Your Holiday Cooking Guide: Start Now!

‘Tis the season for family, joy and a great meal! It is officially the Holiday Season and with that comes another big dinner to prepare. Whether you’re hosting or bringing a dish along elsewhere, getting it all done in the holiday madness can be exhausting and stressful. But don’t let a good meal go bad with improper planning, follow these great tips we found online for s tress-free holiday!
From About.com:
  1. Start Now if You Can
    Now means any time you decide or plan to do something. One guaranteed way to create stress is procrastination. Do it or write it down because once written down it is out of your head (leaving your head clear for more great ideas) and there’s such a kick in ticking off completed jobs.
  2. Menus
    Draw up menus for all the meals you plan to make over the Christmas holidays well in advance, including all drinks, breakfasts and snacks. Starting this task early gives you time to look at new ideas, search outChristmas recipes and change your mind or amend if circumstances or guest numbers change.
  3. Recipes
    Found the recipes you want, read the recipes, then read them again. There’s nothing worse than realizing on Christmas Eve you are missing a vital ingredient, pan, or worse, you don’t know how to do it.
    Choose or check recipes to see if dishes can be made in advance and frozen or how long they will keep once cooked so they can be prepared one or two days in advance.
  4. The Shopping List
    Shopping is one of the biggest jobs at Christmas, so to simplify the task make a master-shopping list of everything you will need, including any new cooking equipment.

    • Divide the list into perishable and non-perishable goods including wines and spirits.
    • Buy all non-perishable goods, wines and spirits well in advance as many supermarkets and shops stock them as early as October.
    • Many on-line wine and drinks companies will sell wines in mixed cases and will recommend wines suitable for Christmas food so use their expertise. They also deliver, one less job to do.
    • Order any specialist goods (perishable and non-perishable) well in advance and check if they deliver.
    • Perishable goods don’t need to be bought on Christmas Eve. Buy them a day or two before and store them in the refrigerator or a cool, frost-free place.
  5. Don’t be Overambitious This in one area where many fall down by taking on too much to do in too short a time. Pull back and be realistic in balancing what is required in the kitchen and everywhere else (gift-wrapping, housework, kids and family).Christmas cooking and all it involves is not a time to start experimenting with new techniques. If you have never made bread, now is not the time to start.
  6. Delegate
    If you want to be a Domestic God/dess that’s fine but if you can delegate a few jobs – peeling the potatoes, polishing the silver, whatever – it will help ease the pressure. Surprisingly many people do like to help and share the fun in the kitchen so don’t be afraid to ask. No one wants a frazzled cook at the Christmas table.
  7. Buy (and Use) Post It Notes
    My kitchen wall is always littered with yellow sticky notes when I am on a cooking marathon. What time the turkey went in, when it needs to come out … what time I need to put theChristmas pudding on to steam … pick the kids up from the Carol Concert, I jot it down and stick it on the wall. Remember to take them down when completed or you’ll be in even more chaos.
  8. Time Plan
    Time spent making a time plan for Christmas Eve and Christmas day is time well-spent. Not only does it help in organizing the cooking, it also organizes the mind and it is astonishing how many forgotten jobs turn up when writing a time plan. This Christmas Time Plan lays out the most important jobs and can be adjusted to fit with your menu. Don’t forget – build time for you into the time plan. Time to get ready, or have a cup of tea is as important as a perfectly cooked dinner. 
  9. A Few Jobs Often Overlooked
    There are a few jobs that are often forgotten and will make Christmas cooking easier.

    • Sharpen knives including the carving knife well in advance. Makes all the chopping, peeling and carving so much easier.
    • Clean out the freezer well before Christmas – you can’t do this job early enough. Sort the freezer out and make space for Christmas food to be stored together in one place. Rummaging through an overstocked, messy freezer, trying to find food can become irritating.
    • A week before Christmas give the refigerator a good sort through and clean and make space for Christmas food – time for all the old jars and leftovers to hit the trash can.
    • Time for a deep clean of the oven. Leaving this job until after Christmas will be ten times messier with all that turkey fat.
  10. Make Time for You
    This is your Christmas as well. You may have built time for you in the time plan, make sure you stick to it. Allow time during or at the end of cooking to chill out a little, get ready or have a drink.

From Delicious Magazine:

Can I get ahead and freeze some dishes?

Pretty much everything can be done in advance and either left in the fridge or frozen. Just make sure that you fully defrost all frozen food in the fridge before reheating thoroughly.

Turkey

A fresh turkey will keep, wrapped, in the fridge for 3 days. To freeze, wrap in a couple of layers of cling film, then two of foil and freeze for up to 1 month.

Gravy

You can make a gravy base in advance, then chill it for 3 days or freeze it for up to 1 month.

Make the giblet stock. Melt the butter in a small pan, add the flour, cook for a few seconds, then gradually whisk in the stock. Simmer for 5 minutes, then cool and chill or freeze. Defrost thoroughly before use.

On the day, when your turkey is cooked, put the roasting tin over the heat and add the gravy base together with the strained and skimmed meat juices. Stir, rubbing the base of the tin with a wooden spoon to release all the cooking juices. Leave to simmer, then season and strain to serve.

Stuffing

You can freeze for up to 1 month. Or if you can’t manage that, just making and freezing the fresh breadcrumbs is a fantastic timesaver.

Bread and cranberry sauces

Keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, but they also freeze well for 1 month: spoon into tough freezer bags. Defrost at room temperature, and if the bread sauce is too thick, just add a little milk.

Potatoes, parsnips and carrots

Maris piper and King Edward potatoes have the right floury texture for roasties.

Parboil potatoes and parsnips separately for 3 minutes. Drain in separate colanders, gently shaking the one with the potatoes to fluff up the surface.

When cold, sprinkle with rosemary or thyme, if you like, open freeze in a single layer in a tray, then pop into freezer bags for up to 1 month.

Cook the potatoes from frozen as from step 3 of these recipes.

Other vegetables 

Not recommended for freezing, but you can cook your sprouts, carrots, peas and the like in the morning if you wish.

Boil them in salted water for 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time, then drain and refresh under cold water. Drain well, then put into their serving bowls (make sure there are no gold or silver rims).

Dot with a little butter and add a sprig of herbs if you like – such as thyme on the carrots.

Cover with cling film and set aside. Just before serving, microwave on high until heated through.

Red cabbage

Make the recipe, then freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost at room temperature, then reheat slowly

Leftover turkey

Pour some leftover gravy over the cooked turkey and freeze it – this will keep the meat moist, and means the turkey can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Christmas pudding

You tend to think of the pudding as keeping for years because of the booze content, but you can freeze it too – virtually forever.

Christmas cake

In January it’s still vaguely appetising, but by the end of February it’s looking distinctly weary. Instead, have your fill, then make a firm decision when you’ve had enough, and freeze it. By Easter, you’ll love it again.

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