Christmas is only a few short days away and a lot of you, I'm sure are getting ready to make a dinner for your family. Christmas, along with Thanksgiving are the two times of year that home cooks find themselves cooking large amounts of food for a relatively large amount of people. It can be difficult.

Organization Is Your Friend

It is important to stay organized. A clean, organized kitchen leads to a clean organized mind. You would be surprised how quickly a little clutter in the kitchen can spell disaster. Make a plan and follow it. Make a list and check things off as you go so you don't forget anything. Think about timing. How long is your turkey going to cook? (20 minutes per lbs) How long is it going to rest? (atleast an hour) What can you have done ahead of time? How much room do you have in your fridge? These are all things you should keep in mind when planning your Christmas Dinner.

Timing Is Key

Timing really is one of them, if not the most important thing to keep in mind when planning your Christmas Dinner. How long can your green vegetable sit before they go to shit?? Not that long. Your carrots, or roasted sweet potatoes on the other hand can sit for a while. Mashed potatoes can sit with a lid on them for about a half hour before they start to get cold. Estimate how long things are going to take, add 5% more time to that and plan accordingly.

Roll With It

It is very important that you don't take your Christmas Dinner too seriously. Yes, it is a lot of work, a lot of money, and a lot of time. I get that. But, if something goes to shit there likely isn't much you can do about it. If something doesn't work move on and adjust. Being able to think on your feet and adjust as needed is the single most important attribute of a great cook and a great host or hostess. Things rarely if ever go according to plan. Plan for the plan to fall apart.

I hope this helps in some small way to make your Christmas slightly more stressful. If it doesn't, remember, there is always wine and Christmas only comes once a year.

Merry Christmas,

Chef Ben