Elevate Holiday Cooking With Quick and Easy Tweaks

(StatePoint) Holiday 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 flavor profile of savory holiday dishes by swapping out salt and pepper and instead, reaching for Livia’s Seasoning Salt, an all-natural, pre-blended seasoning of kosher salt, coarse-ground black pepper and garlic.

“Livia’s is good on just about everything, which is why it’s the not-so-secret ingredient in a lot my creations,” says Peter Hoff, executive chef and partner, NOLO’s Kitchen & Bar.

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

• Add flair to appetizers 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 Livia’s, or even create your own brine that will become a treasured recipe of its own.

• Season hams and roasts with it.

• Add it to stuffing and mashed potatoes.

• Update morning egg bake recipes to wow overnight guests.

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

For more information, visit liviasseasoningsalt.com.

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 favorite chocolate and drizzle it on anything.

Up Your Tablescape Game

A holiday 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 should also consider investing in a high-quality knife. Check out some tips from Wetheknives on finding the best knives on the market and the factors you should use to make your decision.

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