This week Netmums will be helping you to prepare for Christmas by featuring a guest post each day on a particular topic. To start us off we have the Foodie Queen of the Blogosphere – Englishmum – join us with her ‘Do’s and Don’ts for Christmas Dinner’
So Christmas is fast approaching, and with the last-minute present buying come those inevitable anxiety dreams where we’re chipping away at a frozen turkey while everyone sits poised at the table with their knives and forks ready. But don’t panic, here are a few dos and don’ts to ensure you sleep easy on the run up to Christmas:
Firstly, and most importantly, don’t stress out – just think of it as a big roast dinner.
Do work out roughly how long everything is going to take to cook, then sketch out a brief timetable. You’ll be happy to be able to refer back to it after a few glasses of fizz.
Do remember to weigh your turkey to work out the cooking times (turkey under 4kg: 20 minutes per kilo, plus a further 70 minutes. Turkey over 4kg: 20 minutes per kilo, plus a further 90 minutes).
Don’t bother with a starter, or make it something really simple like smoked salmon. You’ll all be stuffed by the end anyway.
Do prepare as much as you can in advance. Potatoes can be boiled, then cooled and open-frozen ready to pop straight into your hot oil (or goose fat) on the day, and carrots, sprouts, etc can all be prepped and placed into plastic bags in the fridge.
Don’t rinse the turkey in the sink. All it does is splatter germs around your kitchen. The oven temperature will take care of any nasties (oh, but DO remember to take the giblets out!).
Use a big disposable foil tray for the turkey. Nobody wants to spend all afternoon washing up while everyone else is having fun. Ditto with the tray for the roast potatoes.
Don’t worry about stuffing the turkey. Make stuffing separately if you want and just pop a couple of onions and maybe an orange or lemon into the cavity along with some herbs if you have them.
Do smother the turkey breast with butter, season well, then cover with foil (don’t bother with the expensive turkey foil, just overlap the normal stuff).
Do slosh a bit of water in the bottom of the roasting pan, then stick the turkey in the oven at 190/gas 5 (180 for fan ovens), set your timer and go and have a glass of champers. If you want to, you can baste it every so often, but if you forget, don’t worry at all.
Do remove the foil for the last 40 or so minutes to brown the top.
Don’t worry if your timings aren’t perfect or if you forget something. A turkey covered in foil with a couple of tea towels on top will rest happily and stay hot for a good hour.
Christmas pudding doesn’t have to be steamed on the day. It can be done in advance and then microwaved. Nobody will ever know – just sing carols loud enough to muffle the ping.
And finally, if something goes wrong or gets forgotten, it’s not the end of the world, it’s just dinner.
Oh and have a champers for me!
Great tips! Remember to watch food waste over Christmas too.
Food wasted in the UK increases by a massive 80% during the Christmas period, according to
statistics revealed by the national Love Food Hate Waste campaign; this equates to 230,000 tonnes
of good food being thrown away worth around £275m. Visit http://www.lovefoodsurrey.com for tips to help
you.
Brilliant down to earth tips as only EM can give!!
Priceless! I do love Englishmum, she makes everything to do with cooking a bit less, scary !
x
Such good tips – as Lance Corporal Jones used to say in Dad’s Army – ‘don’t panic’…..preparation and planning, plus a glass [or two] of something bubbly [for the cook and guests], and you’re there!
Can concur with all of these. Planning, planning and ,more planning!