Quips & Anecdotes - Holiday Meal Planning

So the other day, I asked my parents if they were planning on doing any type of nice dinner for Christmas - they said we would probably eat out at a restaurant. My reaction was shock because isn't that one of the best parts of the holidays? Cooking everything? I offered to cook again since I had done so for Thanksgiving but we'll see what they say. Anyhow, I realized that I hadn't posted up pictures yet of the Thanksgiving feast I did (just for 6 though so...hardly a feast) so wanted to photo-vomit for everyone. I also wanted to touch a little bit on some strategy.


Some gorgeous "stock"-style photos above of some of the ingredients used this Thanksgiving thanks to Duc who somehow managed to snag pictures even while he was busy being my kitchen cleaner (he cleans everything as I am working so that the space and sink is always cleared...so thankful for this!). The ingredients list for the evening had bacon, celery, parsley, leeks, and way too many potatoes (among other things).


Couldn't avoid the stuffing! I also had a neat little doodad that allowed me to make these spiraly potato things that I stuck into the oven to toast - they came out like really long and connected potato chips. The menu for that evening included stuffing, mac n cheese, spiced chicken breast, citrus quinoa, pumpkin pie, potato leek soup, buttermilk mashed potatoes, and sparkling apple cider. I found that even with all of that, it only took 3 hours to put together because of pre-planning. Here's my suggestion as you start your holiday meal planning (and what I did when I got my menu together):

1. Have all of your recipes in one place.
2. Highlight in separate colors the following:

• timed parts of the recipe
• equipment needed (pots, pans, oven, serving bowls, etc)
• ingredients in the directions, noting the size above them

3. Strategize what goes where at what time
4. Prepare for things needing to go back in the oven before serving for warming

It saved me a lot of time because everything was happening simultaneously. No down time = faster finishing. Good luck for your upcoming meals and let me know if you made anything just so absolutely scrumptious that you must share!