News1 min ago
Traditional Xmas Dinner
6 Answers
I know, I know... It is a little ahead of time, but I have to cook for 8 this year and considering we generally dont cook at all at home, im a little worried. I see myself as a capable cook, never burn things always manage - just dont really enjoy it too much. But I do always have a problem of getting all food ready in time. I have a tiny two shelf oven and 8 people to feed and to make it worse we are having two types of meat because of picky family members lol. I work right up to christmas eve too, so I have to food shop on Xmas eve at like 5am lol. Does anyone know of a good website to help me through this, like a step by step guide so I dont freak out and get it all wrong? Or any recipes suggestions etc... I would be truly grateful and I am pretty sure the family will be too. Thanks
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cook your meat in the morning on the day, work out exactly what you are having now and learn/reaserch the best way of cooking it, work out exactly what time you'll be stareting cooking it, how long it takes and what time youll be eating...
veg potatoes and all the other stuff is easy to prepare and can all be "blanched" so that they take a quarter of the time to cook on the day..
post a full list of exactly what you wish to cook and i (and probably others) will help you with a cooking plan...
veg potatoes and all the other stuff is easy to prepare and can all be "blanched" so that they take a quarter of the time to cook on the day..
post a full list of exactly what you wish to cook and i (and probably others) will help you with a cooking plan...
the vegetables can be cooked (slighty undercooked) then presented nicely in a dish, so just microwave them before you need them, can be done days in advance, also the roast potatoes can be par boiled then lightly roasted the day before, then just finish off in the oven, the meat, if its turkey, get it all boned, stuffed and rolled, cook it on the day but once cooked roll in foil, then leave for an hour too rest, it will still be warm, and be more tender
I have cooked this for a Christmas dinner and it went down extremely well because it was so different to what people expect on Christmas Day.
Take 1 chicken breast per person or half of a piece of pork tenderloin (roughly the size of a chicken breast). Cut the meat to open it up into a flat piece. I assume you could do this. Make up a stuffing of breadcrumbs, onion, thyme, parsley, sage, salt, pepper and an egg. Remove the meat from 4 good quality pork sausages. Once the meat is laid into a flat piece, lay a finger of stuffing and a finger of sausage meat on to the meat. Now roll up quite tight. Next lay two slices of Parma ham onto a board and roll the meat into them so that you end up with the meat wrapped in Parma Ham.
What you will end up with is a fat 'sausage'. Now cut a sheet of cling film for each piece of meat and roll the 'sausage' tightly in it until it takes on a round sausage shape. Once you have made all 8, refrigerate them overnight.
On the day, heat an oven proof frying pan, add a little oil and brown the 'sausages' on all sides. This will take about 10 minutes. Next put into a pre-heated oven for about 30-35 minutes. Remove when cooked and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing each piece into 1/2 inch slices.
As you have only two shelves in your oven, this will alllow you to have the meat at the top and your nearly cooked roast potatoes and parsnips on the other shelf.
There is one drawback with this and that is that you don't get the juices to make gravy in the normal way.
My way around this is to make a brown chicken stock from a recipe in Raymond Blanc's 'Cooking for Friends'. If you wanted to do this, I'm sure that you could 'Google' a recipe.
Take 1 chicken breast per person or half of a piece of pork tenderloin (roughly the size of a chicken breast). Cut the meat to open it up into a flat piece. I assume you could do this. Make up a stuffing of breadcrumbs, onion, thyme, parsley, sage, salt, pepper and an egg. Remove the meat from 4 good quality pork sausages. Once the meat is laid into a flat piece, lay a finger of stuffing and a finger of sausage meat on to the meat. Now roll up quite tight. Next lay two slices of Parma ham onto a board and roll the meat into them so that you end up with the meat wrapped in Parma Ham.
What you will end up with is a fat 'sausage'. Now cut a sheet of cling film for each piece of meat and roll the 'sausage' tightly in it until it takes on a round sausage shape. Once you have made all 8, refrigerate them overnight.
On the day, heat an oven proof frying pan, add a little oil and brown the 'sausages' on all sides. This will take about 10 minutes. Next put into a pre-heated oven for about 30-35 minutes. Remove when cooked and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing each piece into 1/2 inch slices.
As you have only two shelves in your oven, this will alllow you to have the meat at the top and your nearly cooked roast potatoes and parsnips on the other shelf.
There is one drawback with this and that is that you don't get the juices to make gravy in the normal way.
My way around this is to make a brown chicken stock from a recipe in Raymond Blanc's 'Cooking for Friends'. If you wanted to do this, I'm sure that you could 'Google' a recipe.
Had to split my post.
As for the veg, don't fall into the trap of thinking that you need to do 21 different seasonal vegetable. In my opinion, Christmas dinner is no different to a Sunday Roast, just done better.
I would do roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots and a green veg, probably broccolli. These vegetables can all be prepared the night before and just cooked on the day.
The secret is to do all your prep the day before and keep it simple but do it well.
Best of luck.
As for the veg, don't fall into the trap of thinking that you need to do 21 different seasonal vegetable. In my opinion, Christmas dinner is no different to a Sunday Roast, just done better.
I would do roast potatoes, roast parsnips, carrots and a green veg, probably broccolli. These vegetables can all be prepared the night before and just cooked on the day.
The secret is to do all your prep the day before and keep it simple but do it well.
Best of luck.
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