Great work, Tess! You did all the hard work for us! Bravo!! I think I am going to suggest this for our next baby shower!
STORKING THE FREEZER
I wanted to post this blog entry on how to have a baby shower for expectant mothers where guest focus on cooking freezer meals. It's something I have enjoyed doing and I know I have seen a lot of new mothers find a little bit of sanity.My amazing friend Kendra has an outstanding blog and I am excited to be a guest writer on My insanity. The full story should be up on her blog in about a week, but as I imagine there will be a lot of new visits to this blog as there often is after a new segment hits Fox 10, I thought I would post it here as well.
I remember how naive I was when expecting my first baby. I didn't know what I was in for, and that may be better. As a chef and a mother, one of my favorite services to offer is that of making freezer meals for expecting and new mothers. I don't know how anyone else's has done with motherhood, but for me it has been, by and far, one of the most challenging, passionate, and sometimes nerve racking experiences of my life. I never expected to be stretched (in sooo many ways...) and sleep so very little. For many, the first few weeks and months of having a new baby in the home are the most incredible...and eye opening. It wasn't a vacation, though having a new one around is a blessing. It doesn't go without work, most of which is unseen by others. Keeping that in mind, offering a baby shower to a brand new-new mom is always wonderful. What about baby showers for those mothers who are expecting their third, fourth...or tenth baby. What about the joy and sometimes fear that accompanies that new child? One solution I have found is offering a "Stork the Freezer" Party and Baby Shower.
When I call the expecting mom, the first thing I do, is introduce the idea of freezer meals to the mom and ask if that is something she would be excited about. Usually there is a few questions I like to ask:
Would the mom to be prefer to have the cooking party at her home or someone else?If they have it somewhere else besides their home (which is always nice) be sure the location will have adequate space in a large capacity freezer to accommodate the meals until the time the meals can be transferred to the mom-to-be's home.
How many children in the family? Age matters...be specific.
Are there any restrictions in their diet? (ie allergies, vegetarian and so forth)
Do they have a large storage freezer or just a standard freezer? This will determine how many dinners and what size you can offer her.
Present some menu choices. I tell her to pick 5-7 meals. She gets a nice printed menu to pick her meals off of, as well as an idea of side dishes she could or would need to make if you are offering those.
Try to fill her menu with several different meals that you know you can cook. Try cooking the menu choices yourself before the shower, or at the very least, be confident you know how to put it together. Another option is to assign "meal captains" to head up each meal during the cooking procedure. This will ease the burden on the hostess from having to supervise all the cooking.
Offer meals that would most appeal to her family.
If the family is not in any way "gourmet" then offering the French chicken wouldn't seem right. If they have kids that go to school and need lunches, offer items that can also double as quick lunch grabs for the kiddos (like pizza muffins and homemade hot pockets).
For the rest of the story, and the full menu and recipes from Tess, visit her site link here: http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com/2010/04/storking-freezer-party-and-baby-shower.html
She gets my vote for the best idea for the expectant Mom this week!
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