Chef Matthew’s Tips and Tricks
for Stress-Free Holiday Entertaining
San Francisco Personal Chef Matthew of Big City Chefs, and formerly of top-rated New York City restaurant Eleven Madison Park, shares some of his favorite restaurant chefs’ tips and tricks to make your holiday entertaining easy and delicious! For more chefs’ tips and recipes, please join the Big City Chefs mailing list at www.bigcitychefs.com. Bon Appetit!
- Make large batches of Christmas cookie dough ahead of time and store them in the freezer. Cookie dough is one exception to the “Freezer Faux-Pas” and typically benefits from chilling time. A Cookie Press is also a great tool that speeds up your baking process.
- Brining your holiday bird adds flavor and keeps it moist, plus it’s super easy! To make a brine, combine 2 parts water with 3 parts sugar/salt mixture, and generously add raw garlic cloves, fresh bay leaves, black peppercorns and whole herbs (thyme or rosemary). Bring the water, sugar, and salt to a boil and cool completely. Add your bird to the cold brine and let sit for 8-24 hours in the fridge, depending on size. Remove and pat dry before cooking.
- Even though holiday meals are a lot of work, making them family time turns cooking into a fun activity. Encourage your family to take an active role in preparing the meal and have some fun in the kitchen at the same time!
- For additional tips, Big City Chefs can create in-home cooking lessong to show you how to make a memorable holiday meal with our modern takes on the Classic American holiday.
Happy Holidays!
Chef Matthew
San Francisco Personal Chef
1-866-321-CHEF
Email Me!
Do you have any tips for types of cookies or other things would be good for bagging and giving as gifts for the holidays?
Comment by Besty — December 3, 2010 @ 5:41 pm