It's all in the planning. Talk to any good chef or home cook, and they'll tell you to get your food shopping early and prep as much as you can ahead of time. And according to Bon Appetit, you can cook that holiday meal in a jiffy.
"A good chef is an organized chef," Bon Appetit's Jonathan Lindenauer said.
And Lindenauer is one organized chef, so much so that he can make several dishes in under an hour.
"The biggest thing is to prepare yourself so when you're actually doing the cooking, the active cooking time is under an hour," he said.
And here's how it goes. Jonathan starts with the thing that takes the longest to cook, the New York strip loin. He seasons with lots of salt, pepper and other spices.
He tosses his already cut parsnips and carrots with seasoning and olive oil and puts them on a baking sheet. The meat goes on top, and it's into a preheated oven.
Then, we jump from the main course to the dessert, and there's a reason for that. The no-bake yule log, made from chocolate wafers spread with mocha cream, needs to be refrigerated before it's served. So while the steak is cooking, you've made the dessert.
Then, it's salad time.
A vinaigrette is quite simple, as mustard, salt, pepper and vinegar all get whisked with oil. Add a little gruyere cheese and walnuts. And then we move on to the appetizer, crab remoulade.
He lightly folds in mayo and sour cream, creating a creamy dip.
But don't ruin your appetite, you've still got to take out the meat and let it sit. As you finish off the sauce, made from pan drippings and Madeira, you finish a holiday meal in 59 minutes.
All of the featured recipes are available in the December issue of Bon Appetit. You can also CLICK HERE for the Bon Appetit menu and recipes, as well as a slideshow of the dishes.
