5 kitchen-fit tips for a holiday feast

Prepare your kitchen for the invasion of guest chefs. Clean, organize and stock the shelves for stress-free, heavy-duty cooking and baking this holiday season

BY RACHEL STARK

There’s no place like home kitchens for the holidays.

Or that’s what it seems, at least, when guests congregate in the heart of the home to chat, snack and offer the host or hostess a helping hand.

A crowded kitchen with a few extra cooks calls for extra preparation and organization. What it doesn’t call for, says Philadelphia- area chef Tony Clark, is extra stress.

“It’s the holidays and it’s more than just cooking,” Clark says. “You really want to make sure everyone’s enjoying themselves.”

1. Keep it simple

A chef of more than 35 years, and currently on the syndicated TV show “Rock Star Kitchen,” Clark is used to group cooking. With four sisters and five children, cooking is a family affair when they all gather for a holiday meal. “It’s much more fun when everyone’s involved,” he says.

Clark’s relatives typically stick to tradition with familiar, family recipes. He purchases all the ingredients and completes any complicated cooking tasks before the guests arrive. “I try to make it easy, and never do anything too stressful,” he says.

Plus, a bottle of wine is at the ready, opened when the cooking begins.

2. Do your homework

Jess Dang, founder of Cook Smarts, an online resource aimed at educating and inspiring home cooks, says she creates a spreadsheet to get organized before hosting people for the holidays.

“Whenever I’m doing a large event, I find it really helpful to share a Google spreadsheet, where all the different meals are listed,” Dang says. “It lays things out nicely for folks to know what they’ll be responsible for. It also shows you took the time to think about it and plan.”

3. The good guest

People should also consider their cooking methods. If much of the meal will require the oven, they’ll need to plan accordingly. Oven rack inserts can help maximize space and save time.

One advantage of having many cooks in the kitchen? They bring an array of skills and specialties. Dang recommends hosts be mindful of this, playing up their guests’ strengths. Let the aunt who loves baking bring her mean cheesecake and give the cocktailexpert cousin bar duty. Anyone who is cooking-averse can help with cleanup.

“I think it all comes down to knowing what people are good at,” Dang says.

It’s important to make room for a deluge of food. Clean and strategically arrange your refrigerator and pantry ahead of time, Dang suggests.

To make more room in the kitchen, hosts can get creative by assigning guests to different stations throughout the home. Two sisters could catch up while chopping vegetables at the dining room table, for instance, while the kids snap green beans outside.

Susie Crowther, a Vermont-based chef, teacher and author of “The No Recipe Cookbook” (Skyhorse Publishing, 2013), says people should feel comfortable asking for and accepting help. “I think nowadays, we don’t want to ask for help,” she says. “Throw that paradigm away. This is not the time for the one-woman (or man) show.”

Instead, she suggests people embrace the mindset of working together as a community. Aside from making a dish or helping with cleanup, guests could contribute by bringing serving utensils, cutting boards or knives. “Have a list and just tell guests what to do. People like to give; it makes them feel important.”

Most of all, Crowther says, people cooking together over the holidays should focus on the process rather than the product. “The keys are to have fun, be together and be open to the outcome,” she says. “You might ruin the dish, but you’ll have a great story at the dinner table.”

5. Make space

A cramped kitchen can be an obstacle to any group cooking experience. Those who are short on counter space can make their mealtime easier with a few simple tweaks.

The easiest way to add counter space is to purchase a portable kitchen island or cart. The bonus is that it’ll add visual appeal along with extra storage — but it is a relatively big purchase, so only do so if you plan to use it throughout the year.

People should also look outside of the kitchen and utilize other spaces, Dang says. She suggests clearing clutter from counters by placing items on a dining table or a desk, or turning another room or the garage into a baking area with a card table and toaster oven.

Clark says he likes to use the outdoor grill year-round. When preparing a big meal, that’s one less piece that needs the oven.

The keys to working in a tight space, Clark says, are to keep the area clean and embrace simplicity. “Don’t overdo it,” he says. “People get stressed while cooking, but it’s not about that. You want to make sure you’re happy when you’re cooking the meal.” n

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Pick up holiday gifts for the tea or coffee lover on your list

If you’re looking for the perfect holiday gift and your recipient loves coffee, tea or something a little stronger, there are plenty of ideas from which you can choose

BY LISA IANNUCCI

FOR THE COFFEE LOVER

When it comes to coffee, forget the big companies and support the smaller, local businesses, such as John and Pat Curry’s Buona Caffe Artisan Roasted Coffee in Augusta, Georgia. Pat explains that you should buy from a smaller company for several reasons, including customization, speed and freshness.

“Coffee is at its peak for flavor within 21 days of roasting; most coffee you buy at the grocery store was roasted 6-9 months earlier and has a “best if used by” date of 18 months out,” she explains. “We roast in small batches two to three times a week and roast date our coffee so you know when it was produced.”

A smaller company also can blend your favorite flavors. “We have a customer who has a favorite blend of two coffees and we make it just for her,” Curry says.

Not sure what flavor your recipient will like? “When we have a customer come into the shop and ask what coffee they should get, we ask them about their preferences,” Curry says. “Do you like something milder or bolder? Something earthy or fruity? If they prefer milder coffees, we suggest medium roast coffees from central or South America. For bolder coffees, we’ll suggest African or Indonesian coffees, which typically are roasted darker.”

At a small shop, you often can smell the buckets of roasted beans before you order. “Does the person you’re buying coffee for have a grinder?” Curry asks. “Coffee is best when it is fresh, so it’s best to buy it whole bean and grind it just before brewing. That is because oxygen is the enemy of freshness.”

If the person you’re buying for is a caffeine addict, Curry recommends a medium roast coffee for the basket. “There’s actually more caffeine in medium roasts than dark roasts,” she says.

She also says the best gifts connect with memories and emotions.

“Did the person get married in Hawaii? Honeymoon in Costa Rica? Study abroad in Kenya? Or maybe the connection is something like the coffee they drank while they were a new parent, or they were pulling all-nighters studying for the bar,” Curry says. “Coffee that reminds them of those milestones in their lives will show your thoughtfulness.”