Gourmet during the holidays means less stress for the hostess. Gourmet gourmet with friends and family during the holidays. Read everything you need to know about gourmet, the difference between gourmet and raclette and everything you need to be able to gourmet in this article
With the upcoming holidays in prospect, many already know that it will be a breeze for the hostess / host. Fortunately, there is also a very good alternative:go for a delicious gourmet meal with your family/friends. This is not only fun, but it saves a lot of stress. An additional advantage is that the food is to everyone's taste and you can use the leftovers from a few days before (for example from the abundant Christmas meal).
Gourmet means:preparing your own food on small pans. It is a tradition that probably came over from Asia. This is done on a so-called gourmet set, consisting of:small pans and the gourmet grill. All have a special non-stick coating, which makes cooking almost impossible. Most sets are suitable for 6 – 8 people.
The pans go on a preformed recess at the bottom of the gourmet set, where the food is heated by a heated tube at the top (under the grill). The gourmet set also includes (usually) plastic or wooden spatulas to remove the food from the pans. On top of the gourmet set there is also a grill plate, especially intended for grilling pieces of meat and/or fish.
Many people think that gourmet and raclette are the same. However, this is not entirely true. Gourmet cooking is done with meat, fish and vegetables, while cheese is used for raclettes. Raclette is a Swiss cheese dish (cheese fondue). A special cheese is used for this, which is halved and then skewered, heated on one side. When the cheese is heated, the melted cheese is scraped out. Potatoes, pickles and silver onion are used for raclettes, while almost anything can be used for gourmet.
A gourmet set is an absolute necessity. You also need time and patience. Usually a few hours are set aside for gourmets, so keep this in mind. Patience is also necessary, because preparing in the small pans takes quite some time.
The great thing about gourmet cooking is that it can be done to everyone's own taste and therefore nothing is required. Here's a list of things you can use in any case:
1) Meat/fish to place on the grill plate (smaller pieces, so not a whole steak! E.g.:chicken fillet, sausages, meatballs, shoarma meat, satay, shrimps, fish fillet, etc.)
2) Vegetables :(preferably pre-cooked/frozen) broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, mixed vegetables, mushrooms
3) Egg :beaten egg can be poured over the vegetables, resulting in a delicious vegetable omelette
4) French bread with garlic butter to eat with it
5) Potatoes cooked (can also be put in the pan with e.g. egg or cheese)
6) Grated cheese (very nice to put over the vegetables and let it melt under the gourmet set)
7) Sauces :ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, but certainly also sauces such as:bbq sauce, satay sauce (for the meat), cocktail sauce, curry sauce…
8) Herbs/herb butter :provide extra taste
9) Nice drink for the side (to your own taste)
– No more hostess/hostess
– Also fun to do with (slightly older) children
– Everyone prepares their own food (to taste)
– Pretty easy to prepare
– Cozy
– Suitable for several people
– You can use leftovers (meat, vegetables, etc.) that are e.g. left over from the Christmas meal
– Takes a lot of time
– You have to be patient
– Can be quite pricey (especially if you get special gourmet dishes)
– Hot pans require extra supervision for small children
– It can take too long for children
What do you prefer to eat during the holidays? Do you also go gourmet or do you prefer a cold buffet or a traditional meal?
*cover photo by Shutterstock
