It’s the final countdown, have you planned your holiday meal yet?
It might be the most wonderful time of the year, yet every year you worry about what to cook and where all the dishes you plan to make will fit.
Luckily, Delta Lodge Kananaskis executive chef Kevin Birch has learned a trick or two over his culinary career to serve a great holiday meal for hundreds, or just a dozen friends and family.
“One tip I would have before you start is getting all the prep work done – cut all your vegetables, season everything and get everything ready so all you basically have left to do is cook it,” Birch said. “Just have it prepared and in the dish you’re going to cook it in, season it and put it to the side.
“You can keep it on the counter at room temperature, but when you start getting a little dis-coordinated you’re not going to do a good job cooking those things or watching them – try not to cook when you’ve been drinking to much,” said Birch towards too much holiday cheer getting in the way of culinary skills.
Multitask. Make a soup that can simmer for hours while you do other things, and prioritize your menu items that will need a longer cooking time.
“Mix it up so you have an equal amount of cold and hot dishes,” Birch said. “You don’t want all hot because you only have a certain amount of oven space, and you don’t want to have all cold because you only have a certain amount of refrigeration space, so mix it up.”
Years ago there wasn’t nearly as many options for ready-made items to help in cutting corners. Take advantage to save yourself time. “There’s gourmet hors-d’oeuvres and dumplings and those types of items. There’s a lot of stuff out there that they put a lot of effort into to prepare for you with quality ingredients that you can certainly serve and everyone would be happy with,” Birch said.
If spacing and storage is an issue for hot items, take advantage of chafing and serving dishes found at your favourite retail store.
“You put the water in it and buy a little Sterno (canned heat) heater and you just light them up. They are terrific for putting out a little buffet so everything doesn’t have to come out of the oven again,” Birch said.
Today’s supermarkets offer a lot of quality items, with butchers happy to prepare something for you. You can get turkey breasts already stuffed, and you can just pop them into the oven.
“We’re exploring that too, offering turkey to go, so essentially you would call up your local hotel, give them a month’s notice and essentially be grabbing your holiday meal to go,” Birch said. “The turkey, the stuffing, pumpkin pie and all the vegetables, you pick it up and voila – you bring it home and put it on your grandmother’s china and it looks exactly like you did it yourself.”
Discover your inner Jamie Oliver and Rachel Ray and eliminate steps in between.
“Just treat it like you see on your favourite cooking shows; get your small Tupperware containers out and make sure your herbs are chopped, make sure your butter is soft, make sure the salt and pepper is there,” Birch said.
“You don’t want to be reaching into your pantry with raw turkey on your hands and touching everything, and it cuts the steps down to have everything ready to go in small little containers in front of your cutting board.”
Hours beforehand, prepare everything. “When I invite people over, by the time they arrive I already have everything pretty much ready to go. Potatoes are in the water, the pot’s not on, but the water is salted and ready, the turkey is dressed and seasoned, it’s not in the oven yet, but you only have one to six steps to get everything ready to pull it out of the oven and you serve,” Birch said.
“You don’t want to be mussing in the kitchen when your guests arrive – you want to be mingling and pulling the cheese plate out and having fun and that’s about it.”
Visit, http://dig.cmipublishing.ca/i/587403 for a complete listing of Delta Lodge Kananaskis’ holiday events calendar.
Holiday hacks from Delta Lodge Kananaskis for a stress-free meal
1. Prepare, prepare, prepare
Plan what needs to be done and see what you can prepare a few days in advance so that all you need to do is cook and serve on the big day. Make a menu, write out your shopping list and head to the store early. Making mashed potatoes? This is a dish that can be made in advance and reheated without compromising flavour.
2. Does that turkey come deboned?
Debone your turkey before cooking or ask your local butcher to help you out. This turkey hack will cut your cooking time in half and give you more space to cook other things.
3. Your oven isn’t the only appliance in town
There is nothing more frustrating than having to juggle all your recipes on a four-burner stove and since we’ve been experiencing warmer than normal temperatures this year, why not use your barbecue for a dish or two? Maybe even give your slow cooker a try for a great stuffing or vegetable side.
4. Comfort is key
Sometimes thinking out of the box invites unwarranted stress and possible panic if all doesn’t go well. Stay within your comfort zone and make a tried and true recipe.
5. It doesn’t always need to be festive
Your guests are likely attending more than one holiday dinner this season, so they’ll have their fair share of the traditional turkey and stuffing. Don’t be afraid to serve some ribs or whip up your famous mac and cheese.
6. Hot plates
When you make a big spread, it’s hard to keep the food hot. Use the oven or microwave to heat up your serving dishes before you put the food out. Heating the dishes up will help them hold their temperature for much longer.
