Dec 24, 2019 5 min read

The holidays take a ton of planning.

Despite all of the planning, there are things we forget, and lots of time it involves food.

It’s Christmas Eve, and if you still forgot to make something for the family gathering tonight or for Christmas dinner, we got you covered. If you are not hung up on tradition or obligated to make a certain dish that everyone insists you make, you are in a good place.

Of course, when dealing with last minute, you have 10 things to do. But if you show up to dinner or a gathering empty handed, you will look like a scrooge. Here are some quick recipes and ideas that will take you 10 to 15 minutes, and you’ll look like you had all of the time in the world.

One thing you have to also realize that with proper perspective, some things don’t take as long to make as you think. One question I always asked my new chefs was: How long does it take you to make spaghetti? Their answer was always around 9 to 11 minutes, or the more practical ones would say 25 minutes to include boiling the water. And I always explained to them that it only take about 90 seconds. It includes 30 seconds to fill the pot with water, five seconds to put on stove, 10 seconds to put in spaghetti and stir a few times at first, 30 seconds to stir a couple of more times and 15 seconds to drain. That will give you eight or so minutes to do other things, like wrap a present or prep ingredients for the pasta.

That allows us to segue into our first quick idea that has so many options. All we need is some pasta, vinegar and oil/Italian dressing and any vegetables you can find in the fridge. Here is a basic recipe, and then add and subtract whatever you would like. It should take only as long as you have to boil water.

Simple Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1 pound dry pasta cooked al dente and cooled

2 cucumbers

2 tomatoes

1 red onion

½ cup chopped fresh basil or ½ tablespoon dry

2 cloves garlic chopped (or 1 teaspoon)

¼ cup vinegar

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Mix ingredients. Done. Other optional things to add: olives, artichoke hearts, pepperoni, pepper rings and mushrooms; use your favorite dressing instead of oil and vinegar. Makes 3½ pounds of pasta salad.

Skewers are another good idea. Hopefully you have some leftover from your barbecue this summer. You can put anything on a skewer, even leftovers. A ham, roast chicken or pot roast can be cubed up and paired with other ingredients. Make an antipasto with salami, tomato, olives and cheese. Fruit skewers are a hit, too.

Chicken Caesar Skewers

Ingredients

12 wooden skewers

½ pound cooked chicken in ½- to 1-inch cubes

Tomatoes – (grapes or large, diced)

½ onion diced large

2 romaine leaves cut in 4

Caesar or Italian dressing

Arrange ingredients on the skewer and brush with dressing; can be served warm or cold.

Crostini/canapes are great appetizer as they are very simple, toppings are versatile and they make you look like a gourmet. Best to use a baguette or bakery fresh, but any type of bread will work. Cut bread in thin slices and into the shapes you want, brush with butter and toast in oven for about 20 minutes at 325 degrees. (I know we are over our 15-minute timeline, but remember it only takes two minutes to prep and five seconds to pull toasts out. Top with chicken salad, cut up lunch meats and cheeses, or make a tapenade spread like the one below.

Tapenade

Ingredients

1 cup olives

½ cup roasted peppers/sweet peppers

Handful capers or ½ pickle

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice

1 teaspoon mustard

Salt and pepper

Finely chop or pulse in food processor: olives, peppers, capers, and garlic. Fold in rest of ingredients. Spread on crostini when ready to serve. Can top 24 crostini.

Crab cakes require a little planning but if you have the ingredients, you will look like you slaved for hours. You can be done in under 15 minutes.

Crab cakes (Shrimp Cakes or Fish Cakes)

Ingredients

1 pound crab, chopped (or cooked shrimp or cooked flaked fish)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon old bay

1 tablespoon minced onion, green onion or teaspoon onion powder

1 egg

¼ cup mayonnaise

Dash hot sauce

½ cup regular bread crumbs or 3 slices bread broken up into small pieces

¼ cup butter

Mix all ingredients except butter. Heat butter in sauté pan. Form in desired patty size. Fry in butter about 3 minutes per side. Makes 24 small crabcakes.

For desserts, here are a couple of quick ideas; make adjustments with your flavors and give it your signature.

Rum Balls

Ingredients

1½ cups vanilla wafer crumbs (other cookies like graham crackers, short bread, etc., will work, too)

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 cup ground nuts

¼ cup butter softened

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons to 1/3 cup of rum, Kahlua or Tia Maria, etc. – to your taste or tolerance

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup confectioner’s sugar for rolling

Mix all together, form balls and roll in confectioner’s sugar. Makes 3 dozen cookie balls.

Truffles take two steps and only 15 minutes.

Truffles

Ingredients

10 ounces chocolate chopped or chips

2 tablespoons sugar

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon liquor, if desired

Cocoa powder or chopped nuts

Melt chocolate on double boiler until melted (go wrap a present or something), quickly add yolks so they don’t cook. Add rest of ingredients and whisk until smooth. Let cool. Later form into balls and roll in cocoa powder or nuts. Makes 3 dozen truffles.

Chef Joe Carei has been an award-winning chef in Fayette County nearly half of his life. The former PA Restaurateur of the Year now operates Ellie Mae’s Catering and Food Clubs. He can be reached at joe@elliemaescatering.com.