Mother's Day for 12 guests
A sit-down mother's day for 12: 6 dishes, about 661 g of food a guest (17.5 lb in all), 39 lines on the shopping list and around 29 drinks. 50% of the cooking can happen before the day.
- Dishes
- 6
- Food
- 17.5 lb
- Drinks
- 29
- Shopping lines
- 39
Sized by the planning engine
The menu, amounts and kitchen check
- · We set food for 11 AM — change it if your timing is different.
Menu for 12
Starters
- Citrus, fennel & olive salad1.5 batches · 12 servingson the day
Mains
- Spring vegetable lasagna with pea-pistachio pesto1.5 batches · 12 servingson the day
Sides
- Cold green salad, sharp dressing1 batch · 8 servingson the day
- Sweet-tea glazed carrots with buttermilk herb dressing1 batch · 8 servingsday before
Bread
- Shokupan1.5 batches · 15 servingsday before
Dessert
- Rhubarb fool1.5 batches · 12 servingsday before
About 661 g of food a guest. 50% of the cooking can be done before the day.
Shopping highlights
- Asparagus1.5 lb
- Baby spinach8 oz
- Chives2 tbsp
- Citrus for garnish2 ea
- Fennel bulb4 ea
- Fresh dill2 tbsp
- Lemon2 ea
- Oranges8 ea
- Rhubarb2.8 lb
- Salad leaves15 oz
10 of 39 lines. The full list comes with the plan.
Kitchen check
RECOVERY WINDOW — Clear
Recovery window is the busiest part of this starting kitchen.
Checked against a starting kitchen of 1 oven and 4 burners — not yours yet. Seats are not counted here: the planner asks for your real number rather than guessing it.
Drinks and cost
- Drinks, all kinds
- 29
- Ice
- 14 lb
- Food, estimated
- $255
About $21 a guest — a planning estimate from typical supermarket costs, not a price.
Countdown
The mother's day timeline, condensed
4 weeks before
- · Send the date, the start time, and a question about what people do not eat.
- · Eggs, bread and fruit. Leave the person a chair, not a task.
2 weeks before
- · Order the things that sell out. Leave the greens for the week of.
- · Decide the table before you buy anything for it.
1 week before
- · Cook whatever is better the next day. Leave the last fry for the day.
- · Count the zero-proof and the water with the rest of the drinks.
Day before
- · Clear the surfaces you will actually serve from.
- · Label what is already done so a helper does not redo it.
Day of
- · Finish only what cannot wait. Put the rest out before people arrive.
- · Keep one person out of the kitchen once guests are in the room.
Day after
- · Cool leftovers in shallow containers. Note what actually ran out.
- · Eat the food that keeps. Throw out the food that does not.
Other sizes
Mother's Day for more or fewer
Questions hosts ask
How much food for a mother's day for 12?
About 17.5 lb of finished food, or 661 g a guest across 6 dishes, with spring vegetable lasagna with pea-pistachio pesto as the main. The amounts are sized by the planning engine and include a small margin.
Should a mother's day for 12 be a buffet or a sit-down meal?
A sit-down meal works for 12 if you have a chair for everyone. Count your seats first — the planner never assumes them — and switch to a buffet if you are short.
How many drinks for a mother's day for 12?
About 29 drinks across the party, including alcohol-free ones, and 14 lb of ice.
How far ahead should I start planning?
Start 4 weeks before: send the date, the start time, and a question about what people do not eat, and eggs, bread and fruit. Leave the person a chair, not a task.
What does a mother's day for 12 cost?
The food in this plan comes to roughly $255, about $21 a guest. That is a planning estimate from typical US supermarket costs, not a price for your shop.
The whole night
Plan my mother's day for 12
Tell us about your kitchen, your seats and anyone's food needs, and the menu, shopping list and timeline redraw around them.