With summer comes parties, showers, reunions, and graduations. If it's your turn to cook for a bigger crowd than you're used to, it can be a bit daunting. However, just relax and realize your special occasion will never happen again. Enjoy it, and get as much help as you can.

It helps if you know how many are coming. If not, look at the guest list and guess who you think will come. Remember, err on the side of too many, rather than too little. Even if you have to eat it for a week or give it away, that's better than running out. After deciding what to serve, when it comes to meat, it does shrink. There is a lot of help on the Internet, but if meat has bones, you'll need more than if it doesn't. For pieces of meat, like burgers, it takes a bit more than one per person, so that's about four pieces for every three people. Make sure your cooked meat is cooked, especially poultry. You can have your meat hot or cold, but keep hot food hot and cold food cold. You don't want to worry about sick guests. If anything has been out for two hours at room temperature, throw it away. Remember, if your party is outside, this is more important.

For other things such as sides, think about 120 servings for 100 people. If you're cooking for all men, add a bit more, and if it's all teens, add nearly one-half more. When doubling or tripling recipes, not all ingredients need to be. For instance, for cooking in oil, that may be able to stay the same, as long as you have enough for whatever you're cooking. The cooking time may not change, either. Don't forget to include some veggie dishes for those who do not eat meat.