Some Holiday Cooking Ideas
By Irene Maseko
With holiday cooking, you should try and do things in bulk. Rather than trying to squeeze in a few minutes hear and there mark out large chunks of your calendar and dedicate those times to tasks such as cooking, cleaning, shopping, and wrapping and stick to that one thing during its allotted time slot rather than trying to cook, wrap, clean, and shop at the same time. This saves confusion and lessens the opportunity of something getting boiled, burned, splattered, ruined, or forgotten.

If you will be preparing turkey, make sure the turkey or ham is properly thawed and that you've allotted the necessary time for cooking. In fact an extra hour is often the best way to go as you never know what kind of differences there will ultimately be in cooking time for your main course.

These tips do not guarantee a perfect holiday cooking experience but they are an excellent way to guarantee less stress in the mix.

Thanksgiving menu

The traditions that go along with Thanksgiving and giving thanks do not solve the dilemma that many face each and every time Thanksgiving is celebrated in their homes faces. That dilemma would be what to prepare for the big meal. There are plenty of options and as hostess and chef extraordinaire it is entirely up to you what the menu will be. The best piece of advice that can be given however, is the less food left to prepare on Thanksgiving day is the less food that has the opportunity for something to go wrong in the preparation process.

Plan ahead and make sure you have all the ingredients you need and any special menu items that may be required well ahead of time but in a manner that allows for maximum freshness. If you must wait until the day before to get some of your shopping done, then do so as early in the day as possible. Otherwise make