Step #3: Applying Menu Planning Ideas

When is the best time to shop to save money?

A. On Weekends
B. In the evening
C. In the morning
D. Whenever there is a sale item available

Answer C

A menu is a list of dishes we plan to serve. To your family, it is a list of dishes from which they’ll eat during the week. To the cook, it is a list of dishes you plan to prepare. It is also a management tool for your household. It is fair to say that it is the simple most important household document. Purchasing, cooking and food costs are all based on the menu. You can see why it is essential to pay careful attention to the writing of the menu and why so many factors are considered. In this chapter, you discuss these factors from the point of view of kitchen production. How does one construct a menu that offers the best choices to your family and that promotes efficiency and productivity?

You must plan the menus for the people eating the food. This sounds like a simple rule, but you frequently forgotten it. You must never forget that the family is the main reason you’re cooking.

This rule means that, in most homes, the taste and preference of the cook are of little importance when planning the menu. True here are some homes that are primarily a showcase for the cook’s artistry, but they are rare. Instead, the taste and preference of the family we must give it top priority if our meal planning is going to succeed.

You must produce food that is appealing to our family and in sufficient variety to keep them from getting bored with the same old thing. Grumbling about the food is a favorite sport among families, but at least we can keep it to a minimum.

Breakfast

For the most part, breakfast menus are standard. You try to have on hand fruits, juices, eggs, cereals, pancakes, waffles, breakfast meats, plus regional specialties like Southern grits, because it is what our family wants and expects. The breakfast menu must be foods that can be prepared quickly and you can be eat in a hurry.

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