Hello again everybody, how are we all feeling? frivolous and festive? Well after this monstrous post you may be left feeling dreary and disheartened, but on the contrary I am about to take away all of the Christmas blues, by introducing you into a military (but incredibly enjoyable) experience of mastering the art that is cooking for a crowd of folk and getting timings correct and precise. Now don’t go shaking your heads and running away hiding from the whole ordeal,when in actual fact it can become a rather relaxing and collected time where you slide on your chef whites and have a nano-second timer at the ready (obviously not, I mean slip on a housecoat, a warm pair of slippers and a clock on the wall will do just fine) and begin the magical journey that begins with the spud to the sparkle!
I am going to do this in the order that is most suited to my lifestyle and that is to get all of the little sides and aperitifs out of the way first.
1. CRANBERRY SAUCE- This is the rubiest red sauce you will ever find and I do know that you can nip round to the local corner shop and pick up a reasonably good jar of pre-made sauce but nothing will ever beat the taste of homemade, it’s far superior
340g fresh ruby red cranberries.
200g white caster sugar.
120ml water.
METHOD:
Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan, apply a medium heat and leave to bubble away until all of the berries burst open an release their own ruby red juices. This can take up to 10 minutes.
Then transfer to a jug and leave to cool. The sauce will solidify on cool, from a runny soft set jam consistency to a soft but giving jelly. Stir well before serving with the turkey.
2. ALLSPICE GRAVY- This gravy is not actually made from the pan juices, that you are normally familiar with doing when making a gravy. We cannot use the pan juices from the turkey recipe I have given you as the brine make the juices far to salty, and it really does perish the real flavour of the bird. So I have decided to use the giblets of a turkey instead, which lend the rich meaty taste but do not overwhelm the subtle flavours of the turkey.
INGREDIENTS:
Giblets from the turkey, or ask your local butcher for them (he probably won’t even charge you), not including the liver.
1 litre of water.
1 tbsp of allspice berries.
1/2 tsp black peppercorns.
3 fresh bay leaves.
1 stick cinnamon.
1 stick celery, halved.
2 carrots, peeled and halved.
1 onion (no need to peel), halved.
1 tbsp sea salt flakes, or 1/2 tsp pouring salt.
juice and pulp of 1 clementine.
2 tbsp plain flour.
2 tbsp runny honey (the xmas secret weapon).
METHOD:
Put everything into a saucepan, excluding the flour and honey, and bring to a boil, then cover with a lid, simmering gently for 2hrs.
Strain in to a jug to which you will receive 1 litre of gravy. Whisk the flour in a pan with 2 tbsp of the juices from the turkey pan and then slowly whisk in the stock and honey, over a gentle heat.
Let the gravy bubble away gently, stirring every so often until thick and the floury taste has gone. Keep warm in a gravy boat suspended in a pan of barely warm water.
3. BRUSSELS SPROUTS- Their is so much controversy of the sprout, we as members of the planet, hold two contrary views on the little green cabbages. Many people hold the view that they are bitter, mushy and very unappetizing, where as if cooked properly, they are sweet and nutty, buttery and fragrant morsels!
INGREDIENTS:
1.5kg brussels sprouts.
250g vacuum chestnuts.
100g butter.
Fresh nutmeg.
Sea salt flakes.
METHOD:
Prepare the sprouts on Xmas Eve. Cut the stalk end off the sprouts thinly and let the tough outer leaves fall off. For any larger ones, just put a X in the bottom of the stalk to ensure even cooking time with the smaller members.
Bring a pan of water to the boil, adding salt once boiling.
Break up the chestnuts roughly and leave to sit in a covered bowl, while you cook the sprouts lightly in the boiling water for no more than 5 minutes.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat then toss in the chestnuts and brussels to warm through.
Add the fresh nutmeg, salt and pepper, before coating the entire bowl of veg with the butter and turning out into a serving dish.
4. MAPLE ROAST PARSNIPS- These are just simply divine, I really don’t need to say anything about them at all, the flavour of the maple syrup compliments perfectly the subtle sweetness of the parsnips, Culinary match making paradise!
INGREDIENTS:
1kg Parsnips.
125ml veg oil.
80ml maple syrup.
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to Gas 6/ 200C. Halve the unpeeled parsnips, the halve the quarters.
Place into a roasting tin, and dribble over the oil and mush about, then dribble over the maple syrup, before placing in the oven for around 35mins, but check after 25.
5. GOOSE FAT ROASTED POTATOES- Now I know, it is fairly easy to just find yourself digging through the deep freeze until you find the nearest packet of ready made frozen roasties, but the point I’m trying to make here is that the sizzling crackle of potatoes roasting in goose fat with it’s immense flavour is just spectacular and very flamboyant when trying to impress the family, as the perfect roastie is the key to Xmas lunch success..
INGREDIENTS:
2.5kg Maris Piper Potatoes.
640g Goose fat.
2 tbsp semolina.
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 250C/Gas 9. Put the fat into a large roasting tin, and heat in the oven for 20-30 minutes until scarily hot. Do not get yourself into a frenzy here, this is quite dangerous.
Peel the potatoes, and cut each one into 2’s or 3’s. Put the potatoes into salted cold water and bring to the boil and cooking for 4 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and toss the around in the colander until the become steamy and fuzzy with the remaining water. Sprinkle over the semolina an shake gently again.
When the fat is at it’s hottest, add the potatoes and and roast for 30 minutes. Turn on the 15 minute mark. and squish gently to increase the surface area and if the oven was hot enough the 25 minutes may do them just fine.
6. GINGERBREAD STUFFING- This is incredibly light for a stuffing, but the complex sweet, sticky, savoury flavours are just sublime.
INGREDIENTS:
500g Onions ( about three medium).
2 pink lady apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped.
45g butter.
1 tbsp veg oil.
750g streaky bacon.
Grated zest of 2 clementines.
800g McVitie’s Jamaica ginger cake, loosely crumbled.
2 eggs beaten.
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper.
METHOD:
Place the onions and the apples into a food processor and whiz until finely chopped. Put the butter and oil in a large pan over a medium heat, before adding the onions and apples and gently soften for 10-15 minutes.
Using the processor, blitz the bacon until finely chopped before adding to the pan and cooking for a further 5 minutes.
Add the clementine zest. Take the pan off the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes, before adding the crumbled ginger cake. Add the beaten eggs and pepper before adding to a loaf tin which has been thoroughly buttered, then you place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes at Gas 6/ 200C.
Let the stuffing cool for 10 minutes before serving to allow all of the bacon juices to be re-absorbed back into the centre!
7. THE MAIN BIRD- ROAST TURKEY- This turkey is rather special as you start it on Xmas Eve, and leave it over night steeping in a brine-water bath with scented aromatics and oranges! Fabulous…
INGREDIENTS:
For a 4kg bird:
Approx 6 litres of water.
1 large orange, halved.
250g Maldon salt flakes, or 125g pouring table salt.
3 tbsp black peppercorns.
1 bouquet garni.
1 cinnamon stick.
1 tbsp caraway seeds.
4 cloves.
2 tbsp allspice berries.
4 star anise.
2 tbsp white mustard seeds.
200g caster sugar.
2 onions, unpeeled, quartered.
6cm piece of ginger, unpeeled, cut into 6.
4 tbsp maple syrup.
4 tbsp runny honey.
stalks from parsley, if hanging around the kitchen..
For the Glaze.
75g goose fat or butter.
3 tbsp maple syrup.
METHOD:
Take one of those large plastic containers and add the 6 litres of water. Add all of the ingredients apart from the glaze ingredients. Leave to marinate in it’s aromatic bath for 24hrs.
Before Placing in the roasting tin, pat dry the bird 1hr before needed, then heat the glaze ingredients in a pan gently over a low heat before painting the entire bird and then place in a preheated oven at Gas 6/ 200C, for 2 1/2 hrs.
When you think it’s ready, check by inserting the tip of a where the body meets the legs and if the juices run clear from the turkey, then it’s cooked. Around 65-71C on a turkey thermometer is cooked.
8. THE BEST CHRISTMAS PUDDING- With the most luxurious liqueur soaked fruits, and a spice list that adds instant Christmas joy to the whole house.
INGREDIENTS:
150g currants.
150g raisins.
150g prunes, scissored into shreds.
175ml Pedro Ximenez sherry (available online).
100g plain flour.
125g breadcrumbs.
150g suet.
150g dark muscovado sugar.
1 tsp ground cinnamon.
1/4 tsp ground cloves.
1 tsp baking powder.
grated zest of a lemon.
3 eggs.
1 medium pink lady apple, peeled and grated.
2 tbsp runny honey.
sprig of holly.
125ml vodka to flambe.
METHOD:
Put the currants, raisins and prunes into a bowl and add the Pedro Ximenez, cover and leave to steep over night.
When the fruits are ready, simply grease a 1.7 litre plastic pudding basin with butter and grease the lid too, as well as putting a large conventional steamer on the hob with a large amount of gently simmering water underneath, ensuring the steamer has a lid.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the rest of the pudding ingredients apart from the vodka and stir them all together. Add the steepe fruits and scrape ever last drop of the liquor out of the bowl before stirring again.
Scrape and spread the mixture into your prepared basin and squish down the basin’s lid. Then wrap a layer of foil over the basin before placing inside the steamer. Pop the lid on and cook for around 5 hrs.
Remove after 5 hrs and leave to completely cool, and on the big day, re wrap the pudding still in the basin, in foil and re steam for another 3 hrs, before turning out onto a serving plate and heating the vodka up gently. When warm place the holly on top of the pudding and then pour over the vodka, before striking a match and setting a light to it. Carefully transport it through to your awaiting guests and watch the clear blue fire dance die down before serving with a cream whipped up with a little advocat!!
Well there we have it, 200o words of sheer Christmas Foodie Magic! And to be frankly honest with you, if you get into the right state of mind, it will be an absolute breeze, trust me and if you happen to have any major issues tweet me at @TheLittle_Chef
ENJOY,
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!
JOYEUX NOEL!!!
RYAN!
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