The Making of a Menu

Published on Friday, February 6, 2009, by Kate Ramos / Edit Post

Most of the recipes we develop here in the test kitchen are made as part of a menu. Recently we’ve done menus for the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day and have a few coming up for Passover and the Kentucky Derby. A lot of thought goes into these menu compositions. Do the recipes combine well with each other? Is it do-able, and easy enough to execute all these dishes at once? Or even better, can they be made ahead? The question that always pops into my head after all this contemplation: Has anyone ever made one of our entire menus?

Thus I turn to you, dear readers. Have you ever made an entire CHOW menu, or an entire menu from any other food publication? If so, was it a positive experience? How did it turn out? We here in the test kitchen would love to know.

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POST A COMMENT |3 Comments

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  • I did the burrito bar menu too - with a few edits. I liked the music mixes too - bring those back.

    I think the menu/party plans are great. I tend to simplify and buy a few things rather than make it all from scratch or if I have another recipe that ties in that I think would work better I might switch it up. On a few occasions I've made a few recipes from one event just for fun or to a potluck.
    ...+READ

    I did the burrito bar menu too - with a few edits. I liked the music mixes too - bring those back.

    I think the menu/party plans are great. I tend to simplify and buy a few things rather than make it all from scratch or if I have another recipe that ties in that I think would work better I might switch it up. On a few occasions I've made a few recipes from one event just for fun or to a potluck.

    So, while I don't use all the recipes, I read them to get my party planning ideas flowing. Thanks for posting all the great ideas and recipes.-COLLAPSE

  • I was inspired by the make-your-own burrito bar menu to make-my-own burrito bar, but I only used 2 or 3 of the recipes in it, and pulled a few others from elsewhere.

  • Have never made an entire menu from Chow or elsewhere. (Might attempt to do so if I was a beginning cook.) But the ingredients and work involved never match exactly what is available in my cupboards or grocery stores, or what my kitchen equipment and storage can handle, or what my guests can or want to eat.

    I still love to read and contemplate menus (and like many, I am doing a lot more...+READ

    Have never made an entire menu from Chow or elsewhere. (Might attempt to do so if I was a beginning cook.) But the ingredients and work involved never match exactly what is available in my cupboards or grocery stores, or what my kitchen equipment and storage can handle, or what my guests can or want to eat.

    I still love to read and contemplate menus (and like many, I am doing a lot more entertaining at home these days). Menu planning is a critical and overlooked skill. It's like seeing a great outfit in a fashion magazine, it's very important for inspiration but the reality that you put together never matches it completely.-COLLAPSE