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You might be regretting your generous invitation to host the entire family this
Christmas. It was the excitement of having a baby to share in the festivities
that probably prompted you to offer. And now here it is. Just a few short weeks
away and somehow you have to come up with a menu that will taste wonderful but
not take forever to prepare. Yet right now, you find rustling up a bowl of pasta
hard going with a small person demanding every second of your attention.
Don't panic. We have some suggestions to help you get it all done without collapsing
in a heap.
Rely on ready prepared - but combine it with selected
homemade items
It might not be quite as authentic as homemade, but you can get wonderful prepared
Christmas foods that will cut the time down immeasurably. That doesn't mean to say
you need to serve everything out of a box, but perhaps buy a ready prepared ham or
a pre-stuffed turkey breast crown that you simply have to pop in the oven. Buy
vegetables that are already peeled and chopped, but add your own creative flair to
them. Gravy is one of those things that you have to do at the last minute using the
drippings from the roast and it all becomes a big rush - the opposite of what we
are after. So either buy it pre-made or use our make in advance recipe.
Definitely knock up your own batch of cranberry sauce, which doesn't take long to do
and can be prepared well in advance. It will certainly make you feel like a kitchen
superstar. Buy Christmas pudding. Buy brandy butter. Buy prepared canapés.
Prepare in advance - with military precision
Come up with your Christmas lunch menu - a fun way to do this is over a glass of wine
with your partner (after your little one has gone to bed), browsing through magazines.
Decide on what you're going to have and create a shopping list. Then determine which
things can be made in advance and plot yourself an itinerary of what can be done when.
It's amazing how much stuff can be prepared in advance - see our suggestions of time
saving tips below. Also create a list of things that will need to be
done on the day and split them up between you, your partner and family members.
Grandparents will be only too happy to watch your little one while you're in the kitchen
and things like table setting can be done the night before. Assign a sibling or uncle
to drinks to make sure everyone has something and you just concentrate on the food.
Go out to lunch
If it all seems to be a nightmare, find a local pub or restaurant that offers good
quality Christmas fare and treat everyone to a lunch. Depending on where you go, it
might well end up costing less that buying all the various groceries yourself - and
will definitely save you a lot of time. You can invite everyone back for homemade
pudding or a wonderful cheese platter with port to show that you're still a domestic
goddess after all.
Time saving tips and recipe ideas
- Don't make a starter. You can buy fab canapés that you can serve with
drinks before lunch. For a Christmassy cocktail, drop a sliver of fresh ginger
and orange zest into a flute. Top with equal amounts of bubbly and cranberry juice.
- Don't bother peeling potatoes for roasting. The skins add extra crunchiness.
Microwave them instead of parboiling (about 10 minutes) before adding them to piping
hot goose fat and roasting for about 30 to 40 minutes in a hot oven. Alternatively,
you can parboil them, shake them about a bit to roughen up the edges and then freeze
them in advance. Cook them from frozen for about an hour.
- Roast parsnips and carrots with the potatoes to save on extra roasting trays
- Prepare all vegetables the night before and leave in pots of cold water
- Prepare your turkey and stuffing the night before, but don't add your stuffing to the
turkey until you're ready to pop it into the oven. You can even cook your turkey the day
before, slice it and cover it with gravy to keep it moist - then just reheat on the day
- Don't bother wrapping chipolatas in bacon, just roast the two together in the same
pan
- If you don't want to buy gravy but don't want to rush around at the last minute, try
this make ahead gravy:
Recipe - make ahead gravy
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 large onion cubed
- 1 carrot cubed
- Turkey neck and giblets, rinsed
- 600ml chicken stock
- 1 fresh baby leaf
- Tbsp plain flour
Heat half the oil in a pan over medium heat, add veg, turkey neck and giblets.
Cook, stirring for 10 mins. Add stock and bay leaf. Simmer for 1 hour. Strain
into a jug. Return pan to a medium heat, stir in remaining oil and flour. Cook,
stirring for 1 min, then add the turkey stock slowly to avoid lumps. Boil until
thickened.
- Domestic goddess cranberry sauce - even if you buy everything else but make this
yourself - you will feel a warm glow of pride serving it up - and it's delicious. This
can be made a week ahead if it's kept covered and refrigerated - so no last-minute rush
either. Makes about 3 ½ cups.
Recipe - domestic goddess cranberry sauce
- 1 and 2/3 cups port
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup packed golden brown sugar
- 8 dried black mission figs, stemmed and chopped
- 1 6-inch spring of fresh rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon grown black pepper
- 1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
- ¾ cup sugar
Combine first 6 ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until
sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Discard rosemary.
Mix in cranberries and ¾ cup sugar. Cook over medium heat until liquid
is slightly reduced and berries burst, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.
Cool and transfer to a bowl. Chill until cold.
Most of all, try to enjoy this time with your family. So what if the potatoes don't
crisp up or the brussel sprouts are overcooked? Get your family to pitch in and have
a good chat. Let your baby soak up the atmosphere and be indulged with doting
grandparents. That's what Christmas is all about. |
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