Help on cooking in advance and freezing.

I am going to be cooking for a my son and daughter-in-laws baby shower in July
I am a very experienced cook and cook for many parties with out any issues I have catered all my life but I never freeze anything it's all freshly made.

My issue is:
I will be away on vacation the week of
the shower which is on a Saturday and I will be getting home late Friday night.
I was planning on cooking 2 tins of Eggplant Parm and 2 tins of Chicken Marsala with mushrooms
and 2 tins baked Ziti Parm with little meatballs the weekend before the shower and freezing them (so it will only be a few days in the freezer)... does anyone have experience in doing this.
I looked up a few things on the internet but they are varied I can't get a straight answer some say bake before you freeze or DONT bake or defrost then bake or bake from frozen state.
Ugh my mind is spinning.
Does the taste suffer much from freezing? Any suggestions would help.
Thanks

a reply to: starlitestarbrite

The most important aspect of freezing to preserve freshness and taste is to provide as much vacuum as possible. The moist air inside the tupperware or covered dish is what contributes most.

Also freezing while still hot.

So prepare the dish, wait for it to almost cool down to room temperature, then place in ziplock bags and seal without any air bubbles.

If the dish involves chicken and Eggplant, then freeze the components separately, sauce or gravy in one bag and the chicken in another. You can slow thaw the items and mix or remix them when rewarming.

a reply to: starlitestarbrite

As an avid Chef, I would recommend cooking them how you normally would,a common mistake a lot people make is putting them directly into the freezer after it's been cooked. You should let the meal(s) cool down first before freezing them.

When you go to re heat them let them defrost and warm them in the oven for 15-30 minutes depending on the size of the dish.

Hoped I helped you out!

a reply to: slapjacks


Thank you very much. You did help.

a reply to: starlitestarbrite
It's a tricky question.
I once worked on one of the sites of a popular catering company. The site brought in uncooked frozen apple pies from the supplier, cooked them off on the premises, and advertised them on the menu as "home-baked". A customer once complained to me "... and that apple pie isn't home-made!", and I was too embarassed for the company to explain the distinction the company lawyers would have drawn.
For what it's worth, I have tried imitating their example. My apple tree now gives me an ample supply, so I like to keep an apple pie for my house anniversary in November, making it up and then freezing it uncooked. However, I could not say whether the taste would be better if I cooked it before freezing.

a reply to: starlitestarbrite

So you are cooking a Ziti and chicken Masala? now i'm offended that i was not invited to the baby shower

An old family saying I just made up goes 'If you go from hot to cold, it will taste old.' Take slapjack and intrptr's advice; let the food get to room temperate before freezing it, then defrost the meal before reheating. If you must use a microwave to reheat then sprinkle a half pinch of salt, that should keep the food not too moist and not too dry.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie




'If you go from hot to cold, it will taste old.' I have to write that down it sounds like awesome advice in more
ways then one .... I am such a newbie when it comes to the freezer for me it's where I keep my Grey Goose vodka and ice cream oh and ice. Thanks

a reply to: starlitestarbrite

it's where I keep my Grey Goose vodka and ice cream oh and ice.

Niceeee

I can't say how it will freeze. I have never tried freezing things like that. We do freeze a lot of things, we have two big freezers and they are always full and being rotated correctly. Some dishes freeze well, some do not. We make homemade pot pies and after cooking freeze them, they turn out good. It takes forty five minutes to reheat from frozen. We tried one that was allowed to defrost before rebaking and that turned out mushier. I have no clue why. Maybe someone here will have some good info I can learn off of too.

a reply to: starlitestarbrite

Jamie Oliver has a solid recipe for salmon fish fingers, they can be frozen before cooking,, mmm..salmon fish fingers...

You could make a small sample batch and try it different ways to see what yields the best results.
a reply to: starlitestarbrite

a reply to: starlitestarbrite

I routinely cook large meals like red beans and rice or spaghetti or ziti and freeze portions for later. The way I do it is I put the sauce into heavy duty freezer bags and do the toothpaste tube maneuver to squeeze the excess air out before I zip the bag. Then, I can heat the sauce up right in the bag in a double boiler and make fresh pasta or rice for it separately. For something like lasagna, I put it into those disposable Tupperware containers and then place the container in a freezer bag with the air squeezed out. It makes things so much easier to prepare if the sauce is already cooked and ready to heat up.

If it's only for a couple of days, you don't need to worry about freezer burn, but if you decide to start freezing meal portions on the regular, store them away from the ice maker if you've got one. Also, don't place them in the door, because they'll freeze unevenly and it can give the food a kind of freezer burnt taste.

originally posted by: solve
a reply to: starlitestarbrite

Jamie Oliver has a solid recipe for salmon fish fingers, they can be frozen before cooking,, mmm..salmon fish fingers...

Fish have fingers?? Who knew??😜

a reply to: tigertatzen

Sounds mundane, but man, they are 99% salmon and tastes like deep fried, even when done in the oven.

a reply to: gr8skott


Seeing that I do have a few months I can surely do that thank you for the suggestion.

My mind was spinning over this I just wiped out the logical thing to do ...BRILLIANT!

a reply to: tigertatzen


Wow thanks that is some awesome advice. I really never freeze anything on occasion we will freeze
poultry or chop meat if it's on sale. Theres just something about the taste of frozen meat that we dislike I stock up on fresh stuff
and eat it through out the week it's a PITA but we like doing it that way. I never freeze anything like leftovers they go out to the crows I guess they are pretty happy about that.

a reply to: starlitestarbrite

Hello there!!

I am always making food ahead and freezing and chicken marsala is a favorite of mine! The way I freeze my make a head meals is like this. I have various methods depending on the food lol

For example with my lasagna's, ziti's and pasta casseroles I will cook it and then let the dish chill overnight and then the next day I wrap the lasagna very tight in heavy duty saran wrap, then I wrap it in foil and then it goes into a freezer gallon bag. I do this with my lasagna and even cut it into individual servings so all i have to do is reheat it in the oven and Im done. I recook from frozen and I thaw it half way so it can go back into a casserole dish.

As for the ziti I would cook it and then let it cool completely over night in the fridge. When it's cool put it in a zip lock freezer bag and get as much air out as you can, double bag if you want, I do for some casseroles. As for reheating it let it thaw some so it's able to be put back into a casserole dish for reheating.

Chicken marsala is one of my favorites. No matter what you do it will never taste quite the same from frozen due to the sauce but that is my opinion. I love all sauces to be made homemade if they must. My mom caters a lot on weekends and will literally get up at 4 or 5am to make meals that just don't freeze well. For the chicken marsala if you can make it fresh that would be best. I know when I make my own Marsala and I have left overs I just toss the chicken and sauce into a freezer bag and suck the air out. When I reheat it I just put it in a casserole dish.

Egg plant parm is one my mom makes and she freezes it similarly to how I freeze my lasagna. To reheat all I do is unwrap it from it's packaging and cook it frozen. It's like having your own ready made TV dinners. I make mini pot pies that are to die for! I make a dozen at a time and they only take 20 mins to cook from frozen.

My mom has two deep freezers she keeps all this in and when she sets up it all goes in those tin trays that have the flame underneath for serving.

Sounds like a nice menu! Making me hungry especially with that chicken marsala talk!

a reply to: mblahnikluver


Thank you so much for the info I am going to do a trial run to see how it works out
it would have been great if the party was on a Sunday like a normal baby shower
I can say it would be a heck of a lot less stress.

a reply to: starlitestarbrite

you can use aluminum foil food container to freeze/heat the food.It can keep the food fresh.