'The Pioneer Woman' Reveals Mistakes to Avoid During Holiday Meal Cooking

Ree Drummond is an American multi-hyphenate renowned for her television program "The Pioneer Woman," which airs on the Food Network. The cooking show features the chef displaying her culinary skills for her family and friends, primarily at her abode in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.

The series takes its name from her blog, which has several entries of original recipes, among many other food details that she often wants her fans and blog readers to try out. With X-Mas fast approaching, the food enthusiast has recently dished out some nuggets that can help ease the weight of meal preparations and other activities that comes with the season.

Drummond disclosed her opinions on the blunders many individuals make when cooking a holiday meal for friends and family. She also detailed how to avoid making the gaffes. Read on to get more details.

With her blog and TV show garnering more and more viewers, Drummond has already become a relevant source of information on best practices for food preparation and how to optimize the time spent in the kitchen.

In a recent interview with Mashed, she let viewers in on her wealth of knowledge about making the best of holiday meals. She shared that many people make mistakes when planning the big one.

The 52-year-old opined that cooking during the holiday season comes with its brand of pressure. However, Drummond pointed out that having a well-laid-out plan plus letting go of unnecessary expectations is sure to guarantee a happy ending.

"I learned the hard way through the years that if you are hosting a pretty big gathering or making a big meal, that if you choose recipes that are all last minute, it is going to result in chaos, and you do not want your guests to get that vibe," Drummond detailed.

She also counselled that one should prepare in advance some parts - to ease the stress of making the big meal.

The ranch wife and mother shared that some meals do not get spoilt quickly and should be made in advance to speed up things. She cited casseroles as one of such meals due to their preservable nature.

"If you are doing casseroles, casseroles are amazing because you can make almost any casserole up to two days before and put it in the fridge unbaked," she disclosed.

"Then take it out a couple of hours before the party to bring it to room temperature, and then bake it off, and they are almost better if you make them a couple of days ahead of time and let them sit in the fridge and get more delicious."

In addition, she shared that mashing the potatoes, getting the pie crust ready, cutting the vegetables, and measuring ingredients are part of the early meal preparations.

From the interview, viewers could see that the "Candy Coated Christmas" star is a stickler for her advice. "I have a mashed potato casserole dish that I make two days before Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, and it just saves so much time on the day of the get-together," she said.

Drummond revealed the D-day should involve only essential cooking and noted other things to prep earlier.

"Pre-build holiday platters and plates, charcuterie, and salads," she said. "You can put all those together earlier in the day and just try to minimize the things that require last-minute cooking and prep."

To ease post-dinner chores, Drummond shared an extra tip. "Don't be afraid to use cute holiday paper plates and napkins," the blogger added. "Your guests and family will remember the laughs and the good times; they are not going to remember your picture-perfect table."

Among the many recipes she has garnered over the years, Drummond recently singled out her Gingerbread cookie formula as a perfect classic for fans to make during the holidays.

In a post, she wrote, "This is one of my favorite recipes from my holiday cookbook. "And I also made them (albeit in different shapes) on my recent Food Network Christmas special."

The connoisseur added, "It is just a good, basic, rich, flavorful gingerbread cookie recipe cut into any shape and decorated with gorgeous, bright white royal icing and adorned with all sorts of fun candies, sprinkles, and decorations."

More food recipes from different races can be found on her "The Pioneer Woman" blog. Fans can also visit the Food Network website to watch past videos of Drummond throwing it down in the kitchen.