No-hassle holiday dinner hacks from celebrated chef Mawa McQueen
Chef Mawa McQueen offers her kitchen hacks for hosting the perfect holiday dinner — Photo courtesy of Kelsey Brunner / McQueen Hospitality
Mawa McQueen is a James Beard-nominated and Michelin Guide-recommended chef. In addition to running four restaurants (Mawa’s Kitchen, Mawita’s, Crepe Shack Aspen, and Crepe Shack Snowmass), she’s written two books, Unstoppable Ambition, a guidebook to cultivating success, and her cookbook, Mawa’s Way.
It’s fair to say a go-getter like McQueen knows a thing or two about cooking and entertaining for parties of all sizes. Here, she shares simple ways to plan and meal prep like a pro for a hassle-free holiday dinner.
Plan ahead
A little planning is key to relieving the stress of hosting a holiday dinner. McQueen suggests a few weeks to a month in advance if you can. At this early stage, you can finalize your guest list and menu. McQueen says with those essential details defined, you can do some preliminary shopping and feel more at ease as the holiday approaches.
Collaborate with your guests on holiday dinner ideas
It isn’t uncommon for hosts to ask guests to bring a dessert or a Thanksgiving side dish of their choice. McQueen encourages you to be more specific with your requests. If your friend makes an incredible pumpkin pie or has a signature dish, ask them to bring it! Also, don’t be afraid to assign things.
“Send them a recipe for something that fits with your menu and ask them to make it,” she says. This eliminates the possibility of duplicate offerings and saves your guests from research and guesswork. She adds that it’s important to provide as much time as you can when making such requests.
“Give them a few weeks’ notice, and they’ll be excited to collaborate on the meal,” she says.
Make what you can the night before
Chef McQueen suggests starting meal prep one or two days in advance of your holiday dinner — Photo courtesy of Alexis Ahrling / McQueen Hospitality
Successful meal prepping for a holiday dinner starts a day or two ahead of time. McQueen recommends making baked dishes, like sweet potatoes and casseroles, or side dishes, like cranberry sauce, the day before, so you’ll have more time to spend with your guests on the big day.
Don’t feel like you have to make everything from scratch
Even a superstar chef like McQueen doesn’t feel the need to make everything from scratch when she hosts a holiday dinner.
“Why would I do that to myself?” she asks with a laugh. Unless you’re a particularly adept baker, she recommends purchasing breads and rolls from a local bakery to save time.
She also says you can turn canned cranberry sauce into a gourmet delight by adding your twist to it at home. McQueen likes to toast cinnamon sticks and star anise and then simmer them with canned cranberry sauce, orange zest, and a little bit of bourbon for a delicious holiday side dish.
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Cook the stuffing separately
Stuffing is a Thanksgiving staple, and many choose to stuff and cook it in their turkey. Not McQueen.
“Your turkey will cook much faster if you don’t stuff it first,” she says. She recommends baking the stuffing separately in the oven. Not only will you lessen the cooking time of your turkey, but your stuffing will develop a nice, beautiful crust.
Don’t test new recipes on the holiday
Test new recipes well in advance, says McQueen — Photo courtesy of McQueen Hospitality
If you’re searching for holiday dinner ideas, it might be tempting to try something new. McQueen is all for experimenting, but she doesn’t recommend debuting a new recipe on Thanksgiving or Christmas. If your heart is set on trying something new, her advice is to test the recipe a week or two in advance. This will give you plenty of time to make adjustments or find a substitute dish if necessary.
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Freeze those leftovers
No one wants to waste food, so it’s important to know how to store, save and reuse leftovers. Also, sometimes consuming leftovers can become a chore.
“People are tired of turkey after Thanksgiving,” says McQueen. “They don’t want to keep eating it for the next three days.”
McQueen’s solution? Freeze leftovers for a few weeks until they become exciting and appealing again. McQueen is especially fond of using frozen turkey in meals like matzo ball soup or turkey and dumplings.
