I’ve found two things that will make holiday cooking faster, easier and tastier.My first nod goes to cooking faster and easier with an infrared oven. I had seen the small dome-shaped ovens with food cooking in them, but never gave much thought to getting one. Then I did some research and learned that food can cook 40 percent faster in an infrared oven and can even be cooked from the frozen state. That idea caught my eye. So I sprang for a Nuwave brand.Cooking with infrared ovens is a cross between using a microwave and a traditional oven. The infrared rays heat the food directly like the rays in a microwave. How it differs is that the food is cooked from the outside in.Consequently the foods will have the same texture and crispness as food cooked in a regular oven. However, the infrared oven does not heat up the room as a regular oven might, is lightweight (read portable) and can be plugged into a wall electrical outlet.The first thing I cooked in it was a whole fresh chicken. The 3-pound bird was done in about 40 minutes. Not a whole lot less time than high-temperature roasting in a regular oven, but the juiciness of the meat and crispy skin were way ahead of a chicken cooked at high temp in a regular oven.And the bonus was the easy cleanup of the little oven. There was no spattering on the inside of the plastic dome covering and the drip pan didn’t have any burned-on muck and washed easily.The recipe book that came with the unit explained that it’s possible to cook a frozen chicken without defrosting it. The directions say to remove the giblets from a fresh chicken, season the bird and wrap for the freezer. Then plan to roast it in the infrared oven for 25 minutes per pound. I gave it a whirl and, again, was amazed at the excellent results.I’m planning on using the oven to roast my holiday bird. That way I can fill up my regular oven with side dishes, breads and pies. I can see using my Nuwave often in the future. They can be ordered at nuwaveoven.com for about $120.For sure, the food from the Nuwave was tasty, but for even more flavor I have to rave about my next new purchase: a Cameron Stove-top Mini Smoker.I had gone to a cooking class at Chefs, 5070 Centennial Blvd., where Chris Malone, owner of Cameron Products in Colorado Springs, was teaching a class about what else — smoking foods.He was set up with about four of the larger stove-top smoker units and several of his handy smoker bags. When I took a look at the recipe handouts, I was thinking he was being a bit ambitious to tackle making salads, soup, chicken, salmon, ribs and pate in the two-hour class. But, he got it all done, delighting us with bold flavored foods.“The biggest mistake people make when smoking food is to add too much wood,” he said. “That will overtake the delicate flavors of foods like fish and chicken. You only need to use one to one-and-one-half tablespoons of wood chips to get really terrific flavor.”It’s easy to get started with the stove-top smoker. Place wood chips in a small pile in the middle of the smoker base. Place the drip tray on top of the wood chips inside the smoker base. Place the wire rack on top of the drip tray, and arrange the food to be hot-smoked on the wire rack.Slide the lid closed and place the entire unit on the heat source. Medium heat settings are the best. In about 3 to 4 minutes, smoke will start coming out a corner of the smoker. In about 10 minutes the smoke will mostly be gone. It will have infused the food being cooked with a lovely smoky flavor.Malone sells wood chips in a variety of flavors like alder, apple, cherry, hickory, maple, mesquite and oak.He started the class smoking butternut squash to make an amazing creamy soup. Later he used some smoked salmon that he made into a delicious paté. Both of these dishes will be appearing on my holiday table. The recipes are above.His smoker bags come in some of the same wood flavors and are great because they are disposable. The smokers, bags and wood chips are available at Chefs. The mini smoker costs $35.95; the larger unit costs $56.95, and the bags come three to a package for $11.99.—Farney appears Tuesdays on KOAA’s Comcast Channel 5 at noon.

SMOKED-SQUASH SOUP—Yield: 6 cups

1 large butternut squash2 tablespoons apple or maple wood chips1 large onion2 tablespoons butter1 tablespoon sugar2 teaspoons chopped parsley1 teaspoon each celery salt, black pepper, allspice and ground ginger1 large can diced green chiles3 cups chicken stock or water1/2 cup creamProcedure:1. Prepare smoker with wood chips. Peel and cut squash into slices about 1/2 inch thick.2. Place 3/4 of squash in stock pot and boil until soft. Place remaining squash in smoker and smoke on medium heat 12 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.3. Meanwhile, sauté onions in butter and sugar until soft and lightly brown. Add smoked squash to onions and sauté until soft.4. Place boiled squash, sautéed onion, sautéed smoked squash, chicken stock (or water), ginger, allspice, black pepper, parsley and celery salt into blender and blend until smooth. Add chiles and mix well and blend again another minute or so. Reheat to boiling point. Add cream just before serving. Stir well, but do not boil again.Source: Adapted from “Chilly Colorado,” by Dottie Jackson

SMOKED SALMON PATÉ—Yield: 4 cups

1 pound salmon1 1/2 tablespoons alder wood chips8 tablespoons butter2 tablespoons lemon juice1 tablespoon olive oil1 tablespoon horseradish powderPepper, to tasteProcedure:1. In stove-top smoker, smoke salmon with wood chips 20 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes, then carefully de-bone and remove skin.2. In food processor, combine remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Refrigerate a couple of hours. Serve with crackers or fresh bread.Source: Chris Malone, Cameron Products