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Innkeeper’s Kitchen
Published 12:00pm Monday, November 17, 2008Alison Warstler is an interesting find: a Georgia peach, smack-dab in the middle of the land of lutefisk. Even though she swears the word “uffda” has never crossed her lips, she is perfectly suited for life among the Scandinavians. She is charming, warm, funny, and always wears the smile of someone who is genuinely glad to be in your company.
In 2001, Alison and her husband, Mark, purchased the Harvest Inn Bed & Breakfast in Ashby. They live in the lower level with their children, Connor, and Gillian, and have filled the rest of their gorgeous inn with delicious food, beautiful antiques, and southern hospitality for all their guests.
As a seasoned pro at feeding the masses (with composure and style, no less) on a regular basis, Alison has a few tips for we novices eyeing the upcoming holiday season with terror. The two mantras she already has me repeating are “Keep it simple” and “it’s only food.” Good advice already!
Menu: As you plan your menu, gather all your recipes as you choose them and keep them in one place. Not only will it save you the moment of panic when you suddenly can’t find the recipe you need, but you essentially have your shopping list put together! Don’t feel like you have to make every single item from scratch, either. Bread, appetizers, and even desserts are often just as good from your local store or bakery as you could make at home. And don’t be afraid to put your own spin on a family favorite. If great-grandma made world’s best cranberry sauce, don’t try to compete with that; try something new like cranberry salad instead.
Prepare, prepare, prepare: Write down every single dish on the menu, and then make sure you have adequate pots, pans, and cooking tools to get the job done. Pull all your serving pieces out of the hutch and put a Post-It on each one with the name of the dish it will hold. Then if you need to borrow something from your mom or sister, you won’t be calling them in a panic on Thanksgiving morning.
Timing is everything: Look through each recipe and get a handle on how long everything will take to cook. Most of us plan dinners that require a lot of items to be baked in the oven. Some things, like green bean casserole and potatoes, can be baked first and just kept warm until dinner. Other things, like turkey, are great in a table top roaster like they use in most churches. For fifty bucks, they’re a great investment! Prepare as much as you can before, chopping vegetables and refrigerating them in zip-lock bags until you need them the next day. It’s also good insurance to have a few plates of snacks out on the coffee table when your guests arrive just in case the turkey is taking longer than you planned.
A few words on tables: The night before your big dinner, put the kiddos to bed and take half an hour to have a glass of wine and set the table. The next day when you’re up to your elbows in gravy and Aunt Martha is knocking at the door, you’ll be glad you bought yourself that extra time. Always use real dishes. Even if you don’t have enough place settings in one design, even if the thought of washing all the dishes makes you cringe; even if you have to beg, borrow, and steal enough to set the table. Let people know this is a special occasion and that they’re important enough to you that it’s worth washing the dishes after dinner. Besides, some of the best conversations with your friends and family happen with full bellies and hands in the dish water.
Relax: Easier said than done sometimes, but remember: It’s only food, and people will remember how gracefully you handled a crisis much more than the end result of your cooking. And, if you’re feeling truly overwhelmed and becoming a bear towards your family, please remember that there’s no shame in going out to eat. Alison said with a big smile, “We often get a call a week or two before Thanksgiving, asking if we could make dinner for families at the Inn. It always ends up being a nice, relaxing afternoon for the family. We’ll even turn on the football game for you if you want!”
