Kitchen Timesavers for the Holidays
Save time and effort, and impress your guests, too
The winter holidays are not the time to take a break! It’s the height of entertaining to have a great holiday party. But you can make it easier and even more impressive with these affordable kitchen shortcut gadgets.
The problem with most fancy-shaped ice cube trays is that they make too few ice cubes, like 6 or 8. This ball-cube maker has a silicone portion that makes popping out the cubes easy, and there’s room to store a bunch of ice cubes. They also last longer than square ice cubes!
In the midst of cooking the afternoon before a party, I prepare to make the cooking process as fast and easy as possible. While I normally keep my pots and pans on a hanging rack on the other side of this kitchen, I place this 6-tiered handy pan tool on the counter right next to the stove. Some people use it permanently, since the pans are right there — saving steps and time.
While we’re on the subject of saving steps in the cooking process, once I got this multi-rest utensil holder, I gave up setting sloppy spoons on a trivet or scoop-shaped holder. With 3 or 4 burners going, you’re busy stirring and mixing multiple dishes at once. This silicone item is heat-resistant, easy to clean, and BPA-free. You’ll never go back to the old way once you try it.
I found this Prepworks food freezer pod tray at a gourmet cooking store, but I wish I’d bought it online, since it was half the price! It is shown here with portions of soup, but I have a better idea: use the one-cup size pods to freeze seasonings for dishes. I’ve saved a mixture of fresh herbs in homemade broth, schmaltz, fresh tomato with herbs blend, and all types of condensed seasonings to toss in pasta, rice, soups, and even meat dishes. You do all your chopping of garlic, shallots, onions, herbs, and other flavorings, freeze them and have them handy. The flexible silicone top is easy to pull off. You can use a marker to identify the pods if you have different ingredients in each pod. It’s even dishwasher safe! This was a game-changer for me.
What about when you make a signature dish, but you have friends or relatives who are vegan, gluten-free, allergic to this or that, or don’t like a certain ingredient? Use this three-bay baking pan to make it simple. It’s sold as a “lasagna pan” but think beyond that: any casserole, bread or even breakfast dish can be customized three ways. In fact, I have TWO of them so that I’ll have enough servings of all three types. This pan is inexpensive enough to afford yourself that one luxury.
We have out-of-town guests stay during the holidays, and I always want to make breakfast — but be quick about it. How did I not know (until recently) that this instant-pancake-mixing bottle existed? You simply put in the ingredients and the little wire ball mixes everything up! Then you pour the batter onto the griddle. And this thing is so inexpensive, every household in the U.S. should have one!
You know why I got this super-handy pre-prep cheese tray? One reason: you can put it together and put it in the refrigerator before the party! Everything is right there, and ready, even the utensils. A more modern trend is a “butter board” where rich butter is mixed with ingredients on top for guests to spread on crackers or bread. It works for that, too. Extra tip: this is ALSO a great gift item that will stun the recipient. It looks like it costs $100!
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