Planning smart for the Christmas dinner

CEBU, Philippines - As everyone gets busy with Christmas preparations, it is good to keep in mind that always there are people that don’t enjoy the merry get-togethers – because they are the ones tasked to keep the celebrations going. Often they are the homemakers – the mommies and aunties and most adult women at home – who are in-charge of the cooking and have to keep the supply of food and drinks flooding the Christmas dining table. A good Christmas dinner usually take months of planning and preparation – and yet not everyone gets to enjoy.

There’s too much to do and few people to do it, no matter how many are helping out. There’s the Llechon, the Morcon, the Chicken Galantine, the Leche Flan, the Buko Pandan and the rest of the fare that each take several heads and hands to take care of. And getting the necessary ingredients ready alone already takes a lot of time.

Perhaps it is about time to change from planning ahead – to planning smart. But it starts with proper planning, first and foremost. The plan should include the dishes to have and the corresponding recipes, a comfortable schedule of which ingredients can be had ahead of time before the supermarkets become a war zone, and which items can even be prepared way earlier.

Of course, there are a lot of Christmas dinner items that can be readied beforehand… starting now! And many of these don’t even require freezer space to store. But then again, it takes proper planning to get certain items ready and out of the way before Christmas Day.

There a lot of things that can be made ready ahead of time. Finger foods like salted peanuts, dried fruits, kropek and the like are examples. And desserts like pastillas, coconut balls, polvoron, tamarindo and yema belong to such group, as well. Often, these are the items that cross the mind at the last minute and add to the stress.

Alongside, there are the necessary kitchen tools to get ready beforehand, too. The cutting boards, mixing bowls, pots and pans, knives of various kinds, can and bottle openers etc. And these things need to be in use-ready condition and in their right places so nerves won’t explode when the kitchen traffic gets crazy on the big day.

It’s good to have the whole plan in writing, with the recipes in the intended fare attached, the point-persons for each dish or item or task specified, and a clear schedule of which thing is to be done when. Then the plan may be posted conspicuously, and everyone involved advised to refer to it regularly as the days roll on. And, importantly, someone shall oversee that everything runs smoothly as planned, from now until the feast day.

The Filipino Christmas dinner is much more than the famous Lechon. In most homes, it is the ultimate display of the culinary heritage of the family. Despite careful planning, there may always a few little things to creep up and surprise the ones that toil so hard for the event. But smart planning is very likely to allow everyone to relax and enjoy Christmas – including those that run the kitchen! (FREEMAN)