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A Reduced-Stress Holiday Dinner...Is It Even Possible?

By: Joe Johnson, Fri Dec 9th, 2005 11:43:45 PM

Planning a Christmas holiday dinner or for that matter, any large gathering really isn't as daunting as it may first appear, especially when you realize that the more thought and consideration you can give to the prep-work and the meal, the easier it will be. The key is to do as much work ahead of time as you can, so you and your guests can enjoy yourselves the day of the party.

To help you create a reduced-stress dinner, here are some great tips for making your next holiday function a memorable and enjoyable time.

1. Decide how many guests you plan on inviting at least two to three weeks beforehand. Basic fact - the more notice you can give your guests, especially during the busy holiday season, the more likely you will receive positive responses to your invitations. Be sure to assess how much space you have, both at the table and in your home when planning your guest list.

2. If you want to invite more guests than your table will seat, consider a buffet, using your dining table as the serving area. For a buffet, make sure to divide all the food into small portions and bring them to the table from a warm oven as needed that way everything stays warm and tastes at its best.

3. Compose your menu well ahead of time to give yourself plenty of breathing room to obtain any obscure or difficult to find ingredients. When thinking about how much to cook, plan on each person eating one and a half to two pounds of food.

4. Take your menu and put the different tasks and preparation steps into a to-do list format. This will prevent you from forgetting anything along the way, and will also allow you to better time things.

5. Make your big list of non-perishable items and head to the grocery store a week ahead. Most items, with the exception of salad greens and some fruit, will keep for a week, and you will miss the brunt of the last minute crowd. For those items that won't keep, pick them up two days before your dinner party. Because you did the bulk of your shopping early, you will be able to pick up the few perishable items you need and use the express checkout! Don't worry about having too little food because most of your guests will have eyes far larger than their stomachs. Don't worry about overdoing it either - who doesn't love a warmed leftover turkey on a Kaiser with seasoned mayonnaise the next day!

6. If you are trying a new recipe, now is the time to test it out. You don't want a recipe that isn't quite as tasty as it sounded, or that doesn't quite cooperate like the instructions said it should, to rear its ugly head the day of your gathering.

7. To save yourself even more trouble, serve foods that don't need to be cooked. Foods such as salad, crudités, stuffed jalapenos, dips, cheese and crackers, and fresh fruit are always winners, and will save valuable oven and counter space.

8. Clean out as much of the refrigerator as possible and make for lots of shelf space about one week ahead. The more free space you have in the fridge, the more you can fill it with food prepared ahead of time, leaving you less to do the day of your event.

9. Decorate your home two days ahead, and if your party guests will be sitting at a table for dinner, get the table ready. This will give you enough time to buy or borrow things you may need. If you are having furniture brought in for additional seating, get this done two days before as well. You don't want to risk the delivery van not showing or showing late when you have guests and dinner ready to go!

10. Peel and cut all vegetables two days before. Carrots and potatoes can be stored in ice water in the fridge; onions, celery and other vegetables must be kept dry and wrapped well in plastic wrap or zipper seal bags.

11. Many baked items freeze quite well when tightly sealed with plastic wrap. Prepare cookie dough and pre-bake cakes in advance, wrap them tightly, and put them in the freezer. Pre-bake your pies and wrap tightly in plastic wrap as well. The morning of your party, pull out your cakes and decorate as needed, allowing them to defrost throughout the day. Just before you sit down for your holiday meal, place any pies or cookies that need baking in the oven to bake or warm. Most pre-cooked frozen pies will take about 45 minutes to warm completely, which will usually have them ready just as your guests are getting to dessert.

12. Make as many dishes the day before as you can. Start prepping your meat of choice for the meal - start brining your turkey or rub down your roast beef with your dry rub. Seasoning your meats (excluding seafood) with your favorite dry rub the day before really allows your rub to penetrate the meat and bring out the flavors.

I hope these tips help you as much as I have found them to have helped me over the years. There really is nothing like feeling in control when hosting a dinner party, and not having to worry about what is going to happen next!

Happy Holidays to all!

About the author: Joe Johnson is a founding partner with Caroline's Rub - Fine Spice Creations, where he is in charge of product promotion and development, and where he serves as the executive chef.

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