Holiday Cooking/Hosting Advice and Last Minute Gift Ideas

Season 3, Episode 15: I took notes so you didn’t have to…. So grab your apron and let's get into it!

I can’t believe it’s December!?!? I love this month for so many reasons. I love the holidays, the fact that I get to celebrate so many birthdays for people I love dearly including myself and the joy that’s floating in the air every where you go but man oh man can this also be a super stressful and sad time for so many as well. The holidays can stir up memories from the past of loved ones that aren’t with us anymore, trauma we’ve experienced and also highlighting those who hard times financially as it’s a holiday season that can really add up. So to those of you out there struggling my heart goes out to you and just know that you aren’t alone and if you need a hand please ask because we are all here to help in any way we can.

Today’s episode I thought it would be fun to do a little bit of troubleshooting some hosting and cooking blunders and tips as well as few last minute gift ideas for those in your life who love being in the kitchen!

When it comes to hosting and cooking a holiday event/meal there’s a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong and ALL of us experience things going horribly wrong many times over when we are hosting and cooking. There’s no way around it, we are human…shit happens. Below is a list of some helpful tips and tricks if things do go off the rails…

• Undercooked Food - Ok so here’s my advice, if you pull something out of the oven or off the stove and realize it’s undercooked, fear not, it can be saved. Put it back on the stove and oven at the temperature it should be cooking at, if you need to add a tiny bit of liquid to it, great, if not then just keep an eye on it and check the temperature of the food aiming for 165F for poultry/pork and about 150F for beef. If people are already sitting at the table when this happens then I suggest either playing a game like making everyone do the “12 days of christmas” or “two truths and a lie” to stall for time and then maybe serve the salad or soup first, then put everything else out. Stall for time!!

• Overcooked Food - ok depending what this is, you can add a little fat, stock, gravy etc to the protein. Sauces are your friend to help cover up an overcooked protein for sure. If it’s overcooked veggies, depending on how badly this are overcooked you could either make a quick soup or a fritter.

• Over Salted Food - Ok if it’s a soup or sauce…a scrubbed, peeled raw potato sliced in half is your best friend here. Pop it in the sauce or soup and let it do its thing for like 20 mins. Taste it, if it needs more time great, if you don’t have more time and it’s still a little salty or if it’s a protein or vegetable, ACID Is your best friend here. Think lemon, lime, vinegars etc. A little squeeze to finish the dish should make a difference. Last but not least sugar also can help but not be appropriate for the dish.

• Cold Food - Ok so the best thing I can suggest is once everything is done and you have a little time or things cooked too quickly and now you’re just waiting for people to arrive. Setting your oven to AS LOW AS IT CAN GO is the best thing you can do. Like 225 or 250F, put the dishes in the oven and keep an eye on things so they don’t overcook or dry out. If things are cooking too much then turn the oven off and just leave the door shut. Or you can put a wooden spoon in the oven door to let a little of the heat escape for a few minutes too and then shut the door. Either way you should be good to go and if you need to reheat the food and people are already sitting down then go back to example one..STALL and play a game!!!

Now Gift Ideas!!!! I LOVE giving cookbooks to people! I think they make great gifts, offer inspiration and support those creatives who pour their heart and soul into making them, like myself! I know I have mentioned MANY cookbooks this year that I love and this is just adding to that list!

• Korean American - Eric Kim

• Jerusalem - Yotam Ottolenghi

• Flavor - Yotam Ottolenghi

• Plenty - Yotam Ottolenghi

• Pasta Grannies - Book Two - Vicky Bennison

• Salad Freak - Jess Damuck

• Myers and Chang At Home - Joanne Chang

• Food of the Italian South - Katie Parla

• Ever-Green Vietnameseby Andrea Nguyen

• Flavor + Us by Rahanna Bisseret Martinez

• Let’s Eat by Dan Pelosi

• Pulp by Abra Berens

• Simply West African by Pierre Thiam

• A Splash of Soy by Lara Lee

• Start Here by Sohla El-Waylly

• Veg-Table by Nik Sharma

• The World Central Kitchen Cookbook by José Andrés

• 100 Morning Treats by Sarah Kieffer

• Snacking Bakes by Yossy Arefi

• Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice by Toni Tipton-Martin

Now on to more gift ideas!!

• Stick Blender/Immersion Blender

• Pizza Steel

• Kitchen Scale

• Good Kitchen Scissors

• Rubbermaid Crystal Clear Tuppies

• Stasher Bags

• Lamson Knives

• Kitchen Aid Mixer, Get the Tilt Head

• Kitchen Aid Attachments

• Food Processor

• Vitamix Blender

• Green Pans, Made In and Our Place Always Pan

• Le Creuset and Staub

• Nordic Ware Sheet Pans

• Andrew Pearce Bowls and Boards

Happy Holidays to everyone who is celebrating and have a cozy and safe day with the ones you love!

Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!

If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!

xoxo

Beth