Do-ahead dinners

Freezer is your new best friend

CONCORD, N.H. – Between her all-hours job and a two-hour daily commute, Kirsten Wilson finds herself wanting more time than she has for putting home-cooked meals on the table for her three young boys.

It’s a gap she and countless millions of other time-pressed Americans increasingly bridge with so-called do-ahead dining, a cook-now-eat-later approach that has spawned a flourishing industry of cookbooks, magazines and Web sites.

“I used to love cooking and found that it (had become) a hurried task to get sustenance,” says Wilson, a 36-year-old New Hampshire prosecutor who now uses weekends to cook with her sons and stock the freezer with homemade soups, chili and quesadillas.

This new reliance on putting up food for leaner times is hardly new. But today it’s time that’s lean. And once-common canning and other preservation methods have been supplanted by that most ubiquitous of kitchen tools – the freezer.

“Everybody wants to feed their family a home-cooked meal, but people are running to a zillion things,” says Susie Middleton, editor-in-chief of Fine Cooking magazine. “If they didn’t care, they’d buy takeout all the time.”

Do-ahead diners usually fall into one of two categories – those who plan and those who rely on strategy.

Joe Kopcha, a 36-year-old medical editor from Brooklyn, N.Y., opts for strategy. He cooks twice a week, Sundays and Wednesdays, and makes enough to provide leftovers for his wife and himself on the days between.

“Neither of us minds eating similar things night after night,” he says.

Planners figure out what they will eat for a week – some for a month – then spend a day cooking and freezing. For Wilson, it’s the difference between a harried hunt for food at the end of a long day and spending a relaxing evening with her family.

No matter the approach, diners face no shortage of ideas.

Many food magazines now note which recipes freeze well (“Taste of Home” magazine uses a snowflake symbol). Rachael Ray’s magazine, “Every Day with Rachael Ray,” is even launching a column, called “Big Time,” for people who shop and cook in bulk.

Recipes are even being designed for do-ahead. The January issue of “Fine Cooking” includes a recipe for roasting two chickens – one to serve that day and another to use as the base for tacos, salads or other new meals the remainder of the week.

And for planners, the Internet is bursting with sites dedicated to what in do-ahead parlance is known as OAMC (once-a-month cooking). And it isn’t just recipes. Some sites, such as http://www.cookofthemonth.com, will even send shopping lists to your cell phone.

Of course, monthly cooking isn’t for everyone. Barbara Fairchild, editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit magazine, says she worries about what weeks or months of freezer burn will do to a food.

“While I’m a big proponent of do-ahead, I am not a big proponent of do it three months ahead,” she says.

She favors more real-time shortcuts that keep the food fresh, as well as keep her out of the kitchen. For a brunch, for example, she’ll serve a savory bread pudding that can be prepped the night before.

“When guests arrive, I put it in the oven and it’s ready in 45 minutes,” she says. “And I’ve been with my guests the whole time.”

Whatever the approach, do-ahead dining requires careful consideration, factoring in not only food safety and storage issues, but also how the food is likely to be eaten and by whom.

That’s because freezing foods can change the texture and flavor of some dishes. Vegetables can go limp and fruit can become water-logged. The latter is fine for a smoothie, but not for a cheesecake topping.

So here’s some advice for making a success out of do-ahead dining.

– While experts disagree over whether cooked pasta should be frozen at all, most say slightly undercooking will help prevent it from getting too soggy during reheating.

– Be careful with sauces. Those thickened with cornstarch or flour can separate when thawed, as can sauces that contain yogurt and mayonnaise. Save those for the refrigerator.

– Watch your salt. Tim Cebula, associate food editor for “Cooking Light” magazine, says salt can go flat in the freezer, making diners more likely to add more at the table. To avoid turning your food into sodium bombs, hold the salt until after reheating.

– Ditto for other seasonings. Waiting until food is reheated to add fresh herbs, lemon juice or grated Parmesan cheese allows the cook to stir in a bit of freshness, says Silvana Nardone, editor of “Everyday with Rachael Ray.”

– Pay attention to food safety. Make sure your freezer is set to zero. And always cool foods before freezing.

– Baked goods, including undecorated cake layers, freeze well. Muffins and cupcakes can be frozen and reheated in foil, says Nardone, who once owned a bakery. She also suggests freezing those items as they will be eaten, in single- or family-size servings.

On the Net:

“Bon Appetit” magazine: http://www.epicurious.com/bonappetit/

Cook of the Month: http://www.cookofthemonth.com/

“Cooking Light” magazine: http://www.cookinglight.com/

Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/

Fine Cooking magazine: http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/

Taste of Home magazine: http://www.tasteofhome.com/