Kitchen Essentials For Cooking Holiday Meals
Preparing for Holiday Meals
If this is your first time hosting a holiday meal, read on. A few times a year you may have to pull together a mammoth meal. A real departure from the meat and 2 veggies, or one-pot meal, or takeout pizza that you put on the table the rest of the time.
It’s a bit intimidating, but if you start with the essential kitchen tools and equipment you need, the task will be easier.
I remember a story I heard a few years ago about a young bride preparing a meal of baked ham for her new husband. She started by cutting the ends off of the ham. Her husband asked her why she cut the ends off. She told him that that was the way her mom cooked a ham.
After thinking about it, she called her mom and asked her why she cut the ends of the ham off before cooking it. Her mother told her that that was the way her mom cooked a ham.
So she called her grandmother and asked her why she cut the ends off of the ham before cooking it. Her grandmother told her that it was because her pan wasn’t big enough to hold the whole ham.
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Oven Roasted Meats
Whether you are cooking a 15 lb turkey for Thanksgiving Dinner or a 10 lb ham for Easter you really need a roasting pan that will hold the entire hunk of meat.
I grew up in a large family and it was common to have a 20+ lb turkey at Thanksgiving, so we needed a large roasting pan.
Roasting pans are available in a variety of sizes. Determine what you expect to be serving. The 13″x8″ pan holds a 5-7 lb turkey. If you plan to be cooking a larger turkey or ham you will want to look at a 16″x13″ or 17″x13″ pan, at least.
Make sure the pan has sturdy handles, for ease of handling and for safety. A rack will keep whatever you are cooking out of the liquid on the bottom.
OK, here’s my turkey-cooking secret. This works best if the bird is NOT stuffed. Start cooking it breast-side down. When it is upside down all of the juices run to the breast, keeping it super-moist. After about an hour turn it right-side up and finish cooking. The turkey will brown, just the way everybody likes it, but the breast meat doesn’t dry out.
Safely cooking any meat requires more than guesswork. Be sure to have a meat thermometer and use it to get an accurate temperature to determine doneness. Don’t make your family sick at your Holiday dinner. You will not be asked to host it again.
A couple of useful tools for preparing a turkey are a baster and a turkey lacing kit. Keeping any meat from drying out during cooking or adding a glaze is easier with a baster. If you are stuffing a turkey use the lacing kit to “sew up” the cavity and keep the stuffing contained inside the bird.
Preparing Side Dishes
No matter what you are cooking, having sharp knives are must-have tools. You don’t need dozens of knives. Just a few SHARP ones will be all that you need. A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one.
For preparing side dishes or desserts have either a hand mixer or stand mixer to simplify making these dishes. There are a few other items, you need these all the time, measuring cups and spoons, whisks, a variety of mixing bowls, to do the basic jobs. Pretty glass bowls can double as serving bowls when you are ready to put dinner on the table.
Putting a Holiday Meal on the Table
Have a large platter to serve the main course. Consider something without a lot of decoration, except maybe texture, so that it can be used with any table decoration, linens, or centerpieces.
Decorate it with herbs, berries, or flowers to coordinate with the theme of the table.
The same can be said for casserole dishes and other tableware. Keeping it simple allows you to, inexpensively, change up the decor with the season.
Have fun with your big Holiday family meal. Collect all of your tools and supplies. Ask for help. Know that things will go wrong, something will get broke, somebody may get mad and cry. It might be you. Enjoy every minute of it and plan to do it again next year.
