cooking tips

december 98

Plan now and save time later. The Holidays are supposed to be a time of warmth, joy, and excitement. If the thought of having all those extra mouths to feed and the anxiety of having too much to do in too little time are overshadowing the Holiday spirit, we’ve gathered some helpful tips so that you can enjoy the season to its fullest. Write down the menus that you want to serve during the holidays, attaching any recipes that you’ll need to each menu. Make your list of grocery needs, what linens to use, and what serving equipment will be needed. Want to entertain a large crowd, but don’t have the funds or energy for a lavish open house or formal dinner party? Try a skating, sledding, or other outdoor party that calls for casual food that’s easier to prepare and easier on the budget. Rely on plug-in servants -- electric casseroles, electric skillets and saucepans, crockery cookers, roll warmers, and warming trays to help you serve. If a buffet is in your holiday plans, map out the food placement on the table, having a dry run with empty serving dishes, a mock centerpiece, etc. to make sure everything fits. Keep notes on what food goes with which serving dish and serving utensils. During the holidays when you’re pressed for time, serve uncomplicated dishes, made with six ingredients or less, that you’ve made before. Buy nonperishable party items days, even weeks, in advance. These include staple grocery items, beverages, candles, napkins, and decorations. Save the day before the party for buying items with a short shelf life, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Order any meats, poultry, or seafood to pick up early on the day of the event. If you’re having houseguests for three days or more, plan to treat yourself, and them, to a night at a local restaurant that’s known for its good, healthy cuisine. They’ll welcome the chance to sample the local cuisine and you’ll enjoy the night of no cooking and no dishes to wash. Bake breads in quantity when you have the time, then wrap in foil to freeze. There’s no need to rewrap for heating in the oven. Make a supply of bread crumbs to keep on hand for topping casseroles and vegetables. Although today, we tend to think of salad as something with mixed greens, molded and frozen salads are good make-ahead candidates for your holiday menus, using sugar-free Jell-O or unflavored gelatin. If chopped onion and chopped green bell pepper are ingredients that you’ll frequently use, buy the bags of frozen chopped onion and frozen chopped green bell pepper, instead of the whole items. You can also save time by buying frozen hash browns if a recipe calls for diced potatoes. Make appetizer soups or chowders ahead and freeze. Have sandwiches ready in the freezer for quick lunches or late-evening snacks. When heating frozen meat mixtures (such as a stew), speed thawing by stirring frequently, but be gentle so you don’t mash the ingredients. For desserts, keep on hand a supply of fat-free, no sugar added ice creams and yogurts in different flavors. You can made them holiday festive by sprinkling on a few colorful pieces of diced dried fruit (buy the premixed packages) -- not too many, though, as dried fruit is high in carbohydrates. When storing holiday cookies, separate soft cookies from crisp ones. Store soft cookies in closed containers, crisp cookies in containers with loose lids. If friends or relatives offer help, by all means let them. At a recent dinner party, I realized at the last minute that I’d forgotten to make the dressing for the salad so I enlisted one of the male guests who was soon happily showing off his prowess with a chef’s knife as he minced shallots, garlic, and fresh herbs from my garden for a dynamite dressing for which he was still receiving raves on as he and the other guests departed at the end of the evening. I heard several of the guests ask for his recipe which he happily gave as a little of this, a smidgen of that, and just a drizzle of balsamic since (her) balsamic vinegar is really superior (I use 15-year-old balsamic that a friend brings me from Italy) so you use less. Use place cards for dinner parties of more than six persons to avoid ‘musical chairs’ at seating time. Don’t think that you can’t entertain a crowd if you only have a limited supply of matching dinnerware. In today’s world, an eclectic mix of plates, stemware, and glassware makes for a more interesting and festive table setting. Colorful permanent press sheets make handy tablecloths that require very little care and no ironing. We always send our "good" linen tablecloths out to the laundry. They come back, draped over padded hangers in layers of tissue so there’s no need to iron before using. (Be sure to mark any spots so that they come back to you spotless.) Candles arranged in the center of the table make an elegant, yet easy centerpiece. But, put the arrangement atop a mirror, and the results will be stunning. Instead of making an elaborate floral arrangement for your centerpieces, float flowers in clear containers or make small, individual arrangements to place at each setting. If you’re serving several company dinners backk to back (such as when you have holiday guests), don’t hesitate to use more casual tablecloths or place mats. Arrange one basic arrangement of holiday greens on the dinner table. Change the decorations on the greens to match the different linens used -- blue or red ornamental balls one time, ribbons or candy canes the next, and so on. Consider cooking the turkey or whole beef tenderloin outside if you have a gas or electric grill or a barbecue with a smoke hood. It’ll free up oven space for vegetables, rolls, stuffing, etc. Sharpen knives ahead of time to make carving easy. Put the children to work; even small children can help with table setting, putting napkins into napkin rings, arranging the silverware at each placd setting, and so on. Have a lot of non-breakables such as plastic containers that food was stored or frozen in that need washing? Fill the sink with warm, sudsy water and let a youngster wash the dishes. It’ll keep the small child occupied for a half hour or so. You supervise the rinsing and let them air dry. Lastly, when this year’s holiday is over, sit down and make notes for next year -- shortcuts that worked as well as pitfalls you’d like to avoid. Attach this year’s menus and refile your recipes.