Food-Only Catering: How to Serve Drop-Off Food Yourself
Drop-off catering without staff: when it suits a party, how to set up and serve it, safe holding temperatures, chafing dishes, refills and the budget math.
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Full-Service Catering: What It Covers and How to Compare Quotes
A host's guide to full-service catering: what the price usually includes, staffing ratios, how to compare quotes, questions to ask and a day-of timeline.
Celebration Cakes: Choosing Styles, Flavors and Servings
How to choose a wedding, birthday or anniversary cake: layer, tiered, sheet and naked styles, flavor pairings, servings per size, transport and display.
Dessert Tables and Dessert-Only Menus: Planning for a Crowd
Plan a dessert-only menu or dessert table: how many sweets per guest, what to make ahead, display and allergy labels, with a sample dessert table for 60.
Cherry Ricotta Cake for Brunch or Dessert, with Sheet Pan Scaling
A moist ricotta and sour cream snack cake studded with fresh pitted cherries, with notes on pitting, fruit swaps, freezing and baking a sheet pan for a crowd.
Fall Wedding Dinner Menu for 85, with Quantities and Staffing
A plated fall wedding dinner for 85: cheese table, six passed bites, roasted pear salad, two main course choices and lemon cake, with quantities and staffing.
Summer Barbecue Buffet for 85: Menu, Grill Math and Food Safety
A summer barbecue buffet for 85: sausages, hot dogs, apricot-glazed chicken, four salads and blueberry cobbler, with grill capacity math and hot-day food safety.
Italian Christmas Dinner for 35: Buffet Menu and Make-Ahead Plan
An Italian-style Christmas buffet for 35: antipasto table, vegetarian lasagna, two salads, garlicky chard and ricotta pie, with pan counts and a 3-day plan.
Maple Vinaigrette for Fall and Winter Salads
A jar of maple vinaigrette with lemon, mustard and olive oil for apple, grape, nut and goat cheese salads, with buffet quantities and how long it keeps.
Winter Greens with Pears, Asiago and Toasted Cashews
A December salad of endive, radicchio and leaf lettuce with ripe pears, shaved Asiago and toasted cashews in honey Dijon balsamic dressing, scaled for a buffet.
Buttermilk Ricotta Hotcakes with Warm Blueberry Compote
Tall, tender buttermilk hotcakes with ricotta and whipped egg whites, a quick lemony blueberry compote, and a plan for holding stacks warm for a brunch crowd.
Chocolate Goat Cheese Cheesecake in a 7-Inch Pan
A small chocolate cheesecake made with fresh goat cheese and a graham crust, baked in a water bath, chilled overnight and cut into 12 to 16 slices for an event.