Thursday, December 08, 2023

Christmas Dinner for the Beginner

Christmas Dinner for the Beginner Cook

Christmas Dinner Made Easy

 

First time Christmas Cook? –  It’s All In The Planning 

Cooking Christmas Dinner for the first time is a little daunting but doesn’t have to be.  Christmas dinner is, after all, just a big roast.  The fact that it involves a couple of added extras that you may not be familiar with and can also involve gaining the approval of a new or prospective in-law is where most of the stress lies.  A standard Sunday Roast is not the hardest meal in the world to cook, and in essence Christmas dinner is largely the same thing.  The key ingredient is planning.  Military planning. 

It’s this area where some newbie cooks and cookesses tend to fall down – hopefully not while carrying the Turkey

 

Big Bird 

In most cases the Turkey is going to be the center piece and as this is going to be the basis for your cooking times, plan and buy well ahead of the season of goodwill. Prices will go up as December looms, so the moment you can get your hands on your turkey of choice, go for it; they come to no harm in the freezer.  Bird in hand you can then work out how long it will take to de-frost and cook.  Buying in advance for the other meats you’ll require can be a good plan to – especially extras like pigs in blankets – the basic ingredients for these tend to get mysteriously ‘marked up’ the week before Christmas; you’ve been warned. 

 

The veggies and accompaniments can nearly all be fully or partially prepared in advance and different people have different favorites – check in advance what Number One Guest (the mother-in-law) prefers. 

 

Last minute saviors 

Last minute shopping should be avoided at all costs, simply because it is costly. The one area that this will prove difficult is likely to be the veg and any fruit you need.  Fruit and vegetable delivery   services can be a real time saver round Christmas and the prices will be comparative to the shops.

While supermarket delivery services will be costly if that’s all you are ordering there are usually a surprising number of other smaller services that can offer fruit delivery or veg box delivery in the run up to Christmas.  Some of these will come at a premium, but others will be well priced – check to see what your milkman can offer – many now offer delivery services for grocery items and they rarely charge delivery.  Booking slots can be oversubscribed if you don’t get your order in early – although again this is less likely to be the case with your local milkman.  

 

Panic Stations 
If you are ‘doing’ Christmas for the first time don’t panic!  One final ingredient that you shouldn’t forget is Sherry.  It’s the main ingredient in mother-in-laws at this time of year, with the right amount of it they’ll be singing your praises in no time. Well, singing at least. 

 

 

About Author 

Carlo works in Digital marketing for an online food delivery Milk And More    business, when he’s not on the internet he loves good movies and good food.

 

 

Thursday, December 08, 2023

Mediterranean Salad

 

Mediterranean Salad

Mediterranean Diet Salad

 

 

Mediterranean Salad

Are you looking for a quick and easy Mediterranean recipe that will make your kids say “yum!”? Do you want to prepare a delicious meal without spending hours slaving in the kitchen? Most importantly, do you want to make a healthy dish with seasonal flair from ingredients readily available at your local grocery store? If so, this Proscuitto and Pomegranate Mediterranean salad is just what you need!

 

The pomegranate is one of Christmas’ most distinctive seasonal fruits. Adding pomegranate seeds to this salad make it more than just a heart-healthy, kid-friendly delight – it is also a great dish for whipping up fast and serving at parties, or making for your family for Christmas Eve dinner. Its versatility and easy appeal mean the possibilities are endless.

 

Prep time: Five to ten minutes

Yields: Four to six generous servings

 

You will need:

4 ounces (6 cups) Arugula

3 tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 cup Mint Leaves

6 Ounces (9 Cups) Proscuitto

1/2 Cup Pomegranate seeds (Or 1-2 Medium-sized Whole Pomegranates)

 

Instructions:

 

Begin by preparing the mint leaves, proscuitto, and pomegranate seeds.

 

 Mint leaves should be carefully sliced into very thin strips.

 

Proscuitto should be done similarly, either torn or cut into thin strips.

 

The most time consuming aspect of this recipe may be the pomegranates – you will need 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds, but if you are unable to find only the seeds at your neighborhood grocery store, pomegranates will do.

 

If you do not want to spend a lot of time picking the seeds out by hand, ask your kids for help! Kids love finger-foods, and they also love helping out in the kitchen.

 

Let them take care of the tricky pomegranate seeds while you prepare all the other ingredients.

 

Start by pouring olive oil into a large salad bowl.

 

Add salt and pepper to taste, but only moderately, in order to protect the delicate flavors of the other ingredients.

 

Next, combine arugula and mint leaves and toss lightly.

 

Finally, separate these mixed greens among salad plates or bowls.

 

 

Top with the final ingredient, the proscuitto strips.

 

Once your children have finished seeding the pomegranates, rinse them in cold water, remove excess water, and sprinkle them over the top of each salad.

 

You will be surprised how festive the red seeds look when combined with the rich greens of arugula and mint, but you will be even more surprised how much your children will love this healthy recipe!

 

 

About the Author:

Enrico Fortie writes for the  Mediterranean Book Blog to help people learn how to follow the Mediterranean Diet  to live healthy and lose weight safely.

Thursday, December 08, 2023

Healthy Cooking Methods

Healthy Cooking Methods

Cooking Healthy

4 Healthy Cooking Methods – Start Eating Healthier Today

As we get further into the 21st century, more and more people are becoming conscious of what they eat and how they cook it. Their desire to become fit and healthy is at the top of their list of goals, and the ways that they cook their meals is of great importance.

 

Maybe you count yourself amongst these people? You have decided that the old ways of dining that we are constantly warned about, such as fast food and processed goods, are not very beneficial to your long term health, and you are now on a mission to do something about it.

 

If this is the case, then you will almost certainly be concerned about healthy cooking methods, as just because the food that you are cooking is healthy and nutritious, doesn’t mean that the cooking method is. Things such as deep frying, shallow frying, microwaving, and a host of other methods, may have their uses in certain situations, but are not suitable for healthy cooking on a day to day basis.

 

The great news is that there are many different healthy cooking methods for you to use, that are not very hard to implement, and with a little bit of practice you will have these methods down to an exact science. Even if you are not a great cook!

 

Here are 4 healthy cooking methods to serve you and your family with tasty and wholesome meals time after time:

 

Baking

 

When you think of baking, a couple of the first things that come to mind are cakes and bread. While baking is a very good way to cook these kinds of foods, it is also a healthy cooking method to prepare meat, fish and vegetables.

 

Not only is it very healthy, but it is also extremely simple, as all you need to do is put the food in a baking dish and pop it in the oven. This is a very good way to cook chicken breast, and you can avoid the chicken becoming too dry by buying one of the many available cooking bags, that lock in the moisture.

 

Braising

 

This is another of the healthy cooking methods that you can use, especially with meat. Simply start to brown the meat in a pan for a few minutes, and then transfer it to something like a crock pot where water is added, so that you may cook the meat slowly.

 

After cooking, the water can then be included in a sauce or gravy, to add even more taste to your meal. This method of cooking is very simple and requires very little hard labor on your part, making it an excellent choice if you are busy with work or have other obligations that day.

 

Poaching

 

One of the best foods to poach is eggs. Usually when you fry eggs, you have to use quite a lot of cooking oil that very often contains a lot of unnecessary ingredients. When you poach, all that is required is water, so that you can be sure that your eggs are 100% healthy and natural.

 

You can also use the poaching method for a variety of other foods, including meat and fish.

 

Grilling

 

Grilling is without doubt one of the most popular healthy cooking methods, and a great way to prepare meat. The reason for this is because it gets rid of a lot of fat from the meat, making your meal more healthy.

 

There are lots of different grilling machines on the market, with the most famous being the George Foreman grill, that has sold millions worldwide and has been used to eliminate fat from meat by many satisfied customers.

 

You can also grill foods outside which makes it a very versatile form of cooking, especially if you have guests over on a regular basis during the summer.

 

 

About the Author

Guest article provided courtesy of Claire, owner of eFoodProcessorReviews.com – an excellent consumer resource for food processor reviews. We also provide the most important info that you need to know about the Braun multiquick 3 k650.

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