Your Freezer Makes Holiday Cooking Less Stressful

By Dana Jacobi 
for the American Institute for Cancer Research

Writing about enjoyable healthy food is what I do. Recently, I added a new chapter to my writing: a cookbook combining recipes with techniques for freezing prepared dishes that would help us eat well when we’re too busy to deal with planning and cooking. Overloaded times like the holidays were very much in mind when I wrote Cook & Freeze.

Preparing ahead and putting food in the freezer is an ideal way to streamline serving a feast or contributing to one with delicious food for guilt-free celebrations. But how, you ask, do you make sure it comes out of the freezer tasting as good as when freshly made? What about icy freezer burn and the “blahs” that dim the flavor in defrosted foods? Here are three tips to help you beat them both.

  • Eliminate the air that leads to icing and freezer burn by pushing out as much air as possible as you seal soups and stews in resealable plastic freezer bags. Double-wrap baked goods and casseroles in plastic freezer wrap, then in heavy-duty foil.
  • Cool foods to around 40 degrees F., wrap them and then chill in the refrigerator before freezing. This 3-step method helps food freeze faster to avoid the big ice crystals that, when defrosted, turn dishes mushy and bland.
  • Reverse these steps when defrosting. Start in the fridge, then let dishes warm on the counter toward 40 degrees F. (less than 2 hours) before reheating. Baked muffins, cakes and cookies are exceptions. Unwrap and defrost them on the counter. Or float sealed bags of soup in a bowl of cold water, where they will defrost surprisingly quickly.

A perfect example of freezer convenience, this tangy holiday spread makes for lovely crostini or a chunky dip. Its bold flavor comes from roasting the peppers and eggplant, a conveniently hands-off method. Then, simply whirling in garlic, red wine vinegar and just enough olive oil enhances all the other Mediterranean flavors.

Roasted Red Pepper and Eggplant Spread

  • Canola cooking spray
  • 2 lbs. sweet bell peppers, preferably a combination of red and orange
  • 1 small eggplant, about 1 lb.
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cover 2 baking sheets with foil. Coat foil with cooking spray. Set pans aside.

Halve peppers lengthwise and seed them. Arrange peppers cut side down on one prepared baking sheet. Place eggplant on second baking sheet and prick with fork all over. Roast peppers and eggplant for 30 to 40 minutes, until skin of peppers is blistered and blackened. Eggplant should be soft but not collapsed. Using tongs, transfer peppers to large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to steam for 20 minutes. Wrap eggplant with foil covering baking sheet, and set aside for 30 minutes.

Using your fingers, peel peppers. Tear or cut flesh into 2-inch chunks, place in food processor and pulse 5 or 6 times to chop peppers coarsely. Scoop chopped peppers into mixing bowl. Pull skin from warm eggplant, using your fingers. Place eggplant flesh in food processor. Add garlic, oil and 1 teaspoon salt, and whirl to smooth puree. Add pureed eggplant mixture to peppers and stir to combine. Mix in vinegar and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

If serving now, let the spread sit for 1 hour to allow the flavors to mellow. Serve at room temperature, spread on crostini or serve as a dip, accompanied by carrot and celery sticks, cucumber slices and wedges of pepper. This spread will keep, covered in refrigerator, for up to 5 days.

To freeze, spoon the spread into 1/2-cup plastic containers or pack 1- to 1 1/2-cups into resealable 1-quart plastic freezer bags. Lay the bags flat and freeze on the baking sheet.

To defrost and serve, set the container of frozen spread on a plate in the refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours, depending on the amount. Or thaw in a large bowl of cold water for up to 1 hour, changing the water every 15 minutes. Once thawed, adjust the seasoning as needed, including vinegar, and serve as above.

Adapted from Cook & Freeze, by Dana Jacobi, 2010.

Makes 3 cups.

Per 1/4 cup serving: 50 calories, 2.5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat), 7 g carbohydrate,
1 g protein, 3 g dietary fiber, 200 mg sodium.

Something Different is written by Dana Jacobi, author of 12 Best Foods Cookbook and contributor to AICR’s New American Plate Cookbook: Recipes for a Healthy Weight and a Healthy Life.

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The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is the cancer charity that fosters research on the relationship of nutrition, physical activity and weight management to cancer risk, interprets the scientific literature and educates the public about the results. It has contributed more than $95 million for innovative research conducted at universities, hospitals and research centers across the country. AICR has published two landmark reports that interpret the accumulated research in the field, and is committed to a process of continuous review. AICR also provides a wide range of educational programs to help millions of Americans learn to make dietary changes for lower cancer risk. Its award-winning New American Plate program is presented in brochures, seminars and on its website, www.aicr.org. AICR is a member of the World Cancer Research Fund International.