I have always maintained that 90% of the success of a good meal is what goes on hours before it’s put on the table. I am not someone who stays in the kitchen while everybody else quaffs the champagne and scoffs the apperitifs! I like to grab my share while there’s still some left, and have a nice relaxed conversation with my guests. Sure, there are moments I have to pop into the kitchen to keep an eye on something, but I minimise it by preparing as much as possible beforehand.
You know that rectangular beast that stands in the corner of the worktop – it’s called a microwave – make use of it! It’s designed to make life easy, so take advantage. Let me give you an example… mashed potatoes. Make them well before your guests arrive and put them in the serving dish you are going to use. Cover with clingfilm and put them to one side. As you finish preparing the main course, ready to serve, just pop the dish in the microwave for two or three minutes and your mashed potatoes will be perfect and hot. You can do the same with almost any vegetable.
Preparation really is 90% of the job! One of the recipies I love is Salade des Gourmets which is extremely simple, but has a lot of component parts like foie gras, smoked salmon, smoked ham, magret de canard, fresh scallops, fresh prawns. The scallops and prawns are served warm, but everything else is cold, so what I do is cut all the pieces of foie gras, smoked salmon, smoked ham and magret de canard and keep them in the fridge along with the vinaigrette for the salad leaves. Then, when it’s time to plate up, it takes me less than one minute per plate to arrange the leaves, and meats, during which time the scallops and prawns cook quickly and can be added to the plates. 5 minutes for six complex-looking starters is a walk in the park!
The trick is to consider what you are proposing to serve and prepare as much as possible well in advance. Also, you should try and find combinations that make life easier in the kitchen. One of the meals we enjoy includes sauté potatoes, but sauté potatoes must be cooked when needed, otherwise they go soft and soggy. Again, with a little forethought, you can partially cook them and then just throw them in a hot pan for a few minutes at the last moment so they are served nice and crisp.
Most gravies and sauces can be prepared well in advance and reheated just before serving. In fact, you can make gravy days ahead and simply freeze in a container, defrost on the day, then add the juices from your meat to it before serving. Some people parboil and freeze their potatoes to give them a headstart. Others like them cooked from fresh, but you can still get ahead by peeling and cutting them the night before. Keep them in a water-filled container with a generous splash of milk overnight to stop them browning. When you are ready to cook them, rinse first to remove the milk.
Plan ahead, prepare ahead, and your meals will be so much more relaxed and better organised.