cooking for a group
IF YOU ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE THAT MUCH TIME
Really nice of course, a group of people coming over to eat. Stocking up on drinks is not that difficult, you can easily spare half an hour for that, but bringing out a whole dinner or setting the table is more of a task. Especially when we are actually really busy. Because we are, right? Ideal if I can just join in. But sometimes you have guests and little time. I’ll give you tips to still make it a delicious feast without too much effort.
– Go to the poultry shop, they often have delicious chickens on the spit. Ready to eat. Serve them warm on the table so everyone can cut a piece off, but serving cold is also fine. In that case, dissect the chicken yourself and make small pieces. Great for large salads with tomato, avocado, and an egg.
– Make a big pot of soup. Really, it’s not that hard. I have a nice recipe for Thai pumpkin soup here. It’s filling too. You can also make a salad to go with it and for those who like it, bread with spreads. At the local supermarket or a really good greengrocer, you can often buy hummus (fresh out of the kitchen).
– Casseroles are easy to make and you can make them in large quantities. Melanzane for example. That’s basically lasagna, but without the dough. You know me. Here is a nice and very very easy recipe from Pauline from Uit Pauline’s Keuken.
– At the fishmonger, you can buy a lot that requires no further preparation. Cooked shrimp, Dutch shrimp, mackerel… You can easily make a luxury salad from that.
– It’s also fun (especially for the guests) to build something yourself. Wraps for example. Then you can put all sorts of different things on the table and there’s always something that everyone likes. And actually, this is mostly just some chopping. So buy wraps, grill chicken breasts, make guacamole (takes 4 minutes), chop tomatoes, wash salad, and take canned brown beans (canned is fine!), grated cheese, and corn. For the fish lover, you can buy mackerel, add some arugula, cucumber, and bell pepper. Or salmon and cream cheese. Okay, maybe you don’t really consider this cooking, but people do find this tasty.
– Make a large pot of pasta vongole. This is quite a chic dish for which you don’t need to spend more than half an hour in the kitchen. If you prepare everything (the mise en place) in advance, you’ll only be cooking for a few minutes.
Here’s what you need for 8 people
600 g spaghetti
olive oil
1000 g vongole
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
2 red peppers
2 bunches of flat-leaf parsley
150 ml white wine
Rinse the vongole in water and let them drain well.
Chop the onions and finely chop the garlic. Cook the spaghetti.
Peel and chop the onions. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Halve the red peppers lengthwise, remove the seeds, and then cut the peppers into pieces. Pick and finely chop the parsley. Put a splash of olive oil in a pan, sauté the onions, and add the garlic and pepper. Add the vongole, sauté briefly, and deglaze with the white wine. Cook the vongole until they open and stir in the spaghetti and parsley. Season with a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper. Ta-da!
P.S. You can also add some cherry tomatoes.
Oh yes, if you have a little time left, here are some handy tips from Josselin to beautifully set the table.
