"The easiest and perhaps most obvious job at Christmas is to pour drinks: for the principal cook first, and then for others. Not only does popping a cork or shaking a cocktail make a cook feel less like a caterer and more like part of the party, the sound has the effect of drawing in other helpers. If you make a cocktail and divvy out jobs, even peeling vegetables is fun,"
"Glass of wine, some music playing it's lovely, says Passione Vino's Luca Dusi of hand-making pasta with family and friends. So long as they get out of the kitchen when I come to make my ragu. Then I do not want helpers. Of course, some tasks lend themselves more to communal prep than others, and pasta dough is a great example: anyone can lend a hand in the rolling and stretching stage."
Guests who offer vague help risk irritating the person cooking for a crowd. Simple tasks such as pouring drinks for the primary cook and others immediately relieve pressure and invite extra helpers. Creating social moments like cocktail-making, music, and shared recipes turns prep into an enjoyable activity. Communal preparations such as rolling pasta or filling dumplings allow many people, including children, to participate with age-appropriate tasks. Hosts who dislike delegating can maintain control by assigning small, clear jobs that distribute workload while preserving the fun of shared festive cooking.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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