Posts Tagged ‘plan ahead’

Thanksgiving Game Plan

November 10, 2014

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Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away, and to make it as stress free as possible, it’s time to start making a game plan.

If you are hosting, it’s important to be a well-oiled machine, with all parts coming together to create a massive feast in a relatively short period of time.

Here are a few tips to create a game plan that will guide you to a successful dinner:

Make a guest list. Encourage your guests to commit, and let you know if they are planning to bring someone along. Every year, without fail, someone calls at the very last minute asking if they can bring a friend or two. We always figure out how to squeeze in a few more, but frankly, it’s best and most polite for all involved to give a little notice. (Yeah, I went there.)

Plan a menu. If you are like me, you will be making lots of dishes over a 24 hour period, and need to juggle time and precious oven space to make that happen. If you are like most people who aren’t control freaks, you may be sharing the cooking with others, and want to make sure every item is covered, and no duplications show up. It’s not fun to have 5 store bought pies and no potatoes or cranberries. I like to print out all of my recipes and place them in a folder, along with my menu and grocery lists. I keep it from year to year, and add or subtract recipes as necessary. Since we have just done some home renovation, I had better start looking for my beloved folder, which I am sure is in a bin somewhere.

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Ask about food issues: Notice that I called them issues and not allergies. These days, everyone has them. This one is gluten free, that one is vegetarian. Someone avoids nuts, another avoids dairy. I have had dinners where there was not one single item that everyone at the table was willing to eat. With all of the side dishes on Thanksgiving, it’s very possible to have enough items for everyone to find a few things to feast on without having to make anything special. One year, I knew I had a vegan guest coming, and scooped out portions of every non-meat dish as I was making them and substituted margarine for butter, or made sure to use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. It wasn’t a big deal to do this as I went along, and she was very, very grateful. Make sure that if you don’t do that, you are completely transparent about it. Don’t tell someone it’s ok if it really isn’t. As a guest, if you have a lot of food issues, offer to bring a dish that you can eat and enjoy. Be gracious and make enough to share with everyone.

Inventory your cookware, dishes and serving pieces. Do you have everything you need?Are the linens stained?  If not, now is the time to shop for those extras, or borrow them. Make sure you have a chair for every guest, if you are planning a sit down dinner. It’s rarely the worry of having enough food for those last minute guests that throws me into panic mode: it’s more about having enough dishes and a seat for them.

Make a grocery list. I like to divide mine into perishables, and non-perishables which can be bought in advance. Now is a great time to stock up on those non-perishable items and leave them in the pantry. Think about everything you need, even salt and pepper, so you don’t run out. The stores are a virtual zoo in the days leading up to the holiday, so the less time I spend in them the better.

Prepare: I am not much of a make ahead kind of cook. The idea of preparing a meal and freezing it, to me is akin to serving fancy TV dinners. Ok, I am exaggerating, but I prefer to get my cooking zen on and make everything with a day or so of the meal. Having said that, there are many things that freeze well, if you want to get a jump start. Homemade breads,rolls and pie crusts can be made ahead, and baked on Thanksgiving day, making them freshly baked, without the last minute fuss.  If you make cornbread for stuffing, that is also freezable. Non creamy soups also fare well in the freezer.

Now sit back, relax and repeat after me: “I go this!” You do, you really do!

photos: Glasshouse Images

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Kitchen Tips Tuesday: Clean As You Go

August 5, 2014

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I used to make a colossal mess when I cooked. The kitchen would be covered with food, dishes and who knows what, every time I made a significant meal. As I have honed my skills over the years, that has changed. While I won’t say I don’t make a mess, I will say that it is more contained. They say that the best cooks are neat cooks, and I am starting to agree with that. S can use the entire kitchen, just making a smoothie, and I end up chiseling the remains of it off the counters for the rest of the day.
Here are a few tips to keep the kitchen clutter at bay while whipping up meals:

Plan ahead. Think about the ingredients and the tools you need before you start. Dripping things across the kitchen and measuring things all over the kitchen, instead of where they are going is a recipe for disaster. Searching frantically for a tool when you have your latest creation all over your hands just spreads the mess to cupboard handles and countertops. Assemble things in one central location, for maximum efficiency.

Clean as you go. Placing used dishes and utensils into the sink keeps them contained and off the counters. Wash the dishes and especially wipe the counters immediately before you move on to the next dish. Always start with a clean slate, even if that just means the countertops are food and clutter free.

If you are making multiple dishes, don’t put the utensils you need again into the dishwasher. Hand wash them so they are immediately accessible for the next round.

Wipe spills off the floor, the cupboards and refrigerator door as soon as possible. Once they dry, they are harder to clean off. Everybody spills and splatters, but not everybody wipes them up. Get my drift?

Catch the overflow . Place a cookie sheet under cakes, pies and casseroles  before putting them in the oven. That way, if they boil over, or spatter, you can clean the cookie sheet, instead of the entire oven. Even better, cover them in aluminum foil to avoid having to scrub the drip pan.

Use a garbage bowl.  TV cooks often use a garbage bowl to collect the food scraps as they appear, Toss vegetable peels, and other food refuse into the bowl as you go, and simply empty it and rinse the bowl when you are done.

Cooking can be great fun. Cleaning up: not so much. Cleaning as you go can make the task less daunting and give you more time to enjoy your delicious meal!

 

photo: Glasshouse Images

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How To Be A Morning Exerciser

April 24, 2014

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Working out in the morning has it’s perks. It’s energizing, it starts your day off right, and there are no excuses when work and life get in the way later. The downside: you need to actually get your butt out of bed and do it!
Becoming a morning exerciser is possible; even for those of us who like to press “snooze” more than we like to get our sweat on. Trust me, once you get going, you will be so grateful that you did. And it only hurts for a few minutes, before the adrenaline kicks in.

Here are a few ways to get yourself going in the morning:

1. Schedule your workout (whatever time of day you do it) as you would a meeting or a doctor’s appointment, and show up!

2. Book a class, a trainer or a training buddy to ensure that you really do show up.

3. Commit to your rest days in advance. This keeps me accountable. I can decide in advance when I am not going to work out, so I don’t just make the call when the alarm goes off and I don’t feel like getting up. Just deciding not to go in the morning is a non-negotiable.

4. Plan ahead. Lay out your gym clothes the night before. Pack your gym bag if you shower there to make sure that you have everything you need when you get there. Getting out of the shower and realizing you have no clean underwear is not fun.

5. Plan your pre-workout breakfast. Whether it’s a glass of water or juice, or a light breakfast, decide in advance what it will be to avoid wasting time in the morning. Make it enough to fuel your workout, and keep you hydrated, but light enough not to weigh you down or cause stomach upset.

6. Tell yourself you just have to do a certain amount and you can quit. Set a minimum amount of work, such as run a mile, do one set of a circuit, or put in 10 minutes on the bike. Chances are, once you get past that small amount of exercise, you will be pumped up to do more. Getting to the gym is half the battle. Once you are there, you are highly likely to workout.

7. Congratulate yourself on your diligence. Working out every morning is no small feat, but you will be so much better off for it. Pat yourself on the back, give yourself a treat and keep up the good work!

8. Don’t give up! Studies show it takes 21 days to form a habit, and 66 days to make it permanent. Push through it. You will thank yourself in the long run.

photo: glasshouse images

 

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