Control Culinary Chaos This Holiday Season

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Planning the Menu

When designing your menu, make local and seasonal produce the highlight of the meal. It will undoubtedly be the most flavorful part of the meal and will also get people into the spirit of the season.

Talk to your local farmers to plan ahead. If you live in North Dakota, the farmers market is probably closed in November and December after the fields have been buried under snow. But if you think ahead, you can purchase local seasonal ingredients such as root vegetables and fruits that will hold over until it's time to cook them. Better still, you can prepare ingredients over the next few weeks and freeze them for use later. For example, buy fresh local winter squash while it is still available, bake or steam it, then toss it in the freezer. The cooked squash can be thawed and made into a mash or soup. If you live in a warmer part of the country, you may be able to pick up a wide range of fresh produce in the greenmarket all through the winter. Either way, talk to your local farmers now to find out what you can expect and create your menus accordingly.

To help you start thinking about your menu now, check out the following Green Guide articles and recipes:

Articles

"Room at the Table for Local, Organic and Heritage Foods" (Dec 2004)

"Delicious and Healthy Holiday Treats" (Nov 2005)

"Making Your Holiday Meals Last" (Dec 2005)

Recipes

Maple Glazed Heritage Turkey or Goose from "Room at the Table for Local, Organic and Heritage Foods" (Dec 2004)

Apple Cider Glaze from "Apple Cider - The Essence of Fall" (Sept/Oct 2005) is delicious over steamed or baked sweet potatoes, carrots or winter squash.

Apple and Leek Hash from "Apples A-Z" (Oct 2002) is a versatile side dish that works equally well with vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals.

Pickled Beets from "Dig This: Beets!" (Dec 2004) can be used as condiment or as part of a salad.

Green Cabbage and Mashed Potatoes from "Crazy for Cabbage" (Dec 2003) are quick and easy to make, and are a healthier alternative to plain mashed potatoes.

Cranberry Sauce from "No More Canned Cranberries" (Oct 2004)

Ginger Bread and Carrot Cake from "Delicious and Healthy Holiday Treats" (Nov 2005)

Karithopita: Greek Walnut Syrup Cake from "Crazy for Nuts" (March 2004)

Stay vegetable focused: Far too often we make the meat the focus of the meal and treat the side dishes as afterthoughts. Don't short-change your guests by falling into this trap. Most of the flavor, color and nutrition of a meal comes from the vegetable dishes, so put effort into planning a menu that is packed with fresh produce.

Avoid being too adventurous at the holidays. Success is usually based on experience, so reduce variables. Choose either an unfamiliar ingredient or recipe but not both. Cook unfamiliar ingredients using a tried and true method or pack new recipes with vegetables that you have cooked many times. This allows you to rely on the experience you have to insure a successful outcome.