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Christmas Dinner for the first time!
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in General Chat
This year I am having a selfish Christmas, that is I will be making Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings for the first time for just me and my bloke. Never done this before, though I have done a typical sunday Roast (Small Chicken etc).
Any tips from Ordering the turkey to presenting the food?
My main cooking issue seems to be the timing, and I have heard stories of people who have cooked their chicken for hours, only for it to come out partly cooked way after the potatoes are ready - etc.
Tell me your recipies, plans, methods....please
(anyone else doing this - having a selfish christmas)
Any tips from Ordering the turkey to presenting the food?
My main cooking issue seems to be the timing, and I have heard stories of people who have cooked their chicken for hours, only for it to come out partly cooked way after the potatoes are ready - etc.
Tell me your recipies, plans, methods....please
(anyone else doing this - having a selfish christmas)
0
Comments
Roast potatoes in goose fat =
Carrots with ground cumin and corriander seeds, served with some butter =
Brussel sprouts are nice with stilton and pancetta.
I know nothing about big birds and ovens, but my mum puts the turkey in, the night before on a low heat. It's nice to wake up to a house smelling of turkey
Leftover turkey makes nice vietnamese style wraps, or chopped up with some chili and potatoes, it makes a nice Christmas style bubble and squeak.
I like it, but I don't like brussel sprouts
that sounds lovely! I have a steamer thing for the veg, which is a pain to clean, so I might just do the foil thing
As long as it's defrosted properly/fresh turkey then there shouldn't be any issue of it not being cooked at the right time, can't remember offhand but you can easily look up the cooking times, it's alwyas a set amount fo time plus x minutes per x kilo of turkey.
Work out beforehand how long each thing is going to take, then you can just write down the times each individual thing needs to go in/when you need to do stuff, that way you're fairly certain everything will be ready at the same time!
Oh and don't forget that once the turkey is down to let the meat rest, i.e. let it sit in a warm place to reaborb some of the juices that have come out so it's more tender. whislt it's doing that, you can finish off veg/make gravy/etc.
Set a time you want to serve lunch then work backwards. So say you want to serve lunch at 2pm, the chicken/turkey takes 2 1/2 hours you need to put the bird in at 11.20 am. 2 1/2 to cook, 10 minutes to rest. You'll need to put the oven on at about 11am to preheat. Your veg takes 15 minutes to steam so put it on at 1.45 etc
Personally, on Christmas Eve', I prepare vegetables, root vegetables keep in a pan of water, other vegetables keep in the fridge or a cool spot in the kitchen. Lay the table, put wine in the fridge. Had guests last year so made a trifle for pudding too. Did all of it except the cream on top and left it in the fridge. Get the turkey ready in its roasting tin.
Clean and clear the kitchen last thing Christmas Eve' night so it's ready for the big day and you're not running around looking for space or to find something. Custard for the pudding can be made too, put it in a jug in the fridge with clingfilm on top of the custard (actually touching it, not just over the jug then it won't get a skin). Dont forget Christmas puds can take up to 2 hours to steam, so you'll have to put it on long before you're eating your dinner. You can microwave them, but i think they taste better steamed.
And finally remember, a truly succesful Christmas dinner can only be made after consuming 3 licquer chocolates, a Ferrero Rocher and half a bottle of Chardonnay
Don't forget to put in on early enough to warm up otherwise that will knock your cooking times completely.
As for ordering the Turkey, we get ours from the local butcher. Far less like carnage when you go in to pick it up compared to the supermarket.
It usually needs more than 10 mins standing time too - i.e. half an hour!
Strongly recommend borrowing/photocopying 'Delia Smith's Christmas' - helps you work out timings for veg and the turkey, helps you plan out your cooking in detail so everything happens like clockwork. Delia is magic - and i'm not just saying that! Although don't listen to Victoria Wood, who said her mother always used to put the sprouts on for Christmas lunch in November...
Incidentally, who remembers Fanny Craddock? She had a fantastic stuffing recipe in her 'Nationwide Cookbook' which is the most AMAZING stuffing i've ever tasted, we still use it every Christmas and I wouldn't accept anything else...
She's cooking for 2 people. For the size of the bird she'll be cooking, 10 minutes will be ample. If you left it for half an hour it would be getting cold.
Other way round isn't it? Cook first with foil, then remove the foil later to crisp?