Micah and Christine

So, I thought I would spend a little time reflecting on cooking/ feeding other people. When my husband and I were dating we talked about how much we wanted to entertain- to have people over for dinners and parties. I used to think that Micah would always be the one to cook, but now that I'm addicted to cooking it looks like it will be a collaboration or we'll take turns. 

Cooking for other people is fun! But I'm still learning how to be the best host I can. Here are a few thoughts about cooking for others, based on some of my most recent experiences.

Be considerate of others' food allergies. As a Mom of a daughter with an allergy, I find myself becoming increasingly sensitive to this issue. When we were cooking for the party, we knew that Charlotte wouldn't be able to eat the deviled eggs we were making. That's ok- she was able to eat plenty of other things that we made. But we did think through what she would be able to eat.

One of my current co-workers has multiple food allergies. As a result, she is consistently unable to eat the food at work and school meetings. Certainly it may be hard to accommodate her food needs, but thinking from her perspective- wouldn't it be sad to be always left out when food is involved? A good host would work to serve her something fabulous, even if that took some creative cooking!

Don't add condiments for others. It doesn't matter how rosy your memories are of eating sandwiches drenched in cheap yellow mustard with your BFF. When getting or making sandwiches for others, let them add their condiments. Don't assume you  know what others like.

Choose vegetarian options carefully. I say this because one of our friends is a vegetarian and I've fed him several times. I once tried to make a very meaty sandwich into a veggie sandwich for him, and it didn't translate very well. There is a HUGE variety of awesome vegetarian options out there. So when I'm cooking for a vegetarian, I try to pull out one of the vegetarian options from my repertoire that would satisfy anyone, vegetarian or meat-lover. (On a related note, did you hear about the magazine passing off meat-filled stock photos as vegetarian photos?)

Speaking of repertoire.... Serve tried-and-true recipes to guests. My Mom actually taught me this when I was younger and I have not always followed her advice. As a result, I have served some food to guests that was not exactly great. Better to pull out a recipe that is boring to you but excellent, than serve something that your guests have to politely eat despite.

Let others bring stuff. A collaborative meal is just more fun! Our friends want to bring food and it is always great to have a variety- not to mention the fact that it takes some of the financial burden of hosting off of us. Don't try to do it all when others want to help!