Cooking for large groups – tips and tricks

The holidays have arrived. Time to feed friends and family. Lots of them. The notion can be intimidating even for the most seasoned cook. It took me a while to get used to feeding 15,000 people. A day.

Don’t freak out. I’ve got you covered. What follows are brief, calm-inducing tips to help you and yours navigate this holiday season.

1. Know who you’re feeding.

Does your aunt Kate have an allergy to nuts? Does your nephew Tom have a severe aversion to little marshmallows on his sweet potatoes? Don’t hesitate to ask your guests these questions. Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours in the kitchen madly cooking up dishes your guests won’t enjoy.

2. Get started early.

Plan your menu in advance. Do all the shopping and initial prep the day before. Ideally your menu should center around dishes that require as little last-minute prep as possible. This will reduce stress and allow you to actually enjoy the company.

3. Get the party involved.

If some last-minute prep items couldn’t be avoided (some dishes are worth the extra work), let your guests get in the game. Most people love to play in the kitchen. It’s a bonding experience and many of our greatest holiday memories are born around the oven or the mixing bowl.

Come to think of it, I’ve never been to a party that didn’t end up with everyone in the kitchen anyway.

Follow these three simple tips and I guarantee you’ll have more fun this holiday season.

Happy Holidays. Happy Cooking!

Best,

Chef

Choosing the best and freshest seafood.

I already covered how to pick the best produce and beef. Now let’s talk seafood.

Good news: High quality, fresh seafood is more readily available than ever. Bad news: Picking seafood can be intimidating. You want to make sure you’re buying the freshest seafood you can. Here to help.

Funny thing about the word “fresh” – it has a different meaning when it comes to seafood. I’m going to pull back the curtain and tell you exactly what to consider when selecting “fresh” seafood.

1.     To buy fresh, buy frozen.

It may be counter intuitive, but if you want the freshest fish available, buy fish that has been flash-frozen. Today, fish can be flash-frozen shortly after being caught. This lessens spoilage, keeps things fresher and makes the fish safer to eat. Unless you live in a harbor town, the flash-frozen fish will be the most fresh. More insight found here.

2.     If something smells fishy, it is.

Fresh seafood should not have a strong fish smell.  If it smells like the docks, throw it back.

3.     Coming out of our shells.

Fresh shellfish like crab or lobster should be bought alive for optimum freshness. If the shells of the fish are open they are no longer living.

4.     Some like it raw.

Sashimi must be frozen for at least 7 days to be certified to eat raw. Brings us full-circle to point #1.

Now go out and use your newfound seafood selection skills and go score some Steelhead Trout (or Salmon) to test the Asian Infused Steelhead Trout recipe I tossed out several weeks back.

Soon, I’ll follow up on this “fresh ingredient” series with unique preparation tips and even more recipes from the MCL Restaurant & Bakery test kitchen.

Good times to follow.

Best,

Chef