MEAL PLANNING

1. MEAL PLANNING

2. A meal is an instance of eating, usually taking place at a specific time, typically several times a day, and including specific types of prepared food. Snacks, unlike meals, are foods eaten in smaller amounts at unscheduled times. Meal time... There are several goals to good meal planning: Fulfill the nutritional needs of all dining participants Plan for the maximum use of the money available for food Aid in the proper purchase, preparation and service of food Economize on time, labor, and fuel Plan for variety in the diet to increase appeal and palatability Plan for individual food preferences Plan to utilize leftovers from previous meals Plan mealtime as a social opportunity, with communication and bonding

3. The Food Pyramid and suggested dietary guidelines will provide direction when planning for nutritional needs Nutritional needs... 1 ½ cups daily 24 oz. daily 6 oz. daily 6 oz. daily 1 ½ cups daily

4. Variety is the key... COLOR (a good plate resembles a painter’s palette; garnishes help with this) TEXTURE (rough, smooth, creamy, soft, hard, raw, cooked, crunchy) FORM (round, oval, random sized, square, abstract, rectangle, spears, etc.) TEMPERATURE (hot and cold) FLAVOR (bland and strong flavored; foods that tend to complement each other i.e. pork and applesauce, bacon and eggs, While nutrition is the underlying reason for eating a meal, it is variety that gives food it’s tabletop appeal. In each meal, plan for a variety of colors, textures, forms, temperatures, and flavors.

5. Breakfast is a meal eaten in the morning. The name derives from the concept that you have not eaten while sleeping, i.e., you are fasting during that time, and “break that fast” with a meal. BREAKFAST and LUNCH... Lunch is a meal that is taken at noon or in the early afternoon. The term is short for "luncheon“. Lunches are often a light meal consisting of soups, salads, and/or sandwiches. One-dish-meals such as casseroles are also popular. Brunch is a combination breakfast and lunch; usually served in late morning and a replacement for both meals.

6. DINNER & SUPPER... The largest meal of the day is always called “dinner”. It is usually served in the evening, but on midwest farms it might be served at noon. If the “dinner” is served at noon, a lighter meal is served in the evening and called supper. Supper menu items are similar to luncheon items…soups, salads, sandwiches, and one-dish-meals such as casseroles. Supper can also be a late night meal, served after dinner in the evening…such as a ‘midnight supper’.

7. OTHER MEAL PRESENTATIONS... A banquet is a large, often formal, and elaborate meal with many guests and dishes. A picnic is an outdoor meal. The nature of some people’s jobs or schedules require them to carry a lunch with them in some sort of container…perhaps a brown bag. This type of lunch is called a “sack lunch”.

8. The afternoon tea... A tea party is a social gathering… a time for cozy ambience, dress-up, quiet conversation, and etiquette. Tea time is usually scheduled from mid to late afternoon Use linens, china teacups and saucers, tea spoons, and a tea service. Serve several types of finger foods such as small, dainty cookies, scones, or finger sandwiches. Etiquette: To stir your tea, swish the tea back and forth, never hitting the sides of the cup. Never leave the spoon in the cup, but gently rest the spoon on the saucer, behind the cup on the right side under the cup handle. Drink your tea by lifting the saucer and cup together, with the saucer in one hand, and cup in the other.

9. Whether all food selections are on the table at one time, such as in the blue plate meal service, or the courses are served sequentially, you should be familiar with the types of foods in each course. Planning meal choices... COURSES TO CHOOSE FROM: Cocktail Appetizer/Hor d’oeuvres Soup Pasta or Rice Course Fish Course Sorbet (to cleanse the palate) Poultry Course Meat Course (entrée) Salad Fresh Fruit/ Cheese Course Dessert Coffee and Sweets Not all courses are offered in all meals. A 3-course meal (salad, entrée, dessert) or 4-course meal (appetizer, salad or soup, entrée, dessert) are most common. Select the courses you want, but there should be little change in the order they are presented, from what is listed here. The more courses you serve, the more time is needed for dining and the smaller each portion should be.

10. A cocktail is defined as a beverage, alcoholic or made of fruit or vegetable juices, served as appetizer before meal; also a cup of chopped fruit, or of seafood dressed in a tart sauce, served before a meal. The cocktail... Amuses-bouche (ah muse boosh) are tiny bite-sized morsels served before the hors d’ouervres. The term, translated from French, means “mouth amuser”. These would be served with a beverage-type cocktail. Examples might be crackers, pretzels, olives, tiny melon balls, or heated potato chips. This shrimp cocktail would be served with a tiny seafood fork. If the cocktail is an alcoholic beverage, it is called an apéritif, meaning to “open”. Tomato, orange, lemon, and cranberry juices are common non-alcoholic beverages served as cocktails. The juice should be bright in appearance and tangy to the taste for the purpose of perking up the taste buds. They should be served well-chilled.

11. Appetizers are used primarily to whet the appetite and to stimulate the flow of the gastric juice, not to satisfy hunger. They should be attractively prepared, temptingly flavored, and properly served hot or cold. They may be served on a plate with eating utensils or eaten as finger foods. The appetizer... Hors d'oeuvres are appetizers that are always eaten with the fingers. They are small portions of highly seasoned foods, which may be secured on cocktail picks for easy handling. Varieties of meats, seafoods, and cheese, vegetables and pickled vegetables, stuffed vegetables such as celery, olives, and mushrooms are used frequently. Canapés are appetizers made from thin pieces of bread or toast spread or topped with cheese, anchovies, or other appetizing foods. They are usually cut into various, small shapes and are highly decorated to make them eye appealing. Crackers are sometimes used as a base, although toasted bread may be more desirable because it does not absorb the moisture of the spread too quickly. Several different kinds of bread should be used to give a variety of taste and color.

12. The soup course... Soup is usually a savory liquid food that is made by combining ingredients, such as meat, vegetables, and/or beans in stock or hot water, until the flavor is extracted. Oyster or soda crackers, croutons or bread accompany soups. A large serving dish for soup is called a tureen. Soups are eaten with a larger-bowl spoon. Broth, Stock, or Bouillon: strained liquid from cooking meats, vegetables, or other foodstuffs in water Consommé: clarified meat or fish broth Potage: thicker broth Bisque: a heavy cream soup made with a puree of vegetables, fruits, or fish/shellfish Cream soups: tomato, broccoli, mushroom, chicken, celery, or potato soup made with a thin white sauce Coulis (koo-lee): a fruit or vegetable soup thickened with starch Chowder: a thick soup, usually containing seafood, potatoes, milk, and cream

13. Stew: a soup with large chunks of meat or vegetables left in the liquid Miso: (Japanese) fish stock soup with seasonal vegetables Cold soups: Vichyssoise (French) is a creamy potato and leek soup, served cold; Gazpacho (Spanish) is a pureed tomato and vegetable soup, served cold Dessert soups: tapioca, coconut milk, and fruit are common ingredients Borscht: (Slavic) beet soup; can be prepared hot or cold Minestrone: (Italian) vegetable soup Bouillabaisse: (French) fish soup

14. Pasta is the generic term for any of a variety of flour based noodles. It comes in many different shapes and sizes. There are simple string-shaped pasta like spaghetti and vermicelli, ribbon-shaped ones like fettuccine and linguine, short tubes like elbow macaroni and penne, decorative fancy shapes like farfalle (bowtie), rotini (spirals) and rotelle (wagon wheels), large sheets like lasagna, and hollow pasta stuffed with filling, like ravioli, manicotti, and tortellini. The pasta course... The neutral-flavored pasta is the perfect vehicle for a variety of sauces: Alfredo sauce: parmesan, asiago, or romano cheese with butter and heavy cream Bolognese sauce (ragu): a meat-based sauce Pesto sauce: crushed herbs and garlic, olive oil (basil is good for intestinal problems) Carbonara sauce: cream, eggs, parmesan or romano cheese, and pancetta (bacon) Tomato sauce (marinara): tomatoes, stock, onion, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, parsley If bread is not already on the table, bring it out now to accompany the pasta and all subsequent courses.

15. Bread should be available during fish courses. Since many fish and shellfish are common allergens, make sure your guests know what is being served. The fish course... Roe: the fully ripe egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as sea urchins, shrimp, and scallop. As a seafood it is used both as a cooked ingredient in many dishes and as a raw ingredient. Caviar is a name for the sturgeon roe consumed as a delicacy. Mollusks: clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, snails, octopus, and squid (calamari) Crustaceans: Shrimp, prawn, lobster, crayfish, and crab Echinoderms: sea cucumber and sea urchins Lemon, clarified butter, and tangy sauces accompany fish and seafood. Fish: Anchovy, bass, bluefish, catfish, cod, eel, flounder, grouper, haddock, halibut, herring, lamprey, mackerel, mahi mahi (dolphin fish, not the mammal) , orange roughy, pike, pollock, pompano, sardine, salmon, shark, snapper, sole, swordfish, tilapia, trout, tuna, turbot, whitefish

16. Cleansing the palate... Eating one food item all at once, or eating many different distinctly-flavored foods can overwhelm and saturate the taste buds. Invigorate your taste buds for new flavors by “cleaning your mouth”. There are several foods and beverages that are good for this. Fruit can be used to cleanse the palate between courses. Chunks of fruits on toothpicks or skewers, such as pineapples, oranges, tangerines, and melons work well. They could be garnished with a sprig of mint. The correct wine, unflavored bread, or salad greens work to cleanse the palate. That’s why these items are served throughout the meal or change place in the order of the courses. Sorbet is a frozen or iced fruit puree and other ingredients. Sorbet is a form of gelato that contains no milk. A sherbet is a sorbet made with milk and eggs. It is a flavor preferred by some, but is not as refreshing.

17. Poultry is the class of domesticated fowl (birds) used for food or for their eggs. This includes chicken and turkey, as well as the waterfowl…ducks and geese. It may also refer to wild game birds such as pigeons, doves, quail, or pheasants. The poultry course... Bones in chicken pose difficulty or even a choking hazard while eating. You may want to consider removing them when serving many courses. Bones in chicken pose difficulty or even a choking hazard while eating. You may want to consider removing them when serving many courses. The skin of the chicken has the highest fat content. If the chicken is served “skin on”, you should follow this course with a food to cleanse the palate.

18. Meat, in its broadest definition, is animal tissue used as food. Most often it refers to skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also refer to non-muscle organs, including lungs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, and kidneys. The meat course... The meat course is often considered the main course, and in America the main course is also called the entrée. The main course is usually the heaviest, heartiest, and most complex or substantive dish on a menu. Beef, pork, mutton or lamb, and venison are meats that may be served here. A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée at a meal. The side dish is most often a vegetable or a starch such as bread, potatoes, rice, or pasta.

19. The salad course... A salad may be tossed or arranged vegetables and other ingredients, or even a well-presented cooked vegetable. Salad greens cleanse the palate, and for that reason may change places in the order of courses. Bases for salad dressings: Crème fraîche: French for "fresh cream") is a heavy cream slightly soured with bacterial culture, but not as sour or as thick as sour cream. Vinaigrette: A mixture of vinegar (or sometimes lemon juice) and vegetable oil, often flavored with herbs, spices, and other ingredients Mayonnaise: a thick sauce based on vegetable oil and egg yolks. Caesar dressing: Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, egg, black pepper, and worcestershire sauce Oil: virgin or extra-virgin olive oil has a good balance of flavor and unsaturated fat; also vegetable oil, walnut oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, etc. Salad greens: Arugula, bok choy, brussels sprouts, cabbage, chard, dandelion greens, endive, horseradish, iceberg lettuce, kale, kohlrabi, mint, mustard greens, oregano, romaine, sage, spinach, turnip greens, watercress

20. SELECT THE RIGHT SALAD FOR THE COURSE Appetizer Salads These are served to whet the appetite of your guest while they await their main course. They should not be so large as to ruin their appetite for the rest of the meal. They must be flavorful, crisp and zesty to stimulate the palate and of course, attractively garnished to also arouse visual appeal. Accompaniment Salads These are to be served along with the main course. They must be light, balance the dish and not be too rich. Attention must be paid to insure that no duplication of the other items in the main entree has occurred (e.g. potato salad served on the side with fries or mashed potato). Main-course Salads More commonly known as “cold plates”, these must be large enough to constitute a full meal. They need to have a good balance of protein and vegetables to be nutritionally complete. Egg, ham, chicken, and tuna salads are served as main-course salads. Intermediate Salads A lot of finer restaurants use a small salad after the rich, main course to cleanse the palate and provide a break before dessert. This is also common practice in formal banquet service. Simple greens with vinaigrette or fruit salads are normally used for this purpose. Dessert Salads Dessert salads are very sweet and contain items such as fruit, nuts, cream or gelatin. These are normally found in a buffet or party menu.

21. The cheese course... The classic French cheese course usually offers a minimum of three cheeses, each representing a different type of milk (cow, goat or sheep's milk) or a different family of cheese. Each cheese can be placed around the platter in the best order to taste it, from the mildest to the strongest. create a cheese plate with textural, flavor, and visual variety. Serve at room temperature. A cheese course is presented near the end of the meal, usually just before dessert, because dairy products tend to coat the palate. Cheese: the purest way to savor and celebrate milk's gifts to the table. A cheese course is sometimes served with simply dressed salad greens, but fresh fruit is a popular alternative. Grapes, slices of apples or pears help cleanse your palate between cheeses and complement most of them, while figs, apricots, red currants, and blueberries may be favored. Other possible companions include subtly sweet jams, honey, vegetable confits (preserved in sugar), dried fruits and nuts, as well as various herbs and spices. Serve with a neutral-tasting bread or crackers (unsalted).

22. Dessert... Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of a sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one, such as some cheeses. The word comes from the Old French desservir, "to clear the table." Many people, regardless of the meal service, would expect the table to be cleared of nearly all dishes before the dessert is presented. Some common desserts are cakes, cookies, fruits, and candies. Other terms for dessert are “sweets”, “pudding”, and “afters”. Common desserts: Trifle - sponge cake soaked in fruit juice or sherry, layered with fruit salad and custard. Trifle may be decorated with whipped cream, glace cherries or nuts. Flan – tin is lined with sweet short pastry, which is filled with fruit and topped with a fruit glaze.

23. Basic meringue - a light foamy mixture of whipped egg white and caster sugar, which is baked in the oven and served cold. Fruit based - fruit is the main ingredient Jellies - gelatin is used to set these fruit flavored desserts or as a glaze on fruit tarts. Molded creams - a cold custard cream is mixed with other flavors to form the basis of a molded dessert. Egg custard - milk is thickened with egg yolks to form firm custard when baked. Pancakes and crepes - a basic batter mixture, which when pan-fried, can be served with a sauce or filling. Sponge based - desserts which have a sponge base can be steamed or baked and can be flavored with a variety of ingredients including chocolate, jam, honey, lemon, orange, cheese, fruit pulp, or a syrup. Pies and tarts - pastry cases filled with fruit or nuts. Egg based - these desserts use an egg or egg custard base, e.g. puddings, bread pudding. Soufflés - these desserts are based on a firm meringue base and may incorporate chocolate, fruit or cheese; further flavored with alcohol or vanilla. Flour based – baked goods such as cookies or cakes

24. The coffee course... Espresso (expresso in some American dictionaries) is a concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing very hot, but not boiling, water under high pressure through coffee that has been ground to an extremely fine consistency. It has an intense and high concentration of ingredients , so lends itself to mixing into other coffee based drinks, such as lattes (espresso and hot milk), cappuccino (espresso, hot milk, and milk foam), macchiati (espresso and milk foam) and mochas (latte with chocolate added), without being diluted in the resulting drink. Coffee can be served with dessert (North American style) or after dessert (European style). The latter allows you to add chocolates, wafers and confectionery as palate cleansers. Although, by this stage, many people will ask for no more. Demitasse is the name of the small cup used for espresso drinks.

25. Sweets (for the coffee)... A mint is a candy characterized by the presence of mint flavoring, whether it be peppermint oil, spearmint oil, wintergreen, or another natural or artificial source. Hard mints, often called "breath mints", are popular as breath fresheners since the taste and smell of mint oil and its active components are quite strong and feels clean and cool to the mouth as well as soothing to the stomach. Soft mints, such as "dinner mints" and "butter mints", are soft candies with a higher butter content, that dissolve more readily in ones mouth. Chocolate comprises a number of raw and processed foods that originate from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. There are dark, milk, and white chocolate varieties.Part of the pleasure of eating chocolate is due to the fact that its melting point is slightly below human body temperature: it melts in the mouth. Chocolate intake has been linked with release of serotonin in the brain, which produces feelings of pleasure. A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavored with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream. Cognac and brandy are favorite after-dinner liqueurs.

26. Planning for guests... Place cards are usually about two inches high. They are placed to the left and above the plate at the setting. Generally, there is only one menu card and it is placed in front of the host. Guests are usually seated in order to alternate men and women around the table. The “host” sits at the head of the table; the “hostess” at the foot. The invitations for a formal dinner should go out at least six weeks before the event. They should reflect the mood and spirit of the evening and entice your guests to attend. Upon receipt of an invitation to a formal dinner it is good etiquette to respond immediately. This will allow the hosts to make adjustments to the guest list and the meal itself. Once accepted, only an illness or an emergency is an acceptable reason to break the engagement.

27. Make sure everyone has a filled glass; stand but do not tap on a glass; face the person you are toasting; when finished tip your glass toward the recipient or clink their glass or raise your glass; take a sip; sit down Making a toast... 1. To Health: "May you live as long as you like, And have all you like as long as you live." 2. To Friendship: "There are good ships, and bad ships…all ships that sail the sea. But the best ships, are friendships, And may they always be." 3. To Love: "May we kiss whom we please, And please whom we kiss." 4. To Happiness: "May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past." 5. Good luck: "May you have the hindsight to know where you've been, The foresight to know where you are going, And the insight to know when you have gone too far."

28. Miscellaneous dining terminology... À la carte is a French expression meaning "from the menu", and it is used in restaurant terminology in one of two ways: It may refer to a menu of items priced and ordered separately OR it may refer to any options you are offered in an otherwise predetermined menu. Table d'hôte is a French phrase which literally means "host's table". It is used in restaurant teminology to indicate a menu where multi-course meals with limited choices are charged at a fixed price. Such a menu may also be called prix fixe ("fixed price"). Because the menu is set, the cutlery and flatware on the table may also already be set for all of the courses. A continental breakfast is a light breakfast consisting usually of coffee or tea and a roll, pastry, or other baked good.

29. Cafeteria style:  This  is  the  type  ofservice  that  is  used  aboard  some  larger  ships  such  as carriers and supply ships. The diner does not normally serve him- or herself.  Rather,  the  diner  selects   the desired items and the foodservice attendant places them on his or her plate. However, salads, desserts, and some side dishes may be apportioned in  dishes  and  the  diner simply takes them from the serving line. The main course consists of vegetables, starches, and meat. These items are portioned onto a plate by the serving line attendants as the diner selects them. Pièce de résistance: the biggest and most spectacular dish at the feast Haute cuisine (literally "high cooking" in French) or grande cuisine: refers to the cooking of the grand restaurants and hotels of the western world. It is characterized by elaborate preparations and presentations; large meals of small, often quite rich courses; extensive wine cellars; and large, hierarchical and efficiently run service staffs.

30. MEAL PLANNING THE END