Holiday is the time of spending time together, giving gifts to each other, showing love for each other and planning holiday meals for your family and friends. Olive oil is the best and perfect oil for cooking, baking or making holiday meals. Planning a holiday meal is equally important to spending time with your family and friends on holidays. So you should use premium quality ingredients like extra virgin olive oil for making holiday meals special for your family and friends.
Olive oil is not only a perfect kitchen ingredient, but it is also full of various healthy substances that are not only good for your tissues but also for heart muscles. You can arrange a delicious holiday meal for your guests by using premium quality extra virgin olive oil. This article will guide you on how you can plan and make holiday meals for your guests this year by using olive oil.
The role of olive oil in holiday meals planning:
Olive oil plays a very important role in planning your holiday meals for your family and friends. You can use olive oil as the base of your cooking because you can bake, cook or deep-fry your food items with olive oil. Olive oil enhances the flavor and texture of your food. You can use it either for baking your main dish like turkey or for making dips, appetizers or sauces.
Olive oil is full of protecting substances, inflammation reducing substances, vitamins and minerals that are very good for your heart muscles because they reduce the risk of heart attack and cholesterol level. Using olive oil before bed also helps to improve your sleep cycle and reduces restlessness.
Choosing the best olive oil for holiday meals:
Olive oil available in the market is produced by different companies and all olive oil is not made in the same way. You need to choose extra virgin olive oil of premium quality for making your holiday meals. Extra virgin olive oil is the best olive oil because it is collected by pressing olives with their seeds. In this way some fiber of olives is also added in the oil which enhances its taste.
Some tips for choosing extra virgin olive oil that can be used for making holiday meals are:
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Look for extra virgin olive oil:
Extra virgin olive oil is the best for cooking holiday meals. It contains a rich flavor of pepper or herbs which is added to the meal as well. It gives a salty and tangy but unique taste to the meals.
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Check the collecting date:
Olive oil that is collected within the past 12 months should be used. Because olive oil loses its taste very quickly if it is stored for a long time. So you should first check its collecting date and then buy it.
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Choose dark glass bottles:
Olive oil should be added in dark glass bottles because its flavor can be changed when it is exposed to wind or sunlight. Dark glass bottles prevent it from being attacked by wind or sunlight.
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Buy from trusted brands:
Olive oil from any local brand may or may not be good because its flavor may change. You should buy olive oil from a trusted brand because their olive oil will have a nice and fresh flavor. Olives fiber will also be mixed in the oil.
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Taste test:
You should check the taste of olive oil before buying it. A freshly collected olive oil will have a nice, fresh and tangy taste as compared to the stored olive oil. Freshly collected olive oil will have a slight peppery taste to it.
Essential holiday meal preparations:
Planning a holiday meal can be stressful and hard but making essential preparations before time can save a lot of time and reduce work. You just need to make sure that everything has been managed and arranged before your holiday meal. Here are some essential holiday meal preparations:
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Creating a holiday menu:
You should decide your holiday meal menu before time. You should select your appetizers, main dish, side dish, salads and desserts before time. Furthermore, you can also make some meal preparation like marinating your meat, making sauce, making paste for desserts etc. before the main day.
You can either make olive oil and garlic infused bread or roasted garlic hummus with olive oil and pita bread for appetizers. For the main dish you can make roasted or grilled turkey. You can make roasted vegetables for a side dish and herbs infused olive oil for dips or sauces. You can also bake olive oil or orange and olive oil cake for dessert.
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Ingredients preparation:
If you want to avoid overworking on the main day, you can prepare ingredients for your meal in advance. Like you can chop your vegetables, marinate your meat and mix the ingredients for making dessert a day before. It will also help to reduce your cooking time on the main day.
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Make olive oil marinades:
You can marinade your meal with olive oil and spices in advance so the flavors of all the spices are added to the meat. It will not only reduce your cooking time but also enhance the taste of your meat. You need to mix olive oil in the herbs like rosemary and thyme and spices like chilies and peppers etc. to make a paste then rub it on the skin and under the skin of your meat.
You can also make salads in advance by cutting the vegetables and making infused olive oil etc. By making preparations in advance, you can spend more time with your guests.
- Cook in batches:
Cooking your food in batches saves a lot of time on holidays because holidays and festivals are always busy. You can roast your vegetables or prepare mashed potatoes and save them so that you can complete cooking them with spices on the main day.
Holiday meal menu planning:
Planning your holiday meal menu is very important when you are arranging a holiday meal for your family and friends. You need to choose the dishes that your guests love to eat. You can choose following dinner menu for your holiday meal:
Starter: Roasted pumpkin soup
You can make roasted pumpkin soup as a starter for your guests on this holiday meal. You need to roast the pumpkin with olive oil, herbs and spices to add a natural sweetness to it. Then blend it with vegetable broth and add some cream as well.
Main dish: Herbs infused roasted turkey
It is a very famous and most loved main dish that you can serve to your guests on this holiday meal. Wash your turkey and dry it then marinate it in a mixture made of olive oil, herbs and spices. You need to marinate your turkey on the skin and under the skin to hayloft meat at. Then bake it for 2–3 hours to have a nice, crispy skinned and golden brown turkey.
Side dish: Roasted vegetables with olive oil
You can serve roasted vegetables in olive oil as a side dish with your turkey. Just roast your vegetables like carrots, cabbage and broccoli in olive oil for 5–10 minutes. Add spices and herbs to enhance its taste and your roasted vegetables are ready to serve.
Dessert: Olive oil and orange dessert
Olive oil and orange cake is a very healthy and delicious dessert that can be served to the guests after a holiday meal. You need to make the paste for the cake using all the ingredients required for making the cake. You can add orange juice and orange zest for a fresh taste. Then bake it fo35–4040 minutes until it is nicely baked and golden brown and then let it cool down and serve.
On this holiday, use our premium quality extra virgin olive oil for making your holiday meal and enhance the taste of your meal. Transform your holiday meal into something very tasty and extraordinary by using our extra virgin olive oil. You can either cook or bake deep-ferry your food items with our extra virgin olive oil because it has a high burning point, and it will not burn your food. Make our extra virgin olive oil your secret ingredient and surprise your guests on this holiday menu.