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It’s holiday week. How are you feeling?

I hope you’re approaching this week in a way that feels good for you and as my voice note said, finding ways to nourish yourself with lots of care and love.

Because this week can be alot. Alot of pressure. Alot of emotions, good and bad.

Whether you’re planning a big dinner or something small and intimate, I hope you move through it with the end result being about finding joy in the process.

And maybe give yourself the freedom to make it as fun as possible.

I thought this would be a good time to share an example of how I approach planning a dinner. Rather than throw a bunch of recipes at you, I’m going to share how I usually go about putting a menu together in which there’s usually a lot of creativity, riffing on some inspiration that’s in my head and then finding a few recipes if I need them as guides.

This is how I cook in my day to day life and I want you to see that it doesn’t change too much even when I’m doing a celebratory dinner or something fancy. Of course there’s times I’ll stick to recipes but that’s mostly for baking or something that needs to be really precise.

Because you likely know by now that I don't usually cook with recipes and my hope for you is that you don’t need to rely on them either but use them for inspiration or if there’s a need for a little direction on a new technique.

Because I'm confident with my skills and my intuition in the kitchen I have no fear when it comes to cooking just about anything.

I want you to feel like you can do this too. Because you can. 

When I'm thinking up a menu it always starts with one piece of the meal and then I build out other dishes from there. It might be an ingredient I'm inspired by or something I ate (I'm that person that makes notes when I've eaten somewhere I loved and can’t wait to get home to recreate it in my own way). 

For this holiday meal I started with porchetta. Something different than the staples of turkey or prime rib roast. 

I thought about what we can serve with it that isn’t gravy. I wanted something with a little more brightness. Enter herby, parsley salsa verde which will work perfectly with fattiness of the pork. 

As for veg, I like to keep it simple because again I want this meal to be a little more relaxed. But simple doesn't mean boring so jazz the steamed potatoes up with some truffle salt and parmesan. Next, some oven blistered brussels sprouts with a squeeze of lemon - simple but always delicious. And last, a mix of mushrooms & green beans - I love this combination of the earthy mushrooms with the fresh green beans and basil.

Because the porchetta is an Italian dish, I’ll continue with that vibe and decided on some crispy stuffed olives to snack on then a panna cotta for dessert (also this can be made ahead so less to do).

Maybe you're thinking, is she crazy cooking all of this for people without trying it first?

Nope. Not for me anyways.

The worst thing that happens is something doesn't turn out exactly like you wanted but guess what? No one cares. 

If something goes wrong, laugh about it.

I completely burned the brussels sprouts on the bbq one year because everyone got distracted - everyone being me really. It all makes for funny stories in the end. 

You get to decide how you want things to go. Make a plan. Choose to make things that don’t stress you out. Do what you can ahead of time. Delegate. But most importantly, don't take it so seriously!!!

Here's some links to recipes and my little notes of what I'm thinking of doing if this has given you a little hint of inspiration:

Crispy stuffed olives - this was a recommendation from my wine club organizer and I'm pretty excited to make these!

Porchetta - I'm leaving out the cardamom and adding fennel. I’ll dice up some raw fennel and cook it with the garlic. Also I think I'll add pine nuts instead of the hazelnuts. I'll also make a smaller sized one. If you're getting your meat just ask the butcher. If you let them know how many people you're feeding they are always happy to help get you the right amount.

Parsley salsa verde - you could also use a mix of herbs if you wanted. And try an anchovy in there if you're down with the salty little fish ;)

Steamed fingerling potatoes - straightforward here. Steam or boil your potatoes until tender. You can keep them in a pot warming on the stove until just before serving, then toss with a few knobs of butter, a coupe handfuls of parmesan and some truffle salt. 

Blackened brussels sprouts - I cut the sprouts in half then toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet, careful not to overcrowd them then bake at 425 until they're dark brown and crispy, turning once or twice. When you're ready to serve, toss with a good squeeze of lemon juice and lots of fresh cracked pepper. 

Roasted mushrooms with green beans - I love big oyster mushrooms because they get nice and crispy in the oven. Toss the mushrooms in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast on a large baking sheet at 375 until they're golden brown. Toss some prepared green beans in some more oil and season well. Add these to the mushrooms for the last 5-7 minutes of cooking so they don’t over cook and keep that perfect crunch. Sprinkle with fresh basil before serving. You could sprinkle with a little feta or add some grilled halloumi cheese which would be fun too.

Panna Cotta - I'm going to make this with Earl Grey tea (steep a bag in the cream mixture) then top with a sticky toffee pudding crumble. I'll buy store-bought pudding and crisp up the cake part in the oven so it's warm and crumble over the cold panna cotta. This one's all about texture and mixing warm and cold together is always magical.

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