Holiday Help: Cooking Smart with The Pros and Georgia Pecans
The joy of holiday cooking—and the stress—lie in creating a great feast
for friends and family. What makes the holidays so enjoyable—a full
house of guests to feed—is also what makes them so challenging.
You can escape this entertaining paradox by heeding the advice of the
pros who cook for crowds as a matter of course. Their tips and tricks
are both practical and philosophical from using toasted spiced pecan
halves to jazz up vegetables and grains to respecting the power and
importance of home-prepared food. “That approach,” says chef Lisa
Walker, a caterer in the Berkshire resort communities of Massachusetts,
“is both energizing and calming…because then cooking isn’t just a chore.
Preparing food becomes more rewarding…it’s very life-affirming.”
The next important step happens in the supermarket. Choices made there,
often determine the success of a meal. Filling the cart with smart
convenience foods, such as ready-to-use fresh salad mixtures, chopped or
whole pecan halves, or flavorful dried fruits, can make cooking faster
and simpler without sacrificing flavor or nutrition.
Shoppers should forgo other highly processed convenience foods.
“Perceived ease in the kitchen is almost always an illusion,” says chef
Michael Schlow in his new cookbook, It’s about Time (Steerforth Press).
“There is nothing enjoyable or satisfying about opening cans, thawing
frozen foods, or pressing microwave buttons, and the food is never half
as good.” Schlow is executive chef and co-owner of Radius, Via Matta and
Great Bay restaurants in Boston.
Chefs also recommend stocking up versatile ingredients. Crunchy,
rich-tasting Georgia pecans, as scrumptious on dinner plates as they are
on dessert platters, offer culinary versatility. In a side dish of Wild
Rice with Georgia Pecans and Preserved Fruits created by chef Peter
Repak of the renowned eatZi’s gourmet take-out market in Chicago, pecans
lend an almost buttery richness to the chef’s mixture of grains, onions,
and zesty citrus-based dressing.
Pecans add contrasting texture and flavor to a sophisticated Lentil,
Pear and Romaine Salad created by Anna Pump, chef/owner of the legendary
Loaves and Fishes prepared-food shop and catering facility in the
popular Hamptons area of Sagaponack (Long Island), New York. Pecans also
are irresistible when mixed into home baked sweets. In a big batch of
Toffee Pecan Cookies, created by eatZi’s Executive Baker Derek Short,
the Georgia nut takes a commanding flavor lead.
Pecans also are versatile in more ethnic preparations. Chef Jasper
Mirabile Jr., of Jasper’s restaurant and Italian market in Kansas City,
Mo., uses a generous scoop of pecans in the pastry he makes for his
seasonal fruit-and-mascarpone tarts. “We use peaches in the summer, then
substitute apples in the fall. Either way, this dessert showcases how
well my Italian roots and American sensibility come together…the
imported mascarpone, local apples, and Georgia pecans work really great
together.”
Walker also uses pecans in a Mediterranean-inspired dish, blending
steamed green beans dressed in olive oil with roasted red peppers and
spiced Georgia pecans. “It’s a super-easy and beautiful side dish,” she
comments, “but because of the crunchy pecans, you can also turn it
instantly into a salad by plating each portion with crumbled goat cheese
and a drizzle of good balsamic.”
For all these chefs, another consideration is to create dishes that can
hold up, possibly even improve, while standing out at party buffets or
in-store displays. Home cooks are smart to choose at least some dishes
for holiday menus that can be made well ahead of schedule. A few
culinary tricks with Georgia pecans can work wonders. Toasted pecan
halves add last-minute crispness to all kinds of holiday dishes. A
handful of pecans served with a cheese course are an instant success.
Finely chopped, pecans can be used to create a rich, mahogany-colored
crust for meats, fish, and poultry, or they can be sprinkled on fruit
tarts, cakes or holiday puddings.
This fall, an estimated 100 million pounds of pecans will be harvested,
according to Charles M. “Buddy” Leger, chairman of the Georgia Pecan
Commission. Historically, Georgia is the nation’s largest
pecan-producing state. The Georgia harvest begins in mid-October and
ends in December.
Pecans are ideal in holiday menus. Readily available, Georgia pecans are
a dependable staple. To retain the best flavor and texture of pecans,
store the nuts in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to nine
months, or freeze pecans for as long as two years.
Georgia Pecan Commission
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