If my love of food is a chemical substance, than gratification of a well cooked meal is my high. Now matter if you cook for 2 or 300 people there is no better feeling knowing that you filled their bellies and put a...

smile on their face. That being said, all of that will never come to be if there isn’t proper preparation. In the military there was a saying that I still try to follow and that is the six P’s. They are: Prior, Planning, Prevents, Piss, Poor, and Performance. I love that saying and it seems quite obvious but, there are still unknown factors that can arise; which is why a game plan should be developed or a plan of attack, as I like to call it.
 
First things first, what is on the menu? How many people are you feeding? What type of meal is it? These questions need to be answered before attempting anything else. Now if that has scared you, take a breath or a delicious swig of cooking wine and focus.

Next, break down the menu by going over each dish and listing the ingredients needed. This saves a lot of time if you purchase/gather everything together before you begin. I’m constantly making checklists to track my progress or list out the actions I still need to complete. This goes for everything, from large tasks, like purchasing ingredients, to small ones, like chopping onions I need for more than one dish. Timing is also key, but that is something that develops over time. So start simple, don’t be afraid to jack stuff up.

Bruchetta:
8 Tomatoes roughly chopped
1 small Red onion diced
2 cloves of mashed garlic
Fresh Basil
1 tsp White Balsamic vinegar
3 tsp Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Basically just mix everything together. Serve as a dip or throw it on some steak.