Times of Oman

COOKING WITH QUICK AND EASY TWEAKS

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Cooking and entertaini­ng don’t have to be overly complex to impress. Here are quick, simple ways to elevate your meals for memorable experience­s your friends and family will love:

Balanced seasoning

Are your go-to family recipes in need of an update? Enhance the flavour profile of savoury dishes by swapping out salt and pepper and instead, reaching for an allnatural, pre-blended seasoning of kosher salt, coarse-ground black pepper and garlic.

You can use it in a number of ways during meal preparatio­n and table-side to give holiday dishes something extra:

• Add flair to appetisers by shaking it into the yolk mixture of deviled eggs or using it

to season baked brie.

• Season the outside of your turkey with olive oil and a few liberal shakes of the seasoning, or even create your own brine that will become a treasured recipe of its own.

• Season steak and roasts with it. • Add it to stuffing and mashed

potatoes.

• Update morning egg bake reci

pes to wow overnight guests. • Include it on your holiday table so that guests can season their food to taste.

Add pizzazz to desserts

With a few updates, you can give your standard dessert line-up a touch of elegance. Use fresh ginger in your gingerbrea­d cookies. Create your own crumbs for sprinkling on top of cakes. Garnish slices of pie with a mint or basil sprig or a cinnamon stick. Melt your favourite chocolate and drizzle it on anything.

Up your tablescape game

A feast is the perfect time to create a special atmosphere. And you can do so easily by breaking out your best dishes and utensils, as well as by adding a few natural elements to the tablescape, such as poinsettia­s, holly, evergreens and pinecones. Ditch the overhead lights and use candles or other warm lighting to create a soft, convivial glow.

You don’t need to overhaul your entire menu to make your feast special. Make quick, simple tweaks and additions to your existing recipes and entertaini­ng traditions to elevate the occasion.

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