Planning A Rich Holiday Feast

Holiday meals have to be rich, not expensive.

Which food holiday is superior, Thanksgiving or Christmas (Hanukkah, Eid, Diwali)? This is one family argument that is welcome and even expected, and the winner is whoever makes the best dish, or showers the host with the best praise.

Depending on whom you ask, large holiday meals are either the cheapest meals of the year, or the most expensive. This has nothing to do with how many dishes you make or how expensive the ingredients are, but how you plan the meal, and how many creative ways you can stretch it. 

Over the last decade, the average cost of Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for a family of 10 has been $50 - $60. That comes to $5 - $6 per person. If you consider the fact that leftovers from large dinners lend themselves to many more meals then that cost can drop dramatically! You will be spending far less than the $4.31 that the average person spends on a meal on a regular day.

So, I'd like you to enjoy a guilt-free holiday season, where food is central to the celebration, and more abundant than your stomach can hold.

Here are some questions you will want to consider when you make the "richest" meal for a large group of people for the cheapest price!

1. How much time do you have?

If you have the luxury of time and are able to plan a meal weeks in advance, you should take full advantage of this privilege. Create a checklist for the meal or meals you have planned. Include an inventory of food ingredients, cookware and serveware you will need. Assign tasks to your loved ones. You have the luxury of finding the best deals, but I urge you to first take stock of what you have in your kitchen and pantry.

But, not everyone is able to plan a holiday meal weeks in advance. You may not even be able to dedicate 8 hours a day to the cause! But, you can put together a sumptuous meal in 3-4 hours! And with some help, you can even do it faster! Cutting down cooking time also cuts down money (unless you're using prepared or processed food!). 

When you come up with your list of dishes, note down how long each dish will take to cook. How many dishes can be prepped and cooked simultaneously to cut down time. Choose dishes that can be baked at the same temperature at the same time. Choose dishes that can be cooked concurrently in different appliances.  And look for alternative cooking methods that speed up the cooking process of a dish. For instance, the Thanksgiving Turkey can be cooked in an hour or two using the spatchcock method! So, even if you have to give up your preferred "method" of cooking, you don't have to give up the "dish". 

2. How large is the get-together?

The size of the get-together and the number of helping hands determine the type of meal: the number of courses, the complexity of the dishes, people's food preferences/allergies etc. Some people may be vegan, some may have a nut allergy, some may expect a traditional meal, while some may be excited about trying something new. Some find it easier to host a cocktail party with many appetizers, and some find it easier to host a sit-down meal, with proper courses. It's not the cooking that takes a large amount of time for a large group versus small. It is the prepping. If the get-together is larger than you can handle, consider a potluck, a progressive party, or ask people to help you. There is no such thing as too many cooks. In fact, during the holidays, the more the merrier. Cooking is often the most memorable and cherished part of the holiday.

If you have no help, and want to put together a one-person show from scratch, you will want to be organized and come up with a plan ahead of time, so that you are not overwhelmed when you are executing the meal. I recommend making a few rich dishes over a multi-course meal. Appetizers and sides can take up a lot of time!

One important aspect of prepping that most people forget is ensuring you have enough cookware, appliances and serveware. Incidental or miscellaneous costs (a serving tong here, a soup ladle there) will add up if you are not careful. I recommend borrowing things from friends who are not hosting any major event. 

3. How good are your cooking skills?

If you’re a novice, stick to the essentials: Protein, dressing, a sauce, gravy and a baked or creamed vegetable, casserole, pie or pudding. You will also want to recruit some folks to help you.

But, if you are a pro, you may enjoy moving as far away from essentials as possible. This is your chance you push yourself to try complex dishes, or dishes from around the world. Try that Béarnaise sauce, Chile en nogada, Pampoenkoekies, Saag Paneer. You don't have to stick to one region. Food does not require a travel visa!    

 

4. Is it more than one meal, and will some or all folks be staying over?

If you have folks visiting from other cities, it is likely you are making more than one meal. It's important to plan for the entire holiday, and not just the main lunch or dinner. When you pick what dishes to make for the main event, you will want to prep in a way that you can use the ingredients across many dishes both in the big feast and in the meals preceding and following.

After a traditional meal, you might even enjoy getting creative with leftovers! Those mashed potatoes, roasted veggies and meat can go into a shepherd's pie. Let your imagination run wild. Impress your guests with your creativity! 

Some people prefer to have many small gatherings over one large gathering. They may invite their family for the main dinner, but have a few different get-togethers with friends on other days. Make separate checklists for each event, and see where you can overlap dishes, or adopt clever strategies to minimize your effort in the kitchen. Potlucks are great, especially if you are hosting people who have special food preferences. Your guests can even bring their own food or drinks (there is nothing more miserable than attending a dinner where you have nothing to eat because you have a gluten intolerance and everything looks like pie. You are left feeling both guilty and hungry. No host should take their guests' food choices personally. You respect their way of life by allowing them to bring their own food. It also saves you the stress of catering to them). If they don't cook, they can even bring serveware or ice!

5. Do your guests like eating leftovers?

Not everyone enjoys eating leftovers. Some people may prefer to eat fresh food, especially seafood and meat, for health reasons. Food safety is a legitimate concern. The "Danger Zone" for bacteria growth is between 40°F and 140°F. Within those temperatures, bacteria can double every 20 minutes. It is therefore advised that perishable food should not be left out for more than 2 hours. This is often not possible during the holidays. So it is important to respect the people's preferences on leftovers and plan the meal(s) following Thanksgiving accordingly. 

Equally, eating leftovers is a necessity for many. So if your guests want to take the leftovers that you would have discarded, consider offering it to them. Or if you want to keep your leftovers, make that part of your meal-prepping plan! One-pot dishes that have few steps and few ingredients usually make great leftovers that can be reused in creative ways. 

Even if you don't like eating leftovers, you can buy bulk foods, and divide them into what you will use for the holidays, and what you will use later. Prep and can or freeze the rest for later use. If you do it right, bulk foods should see you through many weeks!

6. Do you mind washing dishes?

Holidays are the time of year when people want to pull out their best dishes. But, special dishes need special care. The clean-up after the feast can be as time-consuming as meal-prepping, cooking and entertaining! If you don't enjoy washing many dishes, you might want to consider one-pot dishes, or a meal with fewer courses! Also, adopt some practices to make this part easy. Before you start cooking, make sure that the dishwasher is empty. Soak and wash dishes as you use them so that the sink is never piled up. Wipe down spills immediately. Assign clear cleaning roles to your folks.       

7. Does your family eat a little of everything or a lot of one or two things? 

There are people who make 40 dishes for a 40th birthday! Some guests delight in the variety, and some get overwhelmed by the sheer number of dishes. It's important to keep your audience in mind. If your folks are the type to enjoy comfort dishes like casseroles, pies, mac and cheese and pot roasts, stews and chowders,  spare yourself the effort of many a multi-course meal with hors d'oeuvres and cocktail snacks. But, if they are into the bite-size appetizers, you'll want to skip the main course and please your nibblers! I find it useful to break down the meal into minutes. When you serve hors d'oeuvres, people generally expect at least 4 bites per hour. For the main meal, it is important to consider the average age of the gathering, not only to choose the right dishes, but also to adjust the meal-time! Some people prefer to serve the children first. Some people with health issues might not be able to wait beyond an hour after arrival for the meal.

8. Have you been wasteful before? 

This might not be your first rodeo. You have the benefit of hindsight. Allow your past experience to inform the number of dishes, and the quantity! The amount of food you need to prepare depends on the time of day, whether it is a sit-down meal, a buffet or cocktail party, the type of guests, the number of dishes being served, and your attitude towards leftovers. If having leftovers is part of your holiday strategy, I would recommend making one-and-a-half serving sizes per person. So, if it's a gathering of 20, I would cook for 30 people. If you don't want any leftovers, I recommend going with three-quarters serving size per person per dish. So, if it's a gathering of 20, I would cook for 15. Having said that, this rule might not work for all guests. If they are foodies, you want to make more. If they are nibblers, you want to make less.

9. What do you have at home?

A large get-together is a great excuse to shop your pantry and use up all the ingredients that are rarely used in everyday cooking. If you don't use them now, you are unlikely to ever use them. Shopping your pantry will more than halve your budget. If you go about it like a fun challenge, you might even bring the cost down to almost nothing! Make it a game, and allow your helpers full access to your pantry to see what they can make with what you already have. This also ensures that you cook what you love, so that when the festivities are over, and you open your fridge, you're greeted with foods you love!

10. Is Budget a concern? 

It's usually expected that this is the first concern. But, I'd like to remind you again that the holiday meal can be the cheapest meal of the year. It helps to use seasonal foods, have "alternative" ingredients in mind when the preferred ingredients are expensive, use a lot of fillers to bulk up the food, buy cheaper cuts of meat, or grind or cut your own meats,  and come up with meal-prep and leftover plans that will see you through many weeks. You can make the simplest dish fancy by adding interesting herbs and seasonings, or changing the texture of the dish or serving it in a unique way (eg: serve mashed potatoes in a drink glass). Treat protein and expensive ingredients as a side instead of the main. Include a lot of vegan and vegetarian dishes! Look into saving your utility bills by turning down the thermostat (during the daytime, or when you're cooking), using the convection feature in the oven, and using/borrowing energy-efficient appliances, using LED string lights (or forgoing them altogether) and flower garlands, and unplugging appliances that are not in use.

I leave you with three thoughts.

1. The host must enjoy a get-together as much as the guest. If you're stressing either during the planning phase or the event, you're doing it wrong. Invite people into your house only if it brings you joy.

2. Don't throw away good food. There are always takers for it. If you or your guests don't want it, consider donating it.

3. Don't be wasteful. Don't waste a good holiday by going into debt. (Over 35% of Americans took on holiday debt in 2022). Don't waste a good evening on controversial or inappropriate conversations. Don't waste time on what you cannot control (you may be away from home during the holidays, or your budget may be tight, but you can still get in the holiday spirit and treat yourself to a memorable day. Start with food!)

Read More:

1. A Humble Easter, Joy in Full Bloom, Eggs Optional

2. Alternatives to Traditional Holiday Parties

3. Holiday Debt Detox

4. Gifts for Nearly Nothing

5. Holiday Joy Without Comparison