What It Takes to Cook for 25

Our 4th annual Kentucky Derby Party (plus six recipes!)

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Six years ago, when my husband and I first got together, we started collecting vintage Kentucky Derby glasses. He’s from Kentucky and every time we’d go for a visit we’d plan to make the rounds at local second hand shops, obsessively scouring the shelves for the most unique glasses we could find. The older and kitschier the better. I’ll take any excuse to throw a party, and putting 25 vintage Derby glasses to use seems like a good a reason as any.

This year we hosted our fourth annual Kentucky Derby party with 25 people, our biggest group to date. It all started when I accidentally ordered a 20 pound ham from one of our favorite local farms. Here’s what happened: the farmer posted a photo on Instagram saying there was only one ham left and the first person to message her would get it. I panicked, thinking someone else might be insane enough to want to cook a ham to feed 50, and sent a message saying I would happily take it. Conceptually I knew 20 pounds was big, but it wasn’t until I was practically dragging it back to my car from the farmers market that I realized the only way we could possibly make a dent in this ham was to go all out.

Here’s what I made

• Deviled eggs (well, technically my husband made these)

• Pimento cheese (recipe below for paid subscribers) with cut vegetables and Ritz crackers

• Caramelized onion dip (recipe below for paid subscribers) with chips

• Spinach artichoke RAMP dip (recipe below for paid subscribers—recipe without the ramps, since they’re so seasonal)

• Shrimp cocktail (recipe below for paid subscribers)

• Ham glazed with brown sugar, mustard, orange juice, and butter with Hawaiian buns, assorted mustards, pickles, and a butter tower (there will be a recipe one day…)

• Potato salad (I made 9 pounds of potatoes which was about 5 pounds too much)

• Classic coleslaw (recipe below for paid subscribers)

• Derby pie (find my recipe on Food52)

• Coconut sheet cake (recipe below for paid subscribers)

• Pineapple upside down cake (recipe by

  Meghan Splawn
  from The Kitchn)

Here’s how I prepped for it

Thursday, May 1st:

• Caramelized onions for dip

• Pickled red onions for potato salad

• Made pie crust

• Cleaned all our Derby glasses

• Set out paper plates, paper napkins, serving platters, and utensils

Friday, May 2nd:

• Rolled out the pie dough first thing in the morning and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours while I did other prep

• Made pimento cheese dip

• Finished the caramelized onion dip

• Made coleslaw

• Made potato salad

• Poached shrimp

• Made cocktail sauce

• Washed and cut vegetables for snacking

• Made a glaze for the ham

• Finished baking the Derby pies

• Set out all the liquor and wine

• Chilled wine and Pellegrino

Saturday, May 3rd (Derby day):

• Made the pineapple upside down cake

• Made the coconut sheet cake

• Made the spinach artichoke ramp dip

• Ryan made the deviled eggs

• Baked the ham

• Made a flower arrangement

• Set the table

• Set up decorations

Phew. As a society we’ve been taught that we should downplay our achievements—that boasting is shameful and that we should strive to be beacons of humility. There’s some understandable fears that come along with sharing our accomplishments. Will we be judged by others? Will we unintentionally spark feelings of inadequacy? I understand that saying “oh, it’s not that hard!” or “it didn’t take me that long"!” is an effort to create connection by equalizing all of our skills.

But you know what?

I spent two plus days cooking for this party and I’m not afraid to say it was a ton of work, and I loved every minute of it. I felt so in my element as I was prepping in the kitchen in the days and hours leading up to the Derby and felt totally at ease as I floated around the party. Cooking for 25 is no small feat. It might seem trivial, but I feel really proud of myself that I can cook and host for a party with ease. Maybe I’ll write a book about it someday. For now, I’m just going to keep throwing parties.