Local Restaurant Owner Gives Holiday Cooking Tips

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y—The holidays can act as the start of a mission for many, the unofficial beginning of cooking season for moms, dads, brothers, and sisters alike. What usually is brought along with that responsibility, though, is stress, and lots of it.

Leslie Lampert understands. As the proprietor of Ladle of Love and Café of Love in Mount Kisco, she goes through the ups and downs of perfecting recipes for happy recipients each day. Ladle of Love is in its eighth year of business, while Café of Love, her neighboring restaurant around the corner from Ladle, has been open since 2008.

For 27 years prior to her entrepreneurship, she worked as a journalist specializing in food, and was a senior editor at Ladies Home Journal. Lampert knows that the stress involved with cooking for the family usually lies in a delusion.

“A common misconception in general, but specifically Thanksgiving because it’s so rife with family issues, is that it has to be perfect,” she said, “and that you’re responsible for everyone’s good time and everyone’s satisfaction.”

That type of weight on one’s shoulders can hamper an evening, said Lampert, but one of the solutions to the problem of stress can be found on a notepad.

“Being organized is absolutely essential. I would definitely make a timeline about each component: when the ovens are available, what’s on the stovetop, and make sure you have cleanup time,” she said.

“If you have people helping you, make a timeline so everyone knows what their job is,” she continued. “When it’s time to put something together like stuffing, which has a lot of components, you have everything in place, and it removes the anxiety from it.”

Anxiety is the key word for the holiday chef, and trying to avoid it as much as possibly, if only to make sure your dinner doesn’t get dragged down with your spirits.

“If you’re anxious while you’re doing it, you will set yourself up to be cranky, and cranky with your guests, and the food won’t be delicious,” she explained.

Even if the angst does reach a near boiling point, Lampert has a simple and effective solution. “The most important thing is pour yourself a glass of wine, and sip on that all through the day,” she said. “It really is supposed to be joyful, and if you look at it like an obligation or a responsibility, then you will not have a joyful holiday.”

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