Where does the time go? It feels like we just finished the High Holidays, and now here we are with Thanksgiving, Chanukkah and New Year’s Day right around the corner. Before we know it, our calendars are filling up with family dinners, office parties and holiday celebrations with friends. It’s a wonderful time of year to enjoy good food and make memories, but all that celebrating can also mean a lot of extra work.
For those of us who enjoy entertaining, there are menus to plan, groceries to buy, tables to set. And even if we aren’t hosting, we may still be trying to figure out what to bring to a potluck or how to fit one more dish into an already busy week. The good news is that holiday entertaining doesn’t have to leave us exhausted before the party even begins. A little advance planning, a few shortcuts and some realistic expectations can go a long way toward making the season more enjoyable. Whether you’re hosting a gathering or bringing a dish to someone else’s party, here are some practical tips to reduce stress, spend less time in the kitchen and leave more time to enjoy the festivities.
Here’s to a happy, low-stress holiday season — from my kitchen to yours!
While making a guest list
The best approach is to keep it manageable. You may love a party and want to include everyone, but consider your time, space and budget, and keep your plans realistic. Thanksgiving, especially, can be one of those holidays when the house is packed to capacity. That’s fine, as long as family and friends share the responsibilities of cooking, washing dishes, bringing chairs or helping with whatever else is needed to make the day fun rather than exhausting.
While planning the menu
If you’re asking guests to bring a dish, be clear about what you’d like them to bring. You don’t want to end up with three desserts and no side dishes. Let guests know if you won’t have oven space available for them to use and be sure to tell them about any dietary restrictions your guests may have.
Make sure you won’t spend too much time bartending instead of visiting with your guests. Stick with wine, beer or a specialty cocktail you can make ahead of time so you can simply pour and serve. A Freezer Door Old Fashioned is a great option. You can also keep hot cider or mulled wine warm in a slow cooker to free up stove space.
Instead of trying to time all your dishes to be ready at once, do as much reheating as possible. Choose a main dish that can be kept warm until it’s time to eat. Pasta dishes are especially forgiving if they need to stay in the oven for a while. Think lasagna or baked ziti.
If you’re baking chicken, make sure it reaches an internal temperature of 165⁰F before serving or keeping it warm. Use a food thermometer to check the thickest part of the breast and the innermost part of the thigh, avoiding the bone. Once the chicken is fully cooked, you can keep it warm in an oven set to a low temperature, but be sure it stays at 140⁰F or above.
Better yet, make your main dish the day before and reheat it! Remember to keep food tightly covered while reheating to help prevent drying out.
Want a homemade dessert but don’t have time to make one from scratch? Try this shortcut using store-bought pie. Buy two double-crust pies (or one large pie from Costco). Bake according to the package directions. Once the pies are cool enough to handle, place them in a large baking dish, one at a time, and use a knife or spatula to break them into pieces until they reach a cobbler-like consistency. Return the dish to a 375-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. This should yield 16 to 20 servings, depending on the types of pies used. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
While preparing
Are your dishes coming out of the dishwasher with spots? As soon as the dishwasher stops, open the door and drape a dish towel over the top of the door, with half of the towel inside the dishwasher. Close the door and wait 20 to 30 minutes. The towel will absorb moisture and steam, leaving your dishes spot-free.
Grating onions or potatoes with a box grater? Don’t stand the grater upright. Lay it on its side and grate horizontally across the top. The grated food will collect inside, making it easier to transfer neatly to a bowl.
Did you forget to soften your butter or cream cheese? Here are quick ways to soften them without melting them.
For cream cheese, place the sealed foil package in a measuring cup filled with hot water. Wait three to five minutes, and it should be ready to use.
For butter, you’ll need a glass tall enough to cover an entire stick. Fill the glass with hot water and let it warm up. Empty the glass, then place it over the butter. The trapped heat and steam will soften the butter in five to 10 minutes without melting it.
Don’t throw away your butter wrappers. They can help with two common kitchen tasks:
1. Use the butter remaining on the wrapper to grease a pan.
2. When melting butter in the microwave, place the butter in a bowl and drape the paper wrapper (no foil) over it to help prevent splatters. You should be able to melt the entire stick without making a huge mess, and the wrapper will have even more butter on it to grease another pan.
If you need to measure a sticky liquid, such as honey, there are two easy ways to keep it from sticking to your measuring cup.
1. Spray the measuring cup with cooking spray to help the liquid slide out more easily.
2. If you’re adding the sticky liquid to dry ingredients, mound the dry ingredients and use the back of a measuring scoop to make an indentation the size of the amount of liquid you need. For example, if the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of honey, use a 1/4-cup scoop to make the indentation, then fill it with honey.
At the last minute
Oops — forgot to chill the wine? Wet a paper towel with cold water and squeeze out the excess. Wrap it around the bottle and pop it in the freezer. The wine should be chilled and ready to serve in five to 10 minutes. Set a timer so you don’t forget about it!
Freezer Door Old Fashioned –
Makes about eight 3-ounce servings
Recipe from Allrecipes
1 (750-milliliter) bottle high-quality bourbon*
3 ounces simple syrup
1 ounce orange bitters
Orange peel slices
Maraschino or Amarena cherries
• Pour 1/2 cup of bourbon out of the bottle and save it for another use.
• Add the simple syrup and orange bitters to the bottle. Seal the bottle, shake well and keep it in the freezer until ready to serve.
• Pour over ice and garnish with a slice of orange peel and a cherry.
*Be sure your bourbon has an alcohol content of at least 32% by volume so it won’t freeze solid.
Lasagna – serves eight
1 package lasagna noodles (12 noodles)
Olive oil
1 (24-ounce) jar marinara sauce
1 egg
8 ounces ricotta cheese
8 ounces cottage cheese
12 slices mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Optional: Grated carrot or zucchini, fresh spinach leaves
• Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and drizzle with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking together while they sit.
• While the noodles cook, combine the egg, ricotta, cottage cheese and Parmesan in a large bowl.
• Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over the bottom. Arrange four noodles across the bottom, then top with half the cheese mixture, a thin layer of vegetables, if using, and six slices of mozzarella. Top with half the remaining marinara sauce and repeat the layers, starting with noodles. Finish with a layer of noodles topped with the remaining sauce.
• Bake at 350⁰F for 30 to 45 minutes, until bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
Honey-Baked Chicken
– Serves six to eight
1 whole chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds), rinsed and patted dry
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
6 tablespoons honey
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• Preheat the oven to 400⁰F. Place a rack inside a large roasting pan and set aside.
• Season the chicken inside and out with the kosher salt and black pepper.
• In a small bowl, combine the honey, lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil.
• Place the chicken breast-side up on the rack in the roasting pan and roast until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Using a basting brush, coat the chicken with half the honey mixture and sprinkle with half the thyme. Return the chicken to the oven and continue roasting until a food thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast and the innermost part of the thigh, without touching bone, registers at least 165⁰F. For a 3- to 3 1/2-pound chicken, allow approximately 45 to 60 minutes total, checking the temperature rather than relying on time alone.
• Remove the chicken from the oven and brush with the remaining honey mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining thyme.
• Transfer the chicken to a platter or cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving.
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