If you love to cook, you will notice that everyday cooking is not the same as whipping up a storm on those special occasions. When you have guests, you may become self-conscious and carefully assess every cooking process. These reactions are normal because you want everything to turn out perfectly.
However, one thing that seems to be overlooked is the extra time it takes to cook for special occasions. It takes 67 minutes on average to cook a meal, but the duration is longer on those extraordinary days. Here is how to save time on those special events.
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Make one-pot meals or pot pie recipes
Usually, this will apply if the people eating on the day are no more than five. For example, it might be a birthday occasion, and as expected, there would be other treats at the table. You might have ordered a cake and other desserts. Therefore, bulk cooking may not exactly be the thing to do.
One-pot meals like chicken and dumplings, jambalaya, and pot roast are huge time-savers and can be garnished to suit any special occasion. You can also try the delicious turkey pot pie recipe that is so simple. Additionally, you can use store-bought refrigerated pie crust to save even more time in the kitchen.
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Practice cooking any new dish a week earlier
When you are not too familiar with a new dish, the cooking time will be inadvertently longer than expected. To prevent this, professional chefs advise trying your hands at it at least one week earlier. It would be best to avoid food wastage by making only small quantities. As you do this, remember to take note of the times it took to prepare a specific meal.
Admittedly, cooking times would reduce when you’re handling smaller quantities. However, you can add an extra hour or two to the duration it took to cook smaller quantities on D-day. Practicing before the big day also instills confidence in your ability to cook on the day.
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Keep your pantry well stocked
Special occasions usually require new dishes and rarely cooked meals. Therefore, the pantry must be your first focus when you know one of those events is coming up and you plan to cook. A bare pantry means you will struggle to find the necessary ingredients for that occasion. Keeping the pantry properly stocked helps prevent inconveniences like rushing out to the supermarket. You will have to know the recipes you will be cooking for this to be effective
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Be certain about the numbers you are cooking for
This is one effective tip you cannot overlook on those special occasions. You may invite a few people to sit at the table with your household. This automatically means cooking a bit more than you ordinarily would. When you know the numbers, you can plan the dishes to be enough for everyone present.
You will also avoid the inconvenience of rushing back to the kitchen to put something together when there is a food shortage at the table. If it helps, ask your guests to confirm their attendance at least five days before the occasion.
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