THIS week I have put together the best tips, tricks and tasty ideas that will help and transform your Christmas day dinner. Equally so, I note that there are many out there that like it just the way it is and if it’s not broken then there is no need to fix it. You guys can just read on and agree or disagree with anything included, you never know, you might like one or two bits. Anyway, the number one thing is to make sure you enjoy the day, stuff the turkey and yourselves and you can work it off on St Stephen’s Day.
A NICE alternative to start your Christmas fare with and a great way to introduce chestnuts to the table.
Chestnut and potato soup
WHAT YOU NEED
200g diced onions
1 kg cubed potatoes
200g cubed parsnips
400g chestnuts, half coarsely chopped and the remained halved
75g butter
Thyme leaves
1.75L chicken stock
Salt and pepper
2 apples cubed
250g cream
Chives to garnish
WHAT TO DO
Melt half of the butter in a large pot add the onions and sauté until transparent. Add the potato and parsnip cubes and sauté for about two minutes. Stir in the halved chestnuts and continue to cook for another two minutes.
Sprinkle in the thyme and pour in the stock. Bring to a boil on a medium heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes then finely puree the soup. Adjust the season with salt and pepper.
Melt the remaining butter in a separate pot and add the apples and the remaining chopped chestnuts and cook for about three minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add to the soup. Gently bring the soup to a boil.
Whisk the cream until frothy and half stiff. Mix into the soup gently. Serve soup in pre-warmed bowls with a dollop of cream and a sprinkling of chopped chestnuts.
Christmas is about tradition and we are not going to disturb that for the purists. However, for those of you that fancy changing just one thing, why not try this stuffing for the table. There’s enough here to fill a medium family sized bird.
Chestnut stuffing
WHAT YOU NEED
300g breadcrumbs
2 onions, chopped
4 ribs of celery, peeled and chopped
Small bunch of fresh sage leaves or 1 tablespoon dried
2 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves or 2 teaspoons dried
1 sprig of fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoons dried
250g unsalted butter
300g of chopped chestnuts
Small bunch of chopped fresh parsley leaves
WHAT TO DO
Gently cook the diced onion, celery and carrot, sage, thyme and rosemary in half of the butter until the vegetables are soft and translucent. Add the chestnuts and cook the mixture for a further two minutes.
Add the remainder of the butter and then add the breadcrumbs to the vegetable and herb mixture. Stir in the parsley and salt and pepper to taste, and let the stuffing cool completely. The stuffing may be made one day in advance and kept covered and chilled. This recipe is enough to stuff a 12- to 14lb turkey with extra to bake on the side.
Chocolates or petit fours are a lovely, if not indulgent, way to finish any meal and as Christmas is about having that little bit extra, you could try to satisfy that desire by making these the day before and not worry about the stress of the kitchen on the big day.
Flavoured with a little cherry or raspberry, these truffles are all about the quality of ingredients and using a good quality chocolate is key. The rest is easy.
Raspberry ganache for truffles
What you need
300g best quality semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup seedless red raspberry jam or even cherries
1 teaspoon raspberry or vanilla extract. If you go with the cherry flavour, add some Kir
pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/2 cup of nibbed almonds or mixed nuts
What to do
Place chocolate in a bowl. In a saucepan, bring cream and butter to a boil over medium heat. As soon as cream and butter boil, remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips; allow to sit for 1 minute.
Stir the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Stir in the raspberry jam.
Allow to cool slightly, then stir in the raspberry extract (Kir or vanilla) and the salt. Place plastic wrap over the top of the chocolate and chill for 4 hours or until firm.
To make the truffles – Using a spoon or a scoop, form chocolate into teaspoon-sized balls; you can roll balls in cocoa powder and alternative ones in the nuts, place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet, and refrigerate until firm.
Store truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Festive top tips
Add a little flavour to your vegetables with flavoured butters.
Sage or Basil butter – finely chop basil or sage leaves and fry in 150g of butter for two minutes, remove from the heat and chill. Then, add knobs of your flavoured butter to your freshly cooked Brussels sprouts with crispy bacon bits. Also works great with carrots.
Top Tip – make it the day before and allow to set.
Roasted nuts
In a hot pan for a small portion, or in a tray in an oven on high heat, place 500g of shelled nuts. Use pecans or walnuts, almonds, pistachios, and cashews, with a sprinkling of anything else you have.
2 tablespoons peanut oil or melted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 200degC. Toss the nuts in a bowl with the oil or butter and some salt and pepper. Put on a baking sheet and roast, shaking occasionally, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool before serving; they will crisp as they cool.
Spiced Buttered Nuts. Add 1 tablespoon of any spice mixture, like chili or curry powder, to the mix. If roasting, toss the nuts with the spice at the beginning. If sautéing, add it to the butter or oil as it heats.
Christmas dinner tips
It’s family time so plan ahead and don’t get hectic in the kitchen
Getting a moist bird
* Regularly baste the bird, that is key and Gordon Ramsay does this, or so he says and the only extra thing you need is a piece of muslin. Make a butter a mix with fresh thyme, garlic, sea salt and pepper with butter to create a smooth mixture that can be spread evenly, all over the turkey crown.
If you want you can also add other flavours like truffle oil or lemon zest. Then cover the crown in muslin and tie in place with string. Start cooking at a lower temperature: most of the cooking can be done in a low oven at around 120degC, increasing to 160-180degC towards the end. You get moister meat if you cook lower for longer.
Baste over the muslin every 20 minutes while cooking and, as you do this, the muslin holds the moisture and leaving you with a juicy and succulent turkey. To get the skin brown and crispy simply take off the muslin 20 minutes before the end.
* Roast the crown separate to the legs and add lemon thyme and plenty of garlic
* Get you butcher to bone out the two turkey legs and you could stuff them with the chestnut stuffing, roll them in cling film and then foil and poach for one hour to allow them take their shape then finish in a ht oven for another 45 minutes (cooking time depends on their weight and size).
* Add the bacon slices towards the end of cooking instead of at the start
* Let the bird rest for 30mins covered
Vegetables
* Make cauliflower or broccoli gratin as a side vegetable dish.
Cook it in the usual way but then grate parmesan over the top with some pine nuts and roast it in the oven.
* For your carrot and parsnip mash, why not add a pinch of cumin as you mash them.
* Roasters – boil your potatoes for 8 to 10 minutes and bash for fluffy edges. Place in a hot tray with goose fat per heated and roast for 35 mins….. Perfect. Season half way through cooking.
* Brussels sprouts – There’s no need to boil the bejaysus out of them. We were all told to cut a cross in the bottom of the sprouts to help cooking but that can leave a mush after cooking as they lose their form and shape. Instead parboil them the day before then on the day lightly sauté them with chestnuts, rosemary and garlic.
Sauces
* Make real bread sauce – half a studded onion with a bay leaf and pepper and cover it with milk. Simmer until onion is soft. Add 4 or 5 slices of bread, ciabatta or sourdough and then blitz, add a sprinkle of salt…..
* To make great gravy, fry some onions very slowly to caramelise them, add a tablespoon of tomato puree and cook for about 10 minutes. Pour in a good glug of madeira, bring to the boil and reduce to almost nothing. Add a good glug of red wine and some vegetable stock (use Knorr stocks) and the pan juices and again bring to the boil and reduce by half. Either serve it with the onions or strain it. If you want it thicker, add cornflour and whisk in a bit of cold butter at the end- it gives the gravy a beautiful glossy finish.
Turkey roasting times
Remember, these are only to be used as a guide – always check for doneness – when the area behind the legs is pierced with a knife, the juices should run clear.
Start at 120degC for first 30mins then increase temp to 170degC and 200degC for last 30mins
Approximate roasting times for stuffed turkey
6 to 8 lbs – 3 to 3-1/2 hours
8 to 12 lbs – 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours
12 to 16 lbs – 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 hours
16 to 20 lbs – 5-1/2 to 6 hours
20 to 24 lbs – 6 to 6-1/2 hours
Approximate roasting times for unstuffed turkey
6 to 8 lbs – 2-1/2 to 3 hours
8 to 12 lbs – 3 to 4 hours
12 to 16 lbs – 4 to 5 hours
16 to 20 lbs – 5 to 5-1/2 hours
20 to 24 lbs – 5-1/2 to 6 hours
