What I learned from 3 seasons of cast parties & 5 Cairnwood Village brunches

My heart fluttered with excitement on discovering Crate & Barrel’s 9x13” Bake & Store Casserole.  Oh joy!  I can make my own version of mac & cheese, a hash brown breakfast casserole, Company Chicken plus Artichoke & Spinach Lagasne, fully prep them, seal them with their lids & let ‘em rest in the fridge for up to two days, then either bake ‘em & reheat in a microwave or do the deed at the time of the event.

Then, my practical side took over.  Wait – seems blissful & each lidded casserole is an affordable $14.99, BUT…  If I use two 9x13” aluminum pans there’s no clean up – just dump the empty baking dish in the trash.  BUT… that’s environmentally unsound.  BUT… balance the recyclable aluminum against the water needed to wash each dish.  BUT…

That, it turns out, is the #1 thing I’ve learned from doing 3 seasons of cast parties & 5 brunches for our local senior residence – it often takes a lot of questions, which I only learned through experience, to arrive at a well-planned, well-executed, well-received party where everyone (including yours truly & my O Best Beloved) has a good time.

Wow – what a great recipe for Pizza Casserole!  Wait – how much prep work is involved?  Do the comments reflect a dish that is basically tasty or exceptional?  What’s the cost?  In this case, the answer was – baked ziti would make people just as satisfied at ½ the labor & ¼ the cost.

Do the entrees, nibbles & desserts include options that are suitable for gluten-free & or dairy-free folks?  (Interesting – this isn’t an issue for my older friends.  Go figure?

Do the four casseroles include at least one gluten-free option, one dairy-free?  If there are two recipes featuring a marinara sauce, can we flip it to an Alfredo?  (In the case of the Artichoke & Spinach Lasagne, it’s even better!)  Are they all easy to serve?  (The WHY behind the same casserole being made with bowtie pasta instead of lasagna noodles.)  Do I make the chili from scratch or gussy up canned?  (Jury is out.)  Do I serve with Jennifer’s homemade bread of my version of Cheddar Bay Biscuits?  (both)  Do I try a vegan Triple Corn Chowder or just throw caution to the winds & go with the super rich version?  (Go full throttle.) 

The one thing that was a given was making the Company Chicken Casserole with faux chicken, making it MOCKingbird Company Casserole, perfect for the fall season’s production of – you guessed it – To Kill a Mockingbird. 

Do I make the Apple Pie Spread or go with the brick of cream cheese slathered with Cross & Blackwell’s Major Grey Chutney?  (The latter – just as YUM & way easier.)  Sliced apples with a dip?  My signature crackers or stick with store bought?  (The former – they’re really easy & fun to bake, can customize the seasons AND can bake them in the shape of a bird& leaves, both suitable for the show.)  Do I take the time to make Lemon Meringue Tartlettes or stick to purchased cream puffs?  (Easy answer – cream puffs.)

Lucy Van Pelt once told Charlie Brown that the secret to success isn’t knowing the right answers, but asking the right questions.  That’s what I learned from my 3 seasons of cast parties & 5 brunches – to recognize a good question, to catch on where there is a possible alternative waiting to be considered.  That was part of my learning process that had been neglected over the years.  It was the surprising bonus of doing the same thing (cast parties) over & over, of doing a lot of the same thing over a relatively short period of time (the brunches.)

People ask why I tackle the parties, which most others avoid like the plague, and invest so much time & my own resources & $$ into the brunches.  I get out of doing them far more than I put in.

Beginning with learning to ask the right questions at the right time.