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Hello!
How we ended up in the middle of November I have no idea; this is a year where I feel as though it’s still April until I look at the calendar and see, with alarm, that ‘end of year’ events are dotted throughout. My unpreparedness for all these events is, if I’m honest, making me a little panicked!
But do you know what always makes me feel better? A plan. Preferably on actual paper, but on a screen will also do. Last night I wrote myself a plan (list) for Christmas shopping, a plan for advent activities for my kids, and a plan for holiday cooking prep. And then, yes, I felt much better.
I know from interacting with many of you that you also love a plan. And because of that, I’m dedicating today’s newsletter, and the next, to how I approach holiday food planning.
We’ll cover Thanksgiving first, because well over half of our Insiders celebrate it, and then Christmas in a couple of weeks. I hope, even if you don’t celebrate either occasion, you’ll still find some useful little gems around cooking for big holiday events.
Happy steam oven cooking, see you here again soon.
Emily x
Topic of Interest: Thanksgiving Prep and Planning for Steam Oven Cooks
Even for those of us who truly love cooking, back-to-back(-to-back) meals for extra mouths can be daunting and exhausting. This Thanksgiving prep and planning timeline is designed to alleviate those feelings of overwhelm, particularly with your steam oven in mind.
This is kind of a hybrid plan, if you will: it takes the most useful things I’ve found from general holiday meal plans and blends them with a good dose of ‘how to incorporate your steam oven to make it better’. Basically, it assumes that along with your steam oven, you’re also making use of your kitchen at large in the days before and during Thanksgiving.
Recipe of the Edition: Fancy and Pretty Hasselback Potatoes
This Hasselback potatoes recipe is a perfect side dish at any time of year, but I tend to save it for the holidays because it feels a little fancy and special. They’re definitely one to add to your Thanksgiving or Christmas menu as a roasted potatoes alternative (or do both! People love potatoes).
Just potatoes, salt and olive oil, their beauty lies in the simplicity of flavors and the pretty, ruffled presentation.
The Season Flip
Zucchinis and chickpeas, depending on where you are in the world. Though, to be fair, I’d happily eat both of these dishes any time of year.
Southern Hemisphere
Braised Zucchini Pasta
Zucchinis have hit their stride where I am, perhaps a little earlier than usual (isn’t everything in the garden a little earlier this Spring?). My kids hate this dish but I LOVE it, and hopefully you will too. No recipe link, just a quick series of directions below:
Roughly slice a couple of large zucchinis and pop them into a baking tray with a generous amount of olive oil, salt and pepper. Squash and peel 3 garlic cloves and tuck them into the tray, then pour over half a cup of water and roast everything on Combi Steam, 400°F/200°C, 60% steam until the zucchini is murky looking and disintegrating, about 25 minutes. It’s not going to be pretty, but stay with it.
While the zucchini cooks, boil a pot of water and cook a package of dried pasta. Short shapes work better for this dish.
When the zucchini is done, grab a potato masher and give everything a bit of a squash, concentrating on the garlic so it breaks up and mixes through. Drain the pasta and reserve a cup of the cooking water, then mix through the zucchini, grate in a hefty amount of parmesan cheese and zest a lemon over the top. Stir well and serve immediately. Leftovers are great at room temp or can be reheated for tomorrow’s lunch.
Northern Hemisphere
This is about as far away from Thanksgiving food as you can get, which is, I’m betting, what a lot of you need right now. Generous and hearty and perfect for keeping in the fridge and scooping out to reheat over several days’ lunches. I’d make it using the principles of using your steam oven as a stovetop
A Thing I'm Loving
There are lots of things I use, eat, read about and enjoy in the kitchen that aren’t specifically related to steam ovens! Perhaps you’d like to know about some of them?
After two decades of faithful service, the dough hook attachment on my first, beloved KitchenAid mixer has rusted through under the plastic-y outer coating (the mixer, though, is still going strong).
I thought I’d just buy a straight replacement, but then I found this stainless steel hook instead. Dishwasher safe!! If you know me at all, you’ll know my mantra that if it doesn’t go in the dishwasher I don’t think it should be in my kitchen. So you can imagine my delight at this discovery. Perhaps your mixer is in line for an upgrade too.
*note: some of the links to A Thing I’m Loving are affiliate links, meaning I make a small commission if you make a purchase from that business. But rest assured I will never, ever share something I don’t personally recommend.
Ask Me Anything (AMA)
Here’s your opportunity to ask me anything you like related to combi steam cooking!
I encourage you to submit questions, and will do my best to answer as many as possible. Though I may not be able to get to every single question, I carefully curate ones which are relevant and represent a variety of topics. We all learn from each other, and I often learn new things based on questions from all of you!
If you have an AMA question, please email it to [email protected]. Make sure you include the phrase INSIDERS AMA in the subject line so I can collate and read all your submissions.
This edition’s questions:
For today’s newsletter, I’m actually holding over the AMA questions for a separate, bigger Q&A email! It’ll land in your inboxes early next week, full of extra answers and tips for your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. Stay tuned.
