Cooking for 45

With a full menu from Nights and Weekends

If you think the prospect of cooking for 45 people by yourself four days before a major life milestone is an insane choice, you’re correct.

A month ago when I came up with the idea for this party I admittedly let the guest list run wild. The most I’ve ever cooked for was 35 people, which was at a restaurant where I did a one night pop-up a few years ago. Most recently I cooked for 25 for our annual Kentucky Derby party, which felt like a real accomplishment. I’m not sure what possessed me to think this was a good idea when I’ve already been feeling some very real burnout, but it happened, and I’m feeling pretty proud of myself this morning. I spent 2.5 days cooking and it felt like the first time in weeks I’ve gotten to do something just for myself. Cook alone in my kitchen for hours, without being glued to my phone. There was something soothing about following the rhythm of the recipes I’ve made countless times.

I cooked the entire menu from Nights and Weekends as a way to showcase the recipes and celebrate the start of my book tour with my nearest and dearest. If you haven’t already pre-ordered, the book comes out *this Tuesday* and you could have it by the end of the week at the latest. You can order your copy here. Read on to see what I made and how I did it. You can find all the recipes in Nights and Weekends.

Here’s what I made:

• Snack spread with Caramelized Shallot Dip (page 164) and Gochujang Almond Butter Dip (page 181) along with crackers, cut vegetables, an assortment of cheeses, hard salamis, and melon with Tajin

• Slow-Roasted Salmon with Grapefruit and Crispy Shallots (page 223)

• Ribeyes with a Party Wedge Salad (page 210)

• Kale Salad with Roasted Grapes (page 80)

• Summer Squash Casserole with Buttery Ritz (page 76)

• Pesto Potato Salad (page 144)

• Grilled Corn

• Couscous and Chickpea Salad (page 67)

• Marinated White Beans and Artichokes (page 83)

• Classic Lemon Bars (page 244)

• Tahini Cheesecake Bars (page 260)

• Birthday Cake (page 248)

• Strawberry Rhubarb Cake (but with peaches!) (page 243)

And here’s how I prepped for it:

Wednesday

• Salted ribeyes and let them hang out in the refrigerator uncovered until they were ready to be grilled Friday. I took them out an hour before the grill was ready to let the chill shake off.

• Made the frosting for the cake

• Prepped the grapefruit for the salmon

• Made the dressing for the wedge salad

• Made the Caramelized Shallot Dip

Thursday

• Made the Tahini Cheesecake Bars and let them set in the refrigerator overnight

• Made the lemon bars and let them firm up in the refrigerator overnight

• Prepped the Couscous and Chickpea Salad put it in a serving bowl

• Made the Marinated White Beans and Artichokes

• Prepped the filling of the Summer Squash Casserole with Buttery Ritz

• Blanched basil and made the pesto

• Cut and prepped all the vegetables for the snack spread

• Sliced hard salami for the snack spread

Friday

• Set up the table

• Poured the ganache over the Tahini Cheesecake Bars in the morning and let it fully set

• Made the cake—let it cool—frosted the cake

• Baked the Summer Squash Casserole with Buttery Ritz

• Boiled potatoes and tossed them with the pesto

• Worried that I didn’t have enough options of food and decided to make the Kale Salad with Roasted Grapes and Walnuts

• Also worried that I didn’t have enough snacks (I was wrong) and made the Gochujang Almond Butter Dip

• Panicked at 2 pm that I didn’t have enough desserts and made two peach cakes

• I cut both Tahini Cheesecake Bars and Lemon Bars into squares before people arrived and stored them in the refrigerator

• Cut the melon and topped with Tajin

• Grilled the corn

• Roasted the salmon

• Grilled the ribeyes

• Set the food out, assemble the snack spread, and set up the bar (with help from friends!)

This list evolved over the course of three days.

• I’ve been obsessed with

  Zoe Barrie Soderstrom
  and her newsletter Restaurant Dropout for a long time and was so excited to see her build this week’s menu around the Pasta with Brown Butter and Wilted Greens.

• My friend

  Eden Grinshpan
  interviewed me for her wonderful newsletter Eden Eats and I shared the recipe for my Socca with Arugula Salad.

• Molly Ramsey shouted Nights and Weekends out in

  Caroline Chambers
  newsletter.

• I spoke to

  Jenna Helwig
  , the Food Director at Real Simple, about why I think cookbooks are forever (and why social media is fleeting).

• Town & Country called Nights and Weekends one of the 21 best books to read this August.

• The Kitchn shared my recipe for Tahini Chocolate Cheesecake Bars…and you should make them asap.

• The Crispy Gnocchi Caprese made it into Bon Appetit’s Recipes We Made This Week.

• Rachel Hardacre
  shared a dinner party based on Nights and Weekends in her newsletter On the Acre.