In a cooking slump- make it a party!

As much as I love cooking I can get in a rut as much as the next guy. The more meals you prepare at home the more challenging it is to come up with new combinations and keep up momentum in the kitchen. Sometimes I find myself naturally gravitating to my tried and true meals ( actually it starts even earlier with a shopping rut, but that is a whole other article).

I am a big fan of family style; Big plates and bowls on the table and basic unpretentious eating. Cooking for others engages us in the activity of preparing food without it feeling like a chore. Sharing homemade food with an audience gives both the new and seasoned cook a new set of tastes to experiment on. It is also amazingly gratifying to have people give you feedback on what you prepare. Whether it is a quick colorful salad or a more complicated recipe, the long nights of summer are here and it is the perfect moment for picnics, barbecues, and dinner parties with rosé! Let’s do this.

 

Throw a dinner party

Instead of spending time and money on entertainment why not throw a small hands-on cooking party and get your friends involved? Cooking with friends makes the preparation time shorter so you can experiment with a variety of recipes in one meal.

 

Organize a potluck

If you feel anxious about preparing a whole meal or if your kitchen is very small, make it a potluck so everyone can sample several dishes and enjoy recipe creations together without the production and clean up in a small space.

 

Start lunch group

We all can benefit physically and financially by preparing our own brown bag lunch. Invite your enthusiastic coworkers to join your efforts and rotate bringing in food to share. This will save you time in your weeknight evenings and inspire you to invest some energy and creativity in what you put together.