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Women.com presents

Food editor at Redbook, Tamara Holt
Cooking ideas

December 28, 1999

Tamara Holt, cookbook author, teacher and food editor at Redbook magazine, will answer your questions and talk with you about your cooking ideas and needs.

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HomeArts: Welcome to our chat with Tamara Holt, the food editor at Redbook magazine! Today this cookbook author and teacher will answer your questions and talk with you about your cooking ideas and needs. Welcome, Tamara!

Tamara Holt: What are your questions about New Year's Food?

Noodles: What are some great drinks I can prepare for my holiday party?

Tamara Holt: Well that depends on what kind of party you're having. At my New Year's party I've always served white wine punch, a family tradition. We've served it for years. Punch is actually back in style this year and boy is it easy! I'll give you our 'secret' family recipe. We marinade a couple of packages of frozen raspberries in sugar and brandy overnight. Right before the party, I add white wine, soda water, and fresh lemon and orange juice. Then we do an awful lot of tasting. Until it all tastes right. Not to mention the fact that by that time we're INTO the party. This one has been a hit for decades. But some other ideas involve turning your favorite cocktails into a big bowl of punch. Whether it's a cosmopolitan with a little bit of lemon/lime soda or any other experiment that you can up with! Just be sure not to mix more than two types of liquors in the same punch.

FlakyPie: What's a great cold soup I can serve as an appetizer for holiday meals?

Tamara Holt: Frankly, if you're talking about the winter holidays, I think it might be nicer if you stuck to hot soup. It keeps it more in the spirit of the winter holidays. However, if you happen to be somewhere that is very warm, I can understand. A couple of nice ideas for this time of year might be a cold avocado soup (they're just coming into season,) or a cold version of some of the classic autumn or winter soups like carrot soup, using seasonal spices like ginger, or even a cold butternut squash and orange soup. We have a great recipe for one in the November issue of Redbook. Go ahead and try it cold.

Dawn: Hi Tamara! Do you have any unique ideas for New Year's appetizers?

Tamara Holt: We've got some great ideas in the December issue of Redbook. We featured the recipes from Hollywood caterers. One of my favorites comes from "Along Came Mary" (the caterer). It's a pecan/potato pancake, topped with a slice of cooked sauces and a dollop of chutney. That's a really great one! Check out that issue for this and other great ideas. What I like to serve at my holiday parties are foods that taste good at room temperature and can soak up all the alcohol that gets consumed that night. Also I make a variety of frittatas. I use different cheeses and different herbs. Instead of cooking them in a single skillet, I'll do them in big sheet pans and cut them out with a cookie cutter. I also like to make different types of sandwiches and pizza. I go to the pizza parlor and buy the dough already made and roll it out into a big sheet pan and top it with everything I can think of and bake it. It's also great at room temperature cut into small squares.

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