.png){kind=small}
Find Part 1 HERE
Ready for a little more holiday spirit? This week we're thinking ahead to food planning. So much of what we make can be prepped or even fully cooked beforehand. Whether it is for a meal you're hosting, or one you're attending as a guest, parties where an appetizer or dessert is required, gifts for neighbors or coworkers…you get the picture. We can shop and bake ahead to make the actual day of much more relaxed and focused on the people, not the food.
Thanksgiving is a perfect example. Though I typically bring 3-4 side dishes to our family gathering, I fully cook them all weeks before to store in my freezer. As a result, I'm usually the only one NOT spending all day slaving away in the kitchen!
Try and sit down soon to go over what the next couple of months will require in the way of holiday food. Make a master shopping list, and a list of things that can be made or prepped now and frozen until needed. Then start knocking out your list little-by-little over the next couple of weeks. The luxury of relaxing with your loved ones instead of being tied to the stove for hours on end is simply priceless.
While you've got food on the brain, it might also be a good time to think about stocking up your larder with a few easy appetizer basics if you have friends or family who like to drop by unexpectedly. Having extra crackers, cheese, olives, dips, chocolates, and a tin of cookies on hand this time of year can be a real lifesaver.
Oh, and lastly, let's not forget about the wine! Do you feel at a loss over what to buy to cater to all the different preferences that will filter through your home over the coming weeks? My best advice is to get a mixed case from Naked Wines. We've been members of their wine club for five+ years now. They'll put together a wonderful assortment of amazing wines from independent winemakers all around the world and ship them right to your door (in less than a week!). They have a guarantee that if you don't like a bottle, they'll credit it right back to your account, a feature I have appreciated several times over the span of our membership when one bottle or another isn't to our particular taste.
If you'd like to give them a try, I have a referral offer I can pass along for $100 off your order of $169 or more PLUS a free 1.5L magnum welcome gift worth over $90. It's a great deal, folks.
Here's the button to use if you want to stock your wine rack in one fell swoop and be able to tick “vino” off your holiday to-do list nice and early this year!
Comments