In my youth I lived in a household that had ten kids at home, plus Mom and Dad. Thanksgiving required three turkeys, as the in-laws and cousins attended that feast. Sadly when I moved up from stairs, to tv tables to the card table, by the time I was ready to move up to the "Adult Table" ...everyone had started their own clans. Sigh.
And now, since I retired more than a decade ago...it is just me and Kathy, Sometimes the grandkids, as in the picture I posted. So I know how to cook for a large group...and for a small group. But noting in between. And now, even when I cook for just Kathy and I, that ends up being tomorrow's meal too!
When we go out to eat, which is rare for us, we split an order. Neither of us can eat restaurant portions at one setting anymore.
Sometimes tho, when we have both families at our house, I do have to cook for ten again. I can pull that off. But between four guests and eight...I either make too much, too little, or have to throw it out because I got the recipe wrong.
And when I cook for just Kathy and I, all the sauces, cans, and bottles are made for larger recipes. And guesstimating is more of an Art than a Science, and one I have not managed to figure out.
I made a meatloaf that could serve ten for just the two of us, and then turned right around and made enough salmon to feed a small bear. Just can't get the proportions right.
I wish I still ate cereal. Then I could just keep refilling the bowl, and adding milk, as I continue to read the funnies. LOL
Isn't growing old and having to learn to cook smaller meals...a trip?