I am sure many of you are just beginning to gear up for your holiday entertaining. Whether you have guests coming in from out of town or you are just cooking for your family, which one of us doesn’t want to hear that we’ve really outdone ourselves this year? I loved it one year, when my friends and family thought that I had had the meal catered! But cooking like a four star chef isn’t as hard as it seems. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to making your meal go down in family history.
Read the Recipe
Read the whole entire recipe before you begin. First of all, timing is everything when you’re presenting a whole meal. You’ll want to make sure that your recipe is out of the oven and cooled just slightly before putting it on the table. Secondly, often times, more complicated recipes require certain steps and certain times. Otherwise the texture of the dish will not come out right. As my husband always says, when all else fails, read the directions!
Use the Best Ingredients
Good chefs can taste the difference between cheap EVOO and good quality EVOO. Madagascar vanilla really does make the difference in a dish. Good quality chocolate actually melts differently than plain old Hershey’s. So if you were ever going to splurge on ingredients. . .do it for a big meal like this. Using real butter, real chocolate, real cinnamon or real anything else, will really make your dish pop out.
Plan Ahead Because Substitutes are Not Allowed
I am the queen of substitutions. It seems like I’m always running out of this or that and discovering a new way of making something. Many recipes are ‘forgiving’ this way but for a big holiday meal planning ahead is what really pays off. Don’t use substitutions but rather make sure that your pantry is stocked with the ingredients you’ll need. (Tip: If you think you’re not that organized, just go ahead and take advantage of the sales. Many traditional ingredients go on sale in the weeks before Thanksgiving.)
Follow these tips and people will think you had your meal catered too!