Introduction – Holiday Cooking with Family & Friends
Many of us may have fond memories of cooking with family or if not, visiting your grandparents to enjoy a variety of favored family dishes that you longed for with anticipation each year. For the fortunate, these traditions continue to be passed down from generation to generation. For the less fortunate, for whatever reason, these traditions can get lost as children grow up, families move apart or everyone just becomes too busy. In this article, I will strive to share the benefits of either rediscovering those cherished, lost traditions or developing new ones of your own.
The Benefits of Cooking Together for the Holidays
Cooking with family is more than just preparing a meal; it’s a joyful journey that brings loved ones together, fostering a sense of togetherness, creating cherished memories, and passing on the art of cooking through generations. Whether you’re a seasoned chef or a novice in the kitchen, the act of cooking with family is an opportunity to savor the flavors of connection, tradition, and lifelong learning. Below are some of the many benefits of cooking together during the holidays:
Bonding with Family and Friends
Cooking together during the holidays offers a unique opportunity for family and friends to strengthen their bonds. It’s a time to connect, share stories, and work together toward a common goal. The collaborative nature of cooking fosters a sense of togetherness and enhances relationships. Conversations flow as you prepare ingredients, and the shared experience creates lasting memories.
Establishing Fond Memories and Family Traditions
Engaging in holiday cooking as a group often leads to the creation of cherished memories and family traditions. Preparing special dishes or meals together can become an annual ritual, building a sense of continuity and providing something to look forward to. These traditions can be passed down through generations, adding a sense of history and nostalgia to your holiday celebrations.
Learning Cooking Skills and Recipes
Cooking together offers an excellent opportunity for individuals of all ages to enhance their culinary skills and expand their recipe repertoire. Children and teenagers can learn essential cooking techniques, while adults can share their knowledge and expertise. Trying new recipes and experimenting with different cuisines can lead to a richer understanding of food and cooking, making it an educational and enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
Cooking together during the holidays not only results in delicious meals but also fosters meaningful connections, the creation of lasting traditions, and the acquisition of valuable culinary skills.
Common Family Cooking Traditions
Family cooking is a time-honored tradition that has been passed down through generations, enriching the lives of countless families. These culinary traditions not only fill our homes with the aromas of delicious dishes but also create lasting bonds and treasured memories. Here are some of the enduring traditions of family cooking:
Generational Recipes
Many families have secret recipes that have been handed down from grandparents to parents and then to children. These recipes carry with them the flavors and stories of the past, making each meal a connection to family history.
If you have lost some of these time-honored recipes, a rewarding endeavor may be to inquire with older family members to assist in “rediscovering” some old family recipes. There is nothing like teaching grandchildren how to cook “grandma Marlene’s chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.
There is nothing to say that new family recipes cannot be created as well. Before you know it, that “new” recipe will be a treat that family members look fondly upon and anticipate every year.
Holiday Feasts
Holidays are often synonymous with family gatherings and elaborate meals. Whether it’s a Thanksgiving turkey, a Christmas ham, or special treats for Hanukkah, these holiday feasts are an opportunity for the family to come together and celebrate. As noted below, cooking together is a wonderful way to strengthen and enrich holiday memories.
Cooking Together
Family cooking often involves everyone pitching in to prepare a meal. Parents and children, aunts and uncles, and even grandparents and grandchildren work side by side, sharing the workload and making the cooking process a team effort.
Cultural Heritage
For many families, cooking is a way to preserve and celebrate their cultural heritage. Traditional dishes and cooking methods are passed down as a way of connecting with one’s roots and teaching younger generations about their cultural identity.
These traditions of family cooking not only nourish our bodies but also nourish our souls. They reinforce the importance of togetherness, storytelling, and the art of creating something wonderful from simple ingredients. Whether it’s a recipe passed down through the ages or a new dish created together, family cooking traditions are a vital part of our cultural and familial tapestry.
Cooking Skills Needed for Cooking
There are very few things that are as difficult to categorize as cooking. It encompasses skills, artistry, scientific principles, and survival instincts all in one. This activity has the remarkable ability to bring people together around a dining table, yet it can also be an intensely personal and solitary experience. It’s something so fundamental that most everyone knows how to do it to some degree, but only a few can master the practice after years of training. Cooking is a life skill with a multitude of benefits – it can save you money, enhance your mental and physical well-being, and even earn you the admiration of your peers
Despite that lofty introduction to the world of cooking, developing basic cooking skills can open up a new world to you as a cook and pave the way to memorable holiday feasts and family memories. As I describe below in the next section, your first attempt at cooking with family can begin with a simple side dish and progress as time passes and those holiday gatherings continue to grow in stature.
Here is a simple list of basic cooking skills that are worth learning as you prepare for that first family holiday meal:
- Boiling Water
- Knife Skills
- Stovetop Cooking Basics
- Roasting Chicken and Vegetables
- How to Cook Grains and Pasta
This article from Oxo provides more detail for each of these and a few additional cooking skills.
Recommendations for Holiday Cooking with Family & Friends
For the inexperienced host, hostess or cook, the idea of including family and friends, including children, in the cooking process during the holidays can seem daunting. If this is a first time for you hosting friends and family for the holidays, consider starting with a shared cooking activity focused on preparing just one dish rather than attempting to create an elaborate four-course meal.
If possible, involve the kids (be it children or grandchildren) in the process by allowing them to take charge of selecting the dish to cook, meal planning, searching for recipes, and participating in grocery shopping. This will increase their excitement as well as anticipation and pride in the eventual product.
In cases where children or teenagers are reluctant to join in due to a fear of making mistakes, try to agree on tasks that are engaging and slightly challenging but not so daunting that they lead to frustration. If possible, also enlist their help beforehand in selecting the dish to be cooked and perhaps even shopping for the ingredients.
It’s essential to keep in mind that cooking can get messy (sometimes very messy), errors can occur, and as long as no one gets hurt, it’s perfectly fine. For age-appropriate cooking tasks, you can refer to Cooking with Kids of Different Ages.
Easy First Time Ideas & Recipes for Holiday Cooking Together
Below is a list of basic holiday dishes worth trying for that first holiday family gathering. I am sure you will notice that none of these are very extravagant. However, I imagine several of these items could still become family holiday favorites, especially with the children (cookies and brownies). I assume your more complex dishes will either come from your family tree or will be developed over time as a new family tradition. I leave that up to your initiative and creativity.
- Christmas Cookies – A favorite of mine is oatmeal raisin cookies. Beth’s Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies recipe looks wonderful. I think it would work just as well if you substituted chocolate chips for the raisins (I prefer soft chocolate chip cookies over hard ones).
- Brownies – I can’t think of a simple “desert/cookie” recipe that isn’t more loved than chocolate brownies!
- Scalloped Potatoes – A traditional favorite for holiday meals. This recipe is sure to please.
- Vegetable Dishes – No holiday meal would be complete without a vegetable side dish. One of these recipes is sure to become a family tradition.
- Pasta – Of course pasta can be the main course or a side dish. The creamy garlic shells and mac and cheese looked like wonderfully simple meals to make with the kids.
- Meatloaf – A simple, straight forward recipe you can make with family members of all ages.
- Crockpot Stew – Another simple, yet yummy recipe for the kids.
Conclusion
I understand that certain holiday traditions and activities may take precedence (the call of Thanksgiving and Christmas football and family movies is irresistible!), causing cooking to take a backseat. However, when the opportunity arises, come together as a group to plan, cook, clean, share ideas, and create new traditions. You will find it both rewarding and a sure way to create lasting memories as well as renewed anticipation for the next holiday feast!
If you enjoyed this article, you might like another holiday special entitled “Holiday Traditions in America”.
Holiday Family Cooking Resources
- Cooking Together Over the Holidays – Making New Traditions
- 16 Ways to Get Your Family Cooking Together This Holiday
- The Benefits of Cooking Together
- Cooking with Kids of Different Ages
- 10 Essential Cooking Skills That Every Cook Should Know
- Basics of Home Cooking 101: 12 Skills and Techniques for Beginners