How does Martha Stewart make Christmas dinner so perfect? We discovered 14 things that she does to ensure the holiday is flawless. Take a look at these tips and tricks and you, too, can have an incredible Christmas dinner, too! Don't worry, they are easy and fun!
Embracing Pure Leaf
Anyone who follows Martha’s style knows she prefers homemade delicacies over store-bought. She’s also obsessed with iced tea and will make a delicious jug for every meal, including Christmas.
However, Martha admits Pure Leaf has made her Christmas better. She doesn’t usually endorse brands, especially those against DIY, but Pure Leaf is nutritious, delicious, and worth her attention.
Considering store-bought
Martha’s Christmas meal is purely traditional and mostly homemade. However, she agrees cooking a turkey dinner from scratch isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. She encourages store-bought meals if you don’t want to cook.
Sure, you don’t have to replace every item with a store-bought meal or make every Christmas dinner from pre-made food. But if you’re too exhausted, it’s best to stay away from the kitchen and allow yourself to rest.
A classic beverage
Martha Stewart’s Christmas is incomplete without a pitcher of iced tea. But that’s not the only classy beverage on her table; she likes to stick to traditional drinks like conventional cocktails and ales.
Of course, she likes to add a bit of cognac to the mix. The brandy adds a nice, sweet touch to most beverages. However, on colder Christmas altogether, ditch the iced tea and embrace hot drinks.
Spicing it up
You might be surprised that Martha doesn’t always make a meal from scratch. Sometimes, she heads to the store and buys an ingredient or meal to save time and energy.
However, she doesn’t serve the food as is. Martha likes experimenting with flavors, so she’ll add her touch to the food or sprinkle it with her favorite herb. This adds a nice, homey touch to it and enhances the flavor.
Farm-fresh produce
Most of us are willing to buy cheaper groceries. However, Martha suggests sticking to farm-fresh produce to enhance quality and flavor. Cheap groceries are often stale and won’t turn out that delicious.
Cheap groceries also lack quality and flavor so that they can ruin a dinner. It’s best to buy farm-fresh or even pick fresh from your garden if you have one. Adding fresh produce to food enhances flavor and gets more praise.
Dessert deserves attention
Some people can’t cook, so they’ll stick to a nice pre-made turkey dinner. There’s nothing wrong with saving yourself time and energy, but if you manage to experiment in the kitchen, do it with desserts.
There’s nothing better than a homemade dessert; you might get the best foods from the store, but you’ll never enjoy a pie unless you make it. Sure, it might take a bit longer, but desserts deserve attention.
Homemade stumps store-bought
While Martha has little room for store-bought food, this culinary icon prefers homemade. The only acceptable reason to ditch home cooking is if you can’t and don’t want to.
However, if you have enough time, it’s best to approach the kitchen and prepare the dinner from scratch. You can add store-bought elements, but nothing tastes better than homemade food.
Balancing flavors and life
If you’re confused about direction, you must remember that life is about balance. Don’t order from the store every time, and don’t make the dinner from scratch every time.
You’ll only have a good Christmas if you balance out your routine. You can make the desserts from scratch and get pre-made dinner, or you can alternate every holiday. Adding a bit of balance makes your experience versatile and more fun.
Poke fun at yourself
Throughout the read, you might have realized a lot of advice goes against what Martha typically encourages. We’ve known the cooking queen to prefer homemade for a long time, so seeing her endorse the opposite is weird.
However, it’s all part of Martha’s fun personality. She doesn’t let past experiences cloud future successes, so she’s open to experimentation and pokes fun at herself. It encourages her and adds confidence.
Experiment
You don’t have to stick to outdated methods and techniques when preparing a hearty Christmas meal. Tradition doesn’t always mean sticking to the rules; you can blend them slightly.
Experimentation allows us to learn more about cooking. Martha herself experimented and realized covering a turkey with parchment paper retains moisture, so she adapted her techniques, and it improved her cooking.
Take breaks
It’s important to give yourself as much time as it takes to relax. We’re all exhausted by the time Christmas break comes, so not all of us are in the mood to whip up an entire meal.
The first thing to do is take breaks to evaluate your position better. If you’re feeling overworked and tired, it’s best to ditch the meal and ask someone else to host. You can cook when you’re feeling well-rested.
Shortcuts are okay
Lastly, it’s okay if you take a few shortcuts in between your cooking. Making a traditional Christmas dinner is challenging, so if you find any neat tip or trick that saves time, don’t hesitate.
Of course, you must ensure you’re not compromising the quality. But it’s best to experiment and embrace shortcuts to enhance your experience. Otherwise, you’ll overwork and won’t enjoy the dinner.
Personal Touches
Martha knows that a little bit of personality makes a meal truly great. While you do not need to customize everything on the Christmas table, adding something simple like a name card gives the meal a nice touch. You can make place cards yourself, have your kids hand-make them or buy them from a store. This is an easy way to make your holiday meal a little fancier.
Ask For Help
It is okay to ask others to help on Christmas. There is so much to do that it is impossible for one person to do it all! Martha has a whole team of people helping her!
Do not be afraid to ask your family and friends to bring a dish, help with the clean up or be in charge of setting the table. Everyone can come together to make the holiday perfect.
This article was inspired by Parade and published first at Spatula Desserts.
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This post was originally published on Spatula Desserts
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