and nametags, and helping Brad with heavy loads of 160 lbs of ice!
Gail walked around with a bottle of windex, spitshining everything in sight, and did a final room check of all bathrooms and bedrooms! They were both fun and amazingly helpful. They work and play well with others!

"The girls" (Sandi, Kathy and Terry) brought us lunch on Friday, and also took orders well. I was in the role of drill sargent! They picked basil, cut rosemary sprigs for garnishing, cut tomatoes, stuffed four trays of mushrooms, and made mozarella/tomato/basil skewers.

Saturday, the kitchen crowd was joined by David making Caesar salad, and Marcia joining in wherever she was needed, from salami platter to dishwashing!

My neighbor, Diana was a lifesaver with fridge space and moral support!

Thanks to my PARTY DREAM TEAM!

I have been on the planning committee for the Slow Travel April "Great Gathering in Savannah '08" for over a year. Our committee has met weekly to plan this event since December of 2006! It seemed so far away at first. (We took a couple weeks off now and then for holidays and vacations.) It has been both a wonderful and interesting experience. I do love planning parties, but this event was different in a number of ways:

1. We had no idea early on how many people would attend.
2. We were planning with people we didn't know well (or had never met) who lived all over the U.S. and Canada. We were in different time zones, sometimes making our meeting times a challenge for some.
3. We all have jobs, families and/or spouses, and other commitments in our busy lives.
4. Working with a committee of 6 different personalities,( though we got along very well, and became friends through this process) sometimes seemed to take longer than doing something alone, where you make all the decisions without discussion (WHO has control issues?). I have been fortunate to have met ALL of the committee members!
5. BUDGET! We wanted to keep it both wonderful, and affordable. NOT my strong suite!

We divided up the many tasks and responsibilities according to our strengths:

SHEENA: Our leader and organizer! Sheena did a great job of keeping us on track and accountable for our tasks, leading each online meeting, and keeping the enormous job of registration accurate with who was coming, who had paid a deposit, and when the final payment had been received. She has made all deposits, and reimbursed expenses. Sheena is our "spread sheet queen of Excel"! She also had our "Welcome Bags" made.

KATHY: Our organized, PR chairman responsible for over a year of weekly countdown posts, newsletters, emails, scouting trip, printing a program, and posting announcements on the Slow Talk message board. Kathy has accepted the many boxes of door prizes that generous members have mailed for her to drive to Savannah!

LESLIE: Our resident travel agent who booked blocks of hotel rooms in Savannah, scouted options for rental houses, and has been working with the nice people at Old Fort Jackson on Saturday night's event and menu.

TERRY: Terry has arranged transportation,( the trolleys), a map of Savannah, and other optional events during the weekend. She has researched emergency info, places of worship, and contacted all registrants to coordinate accommodations and trolley pick-up and drop-off. She takes on all the jobs nobody volunteers for, and will cheerily help any of us when needed.

JAN: Jan has worked with the menus (food, bar, pricing, contracts, and endless details) for both Friday's event at the Gingerbread House, and Sunday's Brunch at Vic's on the River. She is bringing a car load of "stuff" we will need during the weekend, and picking up more the day before the festivities begin in Savannah.Jan is great at details and planning. She and I are shopping for Thursday's "Happy Hour" at our house.

We have had others step up to the plate and help. Brenda has organized a "Ghost Tour", and Marcia is organizing those going to lunch at Paula Deen's "Lady and Sons" Restaurant.

MY PART: I was asked to participate because of my "reputation" for being a "creative party planner with good ideas". My jobs were the "fun stuff": door prizes, entertainment, centerpieces, name tags and other creative details.

Door prizes have been donated generously by members, advertisers, and Slow Travel affiliates. I have kept in touch with all the donors, and coordinated getting these items. What an AMAZING assortment of wonderful gifts we have! This was fun!

Name tags: Brad printed them for us on the computer. I supervised.

Centerpieces: I had a budget of $50. HAHAHA! Do not fear. I only went a teeny bit over budget, and I am ALMOST done, after over 70 hours of "creativity" spread across my kitchen. Brad just smiles and says, "The s___ you do!" (Then he helped.) If I had earned minimum wage for this week's work on the centerpieces, I would have earned about $560 (not counting overtime). I believe the term "obsessive-compulsive" could be used here. The good news is they are NON-breakable, PACKABLE, and REUSABLE. I think they are adorable!

Entertainment: Now this is where I had to get creative. Do not worry... the Slowchicks are NOT appearing in Savannah. I had grander ideas, but a budget of zero. With a mere 240 hours of time and creativity, this was more fun than I can even describe! Brad also put in many hours of "tech support" and other expertise on this project!
We are SO READY!!! You will just have to wait!

Memories of a wonderful weekend with old and new friends? PRICELESS!