This text is part of the special Plaisirs booklet
After a year and a half of social and emotional distancing, Geneviève O’Gleman can’t wait to reunite with her loved ones at the holidays, a time of year she has always loved. And for her, the holidays are starting now, with both hands in the preparations.
“It’s an opportunity to see the people I love again, as well as a pivotal step that allows me to take a break, an ideal moment of gratitude to take stock of the last year, to do activities. , accept spontaneous invitations, ”she confesses.
But where does this woman with 10,000 projects find precisely this time, when a real marathon is taking place for many other people? Well, the first secret of the maker of the show and the Savourer platform comes down to two words: planning and simplicity.
The gourmet holiday spirit, step by step
For Geneviève O’Gleman, the holidays don’t start on December 24. “I’m getting into the magic of the holidays at the start of December thanks to the preparations I make week after week,” she says. And more importantly, I refuse to stress! I’m the first to drop out when it’s complicated, so in both my personal and professional life, I always choose simplicity. “
How exactly does she do it? By first sitting down comfortably on his sofa, a glass of wine in hand and background music in his ears, to develop his festive menus from the end of November. Then, every weekend she organizes an activity that combines the useful and the pleasant. “I buy my ingredients and my wines as a priority before the rush in the stores and the prices skyrocket. Then, I plan a first weekend dedicated to everything that freezes and prepares with pie crusts: pies, sugar pies, nun’s farts, puff pastry bites, etc. “
The nutritionist, also the mother of a 16-year-old girl, always devotes a second weekend to baking cookies. “It’s been our ritual since she was little. Each time, we invade the kitchen and concoct a large quantity of gingerbread cookies, shortbread soaked or not in chocolate, pancakes. We love it, and in addition, it makes personalized and inexpensive gifts very appreciated for teachers, neighbors, friends or people who receive us. “
Simplicity pays off
According to the host, this organization makes it possible to apprehend the Holidays and the unforeseen events that accompany them in a much more serene … and economical way. “Besides, why put unnecessary pressure on expensive ingredients that we are afraid of cooking badly? she says. Personally, I prefer to bet on good classics, like an impossible-to-miss braised paddle roast that cooks on its own, smells the house and feasts on everyone. “
In the same way, Geneviève O’Gleman serves each year a Christmas tree of cheese buns that always impresses her guests, while being disarmingly simple. “I buy fresh store-bought pizza dough, I make with small balls to form the tree and I slip a piece of mozzarella cheese into each one. All that’s left to do is put it in the oven and serve it with a little dip. Easy as pie ! “
While we are witnessing a galloping inflation in the price of food, this pragmatic and adaptable approach with many recipes is not to be underestimated, whether for receptions or for gourmet gifts. “The holiday spirit is not just about the value of what we can cook or the amount accumulated on our credit card in January. The main thing, after all, is to have fun and to please others! ”Concludes the host, who will devote two Savourer programs to preparing for the Holidays on December 3 and 10.