Holiday cooking can be a breeze with planning and prioritizing, like choosing 1-2 time consuming dishes and meal prep days ahead. For instance, try brining your poultry a day ahead to impart loads of flavor and ensure juiciness. The day of the holiday season lightly and roast.
Side dishes can be made throughout the week and frozen; the night before the holiday place in the fridge, and cook the day of.
Make desserts the night before the holiday for ultimate freshness.
The night before can also be used to chop all the vegetables, and prepare breading for your stuffing. Place ingredients for each dish in a ziploc bag together for quick cooking the next day.
Don't try too many difficult or time consuming dishes, pick 1 or 2. Try buying some of your appetizers and make very simple side dishes with fresh ingredients. When using high quality, fresh ingredients you can keep it simple and your food will taste delicious.
When I make a time consuming dessert like croquembouche ( cream puff tower), I make something simple like a roast chicken or beef. Prep the meat and the oven does all the work. I chose vegetables that don't need a lot of prep like carrots with ginger and butter, baked sweet potatoes, baked white potatoes with 1/2 yogurt-1/2 sour cream mix ,or already washed greens an add minced garlic from the tube, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Let the croquembouche be the star, and with fresh ingredients for your veggies, high quality oil or butter, cheese etc. your other meal choice will taste great without the hassle.
For holiday meal ideas give me a shout!
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