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Let’s Learn A Back-To-School Menu

August 25, 2022 · In: Cooking, Hospitality, Video

I love cooking special occasion menus. Whether it is a family dinner, a gathering of friends, or a more elevated experience like a holiday meal, special menus speak to me, and executing them with grace and skill has become a passion of mine. As a self-taught home cook, I have spent the better part of twenty years learning the dance of cooking a menu, and now I want to share it with you.

While the world is full of cooking videos, I haven’t found a place where we learn how to cook a menu, particularly the kind of menu that is categorized as special. Cooking a menu is more than just stringing multiple recipes together. It’s a dance, and it takes practice. I think it helps to see this skill in action in order to learn the little steps that make everything work, and while I could write out the steps for you, I think it is more effective to demonstrate the dance so you can see the steps in real time.

In today’s post I am trying something new. I have created a video episode of me, in my home kitchen, showing you how all the pieces of creating a special menu work together.

Whereas cooking tutorials focus on the details of one recipe, this video is different. You will see me cooking, but the focus is on the larger context of executing the entire menu from start to finish. I will walk through how I create a prep schedule, how I spread the work of a special menu out over a couple of days, and how I aim to create space to show up well for my people in the process. My dog Henry will also make a few guest appearances.

For this first episode, I am cooking a special back-to-school menu. The idea is to gather my family and celebrate the beginning of a new school year together at the table. I know the First Day of School is not considered a special event in everyone’s home, but in ours, we treat it like a holiday, making it a point to eat a special dinner together as a family. The menu includes Crispy Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, Roasted Broccoli, and Ice Cream Sandwiches.

My hope is that you might want to cook this exact menu, and if so, the recipes are linked above and the prep schedule is below. But you might also be interested in simply seeing the way different dishes can be prepared in a way that allows them all to be ready at the same time without chaos or stress. Either way, I hope this video will inspire you and help illuminate an approach to executing a menu that has served me well for many years.

In the video, you will hear me reference a three-day prep schedule. Here are the details of that schedule:

As a final note, I like to learn new things by just jumping in and going for it. As comfortable as I feel with the subject matter of this video, I am not a professional film maker. Camera angles, lighting, and editing are skills I am still learning, and this video is a beginner’s attempt to create something new. Honestly, I learned a lot as I made this episode, and I look forward to putting that knowledge to use in future episodes. Thank you for watching kind eyes. I hope you enjoy Let’s Learn A Back-To-School Menu!

By: Katherine Sasser · In: Cooking, Hospitality, Video

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sara Hejl says

    August 25, 2022 at 2:51 pm

    Great info here! Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Lindsey Edwards says

    August 26, 2022 at 1:22 am

    Love this! Thinking ahead is hard. Thank you for thinking for us! And who wouldn’t want this dinner – simple and perfect.

    Reply
  3. Rene Prinsloo says

    October 3, 2022 at 5:02 pm

    Thank you for sharing this dinner! You inspired me to make the exact menu dinner for my family. Prepping ahead is a great stress reliever. The finished food looked mouthwatering! Thank you

    Reply
  4. Rene Prinsloo says

    October 3, 2022 at 5:13 pm

    I have one of my recipe binders that is called Menu’s, where I combine complete menu’s for specific meals and then include my recipes for that menu in the same spot. So when we have people over for breakfast/brunch I don’t scramble around thinking what different dishes go together for a brunch, I’ve created different menu’s and cook that specific menu. I love that. So I have different “hosting menu’s” that I’ve learnt how to cook that specific menu a lot of times so that takes a lot of the stress of hosting out for me. I just love your blog and all your ideas! I am also a big fan of Ina Garten (like you) and love her hearty comfort family food recipes. Thank you so much for keeping me inspired!

    Reply

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katherinesasser

katherinesasser


Celebrating is more than the actual event!
Celebrating is more than the actual event!

When we celebrate, sure the event is a big deal. B
When we celebrate, sure the event is a big deal. But what about what happens before and what we remember after? Those matter too!

Dear Winter Storm,

Thank you for…everything. W
Dear Winter Storm,

Thank you for…everything.  We have slept in, watched movies, washed all the sheets, powered through multiple mid-afternoon slumps, and taken the sled out for a few rounds of Please Don’t Break Any Bones. Always a delight. 

You’ve made your point. We see you. Thank you for the ice…it’s really beautiful up close. Maybe a bit too much this time, but what do I know?

Anywho, party’s over. It’s time to go. These kids have got to get back to school and so help me if I don’t interact with other adults soon I am really going to lose my marbles. 

Here’s your purse and keys, one last hug, can’t wait to see you again, have a safe trip home. 

Thanks so much. 
Love you. 
Bye.


Despite having numerous recipes for butternut squa
Despite having numerous recipes for butternut squash soup, I found Smitten Kitchen's Winter Squash Soup delightfully original. ​​​​​​​​
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My Week Three review of the Winter Cookbook Club is up on the blog, and if you're cooking along with me, I would love to know what you think!

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From fancy coolers to festive fans to the most practical paper goods, all the winners are in one place!

I celebrated my birthday with a cocktail party, an
I celebrated my birthday with a cocktail party, and it was one of the best (and easiest) events I have had the pleasure of hosting.​​​​​​​​​
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All the details are on the blog!


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I share lifestyle content through the lens of hospitality. If you are interested in learning about the beauty that creating space can bring, you've come to the right place!

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@katherinesasser

Celebrating is more than the actual event! Celebrating is more than the actual event!
When we celebrate, sure the event is a big deal. B When we celebrate, sure the event is a big deal. But what about what happens before and what we remember after? Those matter too!
Dear Winter Storm, Thank you for…everything. W Dear Winter Storm,

Thank you for…everything.  We have slept in, watched movies, washed all the sheets, powered through multiple mid-afternoon slumps, and taken the sled out for a few rounds of Please Don’t Break Any Bones. Always a delight. 

You’ve made your point. We see you. Thank you for the ice…it’s really beautiful up close. Maybe a bit too much this time, but what do I know?

Anywho, party’s over. It’s time to go. These kids have got to get back to school and so help me if I don’t interact with other adults soon I am really going to lose my marbles. 

Here’s your purse and keys, one last hug, can’t wait to see you again, have a safe trip home. 

Thanks so much. 
Love you. 
Bye.
Despite having numerous recipes for butternut squa Despite having numerous recipes for butternut squash soup, I found Smitten Kitchen's Winter Squash Soup delightfully original. ​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
My Week Three review of the Winter Cookbook Club is up on the blog, and if you're cooking along with me, I would love to know what you think!
Super Bowl is around the corner. Are you game-day Super Bowl is around the corner.  Are you game-day ready?​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
Today on the blog, I am sharing a few of my favorite supplies for hosting a killer Super Bowl party. (Side note:  When did Crock Pots get so cute??)​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
From fancy coolers to festive fans to the most practical paper goods, all the winners are in one place!
I celebrated my birthday with a cocktail party, an I celebrated my birthday with a cocktail party, and it was one of the best (and easiest) events I have had the pleasure of hosting.​​​​​​​​​
The evening was beautiful, the friends amazing, the drinks incredible, and the secret to all the fun was a twist on traditional hosting rolls.

All the details are on the blog!
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