Whether you have multiple guests or a party of two, cooking a holiday meal can seem daunting.
So how to make dinner easy but still special?
Below, we share some of the few hacks to try this holiday season.
Make what you can in advance
It’s tiring to make multiple dishes in a day, so try to make those that you can store for a day or two. Make some fridge – or freezer-friendly food you can heat up before eating so you don’t have to rush everything in one day, which can potentially lead to some mishaps.
Desserts can also be left in the fridge for days. Side dishes like rice can be made a few hours before, and simply left in the rice cooker to stay warm.
Use baking soda to tenderise meat
If you are tired of toughness, the answer is baking soda. This tricky technique works for beef, chicken and pork and is very easy to do.
As strange as it may sound, the science behind this hack is simple. The baking soda alkalises the surface of the meat, making it more difficult for the proteins to bond. This creates a much more tender and therefore delicious, piece of meat.
Simply rub your meat with baking soda, coating it thoroughly, then allow it to rest in the refrigerator for three to five hours. Rinse completely, then cook as you normally would for an exceptionally tender piece of meat.
Keep it clean
No matter how carefully you grease and flour your baking pan, you’re still likely to end up scrubbing at a baked-on batter, especially in the hard-to-reach corners.
Make baking (and cleaning up) a breeze by lining your square or rectangular cake pan with a piece of foil long enough to hang over the sides. When the timer goes off, and it’s time to transfer your cake, brownies, or bars to a cooling rack, it’ll be easy to lift them out of the pan.
Print out your recipes and tape them on your fridge or pantry door
By doing so, you can do them in order, know exactly what you need to get out for the next recipe, and take them down as you go so you can essentially “check” them off the list of things that still need to be made.
This makes your time much more organised and in turn, more efficient.
Chop and freeze your herbs
One of the most common holiday cooking hacks calls for chopping vegetables in advance. But once that’s done, give your fresh herbs a chop too.
After cutting to size, portion them in an ice cube tray and cover them with olive oil before freezing. When needed, simply grab a cube and place it in a hot pan for fresh herbs on demand.