That time of year again, Fake christmas dinner ideas opinions.

[Glaucus]

Well just to get you salivating and for ideas/opinions.

As usual will be doing a fake Christmas or as it;s been nicked name little Christmas on the 18th. I know roughly want I want to cook, but it just doesn't feel Christmasy enough.
Also if any of you are wine buffs then please suggest away I would like a couple of nice bottles, especially for the main course.
Also anyone got any tried and tested recipes for mulled cider, mulled wine and any christmasy cocktails.


what I've done last 3 years
2009
Taster - Steak tartare with home made crisps
Starter - lemon prawn bruschetta with rocket and coriander pesto
Main - Roast haunch of venison with Roast beetroot, Celeriac purée, fondant potatoes and port sauce
Dessert - Zuppa Inglese with brandy snap basket and Christmas pudding ice cream
Cheese Board - Port Salute, Blue Stilton Colston bassett, Brie de Meaux, Smoked Apllewood, cambozola, Morbier
Drunken snacks for later in the day - Mince pies

2008
Starter -Gameterrine with cranberry sauce and fresh bread
Main - Royal Roast - 3 Bird Roast,
Braised red cabbage, Pigs in Blankets, Roast Potatoes, Roast Parsnips and Butternut squash with maple syrup , Honey carrots, Chestnut Brussels, Yorkshire puddings
Dessert Ice cream and Christmas pudding filo parcels - with rum sauce

2007
Starter - Fried Camembert with Cranberry sauce
Main - Lemon Butter Turkey, Apricot and bacon Stuffing, Pigs in Blankets, Roast Potatoes, Roast Parsnips and Butternut squash, Chestnut Brussels, Yorkshire puddings
Dessert Banoffee pie, Frozen Mississippi mud pie

So what ever I do can't be to similar to that and my gas oven is utterly retarded. can only cook one tray at a time, so a roast is out.
Now I was thinking the following fairly set o starter and dessert, but it just doens't fill christmasy enough IMO.


Starter - Welsh rarebit with tomato and chilli chutney
Fish course - really wnatred to try this out, but two bread based courses in a row I feel is to much, especially if I have pastry in the main
Mackerel with gooseberries
or easier and lighter choice
Roasted salmon with salsa verde but just the fish and tomatoes

Main - beef Wellington not sure with what but definitely Brussels. Or maybe I could do a turkey Wellington and instead of pate and mushrooms, do stuffing and cranberry sauce
Dessert - Doughnuts, maybe with a spicy choclate sauce (think christmas cake spices) with plain ice cream or maybe some sort of rum and raisen ice cream with rum sauce.
Cheese Board -
Drunken snacks for later in the day - damson mince pies, if I can find damson,

Also recommend me some new games and christmasy films.

[Jonny69]

I really can't stand roast potatoes with beef wellington. I don't know what it is exactly, a bit of a clash of textures and the roasted flavour of the potatoes clashes with the more delicate beef. Maybe fondant or buttery mustard or horseradish mash? Serve with wilted spring greens left slightly crunchy so the irony flavour comes through and contrasts the beef and a red wine reduction. Or maybe even a truffle infused white (or bread) sauce with a dash of brandy. Or keep it simple: get some beef bones from the butcher, roast until dark, smash up a bit and simmer in a stock for several hours. Reduce it to a roasted bone marrow sauce. Could be good.

God I wish I had some non vegetarians to cook for

[Jingo]

Mulled cider: Cinnamon stick, pimento, dried apple, star anise, cardamon pod, cloves & sugar

Put a 1l bottle of dry cider into a large pan, add the above and simmer (not boil) for 10mins. Sieve the remove bits and enjoy

[Glaucus]

Just cook for yourself. I migght have one veggie. Keeping it simple with bone stock sounds great. Only time I've done wellington did foundent potatos, as i say oven is rubbish so roast potatoes are out. Also loving the idea of horesraddish mash especially with simple gravy.

[Glaucus]

Probably not christmasy enough for most of you and as usual didn't turn out perfect and presentation whilst trying to server is something I really need to work out, but it all tasted fantastic, which is the main thing. Not helped by the beer and wine consumption.

previous threads, seems 2008 and 2007 have been pruned although they where on here a few weeks ago.
2009 thread

Starter - Welsh rarebit with tomato and chilli chutney
Fish course - Roasted salmon with salsa verde
Main - beef Wellington, mash, braised cabbage and stir fried sprouts
Dessert - Doughnuts, chocolate fudge sauce and vanilla
Cheese Board -
Drunken snacks for later in the day - plum mince pies








Welsh rarebit with tomato and chilli chutney
Unfortunetly forgot about the camera on this one, so not much too look at.
Ingredients:
1 kilo wholemeal and seeded flout
25g butter
330ml luke warm water
1tsp yeast







1) rub flour and butter together to form breadcrumbs, mix the yeast and water into form a dough.
2) kneed for about 10minutes or until it becomes elastic and pliable.
3) cover and leave in a warm place for about an hour until it's doubled in size. Then knock it back.
4)shape into what ever loaf you want, cover and allow to raise for about 30minutes, place in an oven at 220c for about 30minutes. Or until golden.

The cheese topping
Ingredients: I made far far to much, been eating it today as well and probably for another 3 days. Probably enough for 30-40 slices of bread.
1 bottle gem ale
1.2kilo cheddar
400ml milk
150g plain flour
150g butter
6tsps English mustard
8tsps Worcester sauce
6 egg yolks

1) simmer the bottle of ale down to a syrup like consistency, then add the milk and warm it up, but don't boil.
2) whilst that is warming, make a rough with the flour and butter, then slowly mix in the milk to form a thick paste.
3) add the cheese mustard and Worcester sauce, allow cheese to melt, then allow to cool.
4) once reasonably cool mix in the egg yolks and place in the fridge until needed
5) toast some bread under the grill, spread on the mixture then grill again till golden.

only picture

[Glaucus]

Roasted salmon with salsa Verde

This is a rick stein recipe and a bit disappointed, tasted fantastic but cooking times where well off and by the time the fat parts of the fillet cooked, the ends where well over cooked. Not sure how much this is down to my oven, it is a chepo gas one, that only heats one shelf unevenly. but it took almost an hour in the end to get the fat part of the fillet just slightly pink, where the rest of it was over cooked.
Unfortunately this is another one I forgot about the camera, it looked amazing before it went into the oven.



Ingredients
For the salsa verde

15g flatleaf parsley leaves, chopped
5g mint leaves, chopped
3 tbsp capers
6 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained
1 clove garlic, crushed

For the roasted salmon
4 large vine-ripened tomatoes, each cut into 8 slices
1 2.5kg/5½lb to 2.75kg/6lb salmon, scaled and filleted OR 2 1kg/1¼lb salmon fillets
1 tbsp capers
2 garlic cloves, sliced
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
1 large bunch fresh thyme
3 tablespoons olive oil
10 tablespoons water
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1) Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2) For the salsa verde, combine the parsley and mint leaves, capers, anchovy fillets and one garlic clove. Mash together with a pestle and mortar to form a coarse paste and season to taste with a little salt.
3)Line the base of a large baking tray or roasting tin with a sheet of non-stick baking-paper and then lay the tomatoes in rows of four down the centre of the paper (diagonally if necessary so that your salmon will fit in the tin).
4)Scatter over a tablespoon of capers, garlic slices, half of the chilli flakes and all but one large sprig of the thyme.
5)Drizzle over three tablespoons of the oil, the water, and some salt, to taste. This will prevent the salmon from sticking and produce a lovely sauce to serve with the salmon.
6)Brush the skin-side of one salmon fillet with oil, season lightly with salt and place skin-side down on top of the tomatoes.
7)Lightly season with salt and then cover with the salsa verde mixture.
8)Lightly season the cut face of the second salmon fillet and place on top of the salsa verde covered salmon skin-side down.
9)Brush the skin with olive oil and scatter with the remaining chilli flakes and the leaves from the remaining thyme sprig. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
10)Roast the fish for 25 minutes, until the skin is lightly browned and the flesh still slightly pink in the centre.
11) Remove the salmon from the oven and leave it to rest briefly.

[Glaucus]

Beef Wellington, mash, braised cabbage and stir fried sprouts


Tasted fantastic, but it fell to bits unlike last time I did it.


Beef Wellington
ingredients:

1.4kilos beef fillet (it's roughly £40 a kilo, so pretty much for special occasions only)
2 packs puff pastry
1killo mixed mushrooms
2 onions
100g or so of pâté
parsley
100g flour
100ml milk
1 egg
1 egg yolk

1) dice the onions and thinly slice the mushrooms and fry in butter till the mushrooms have shrunk considerably, then set aside.
2) Make the pancakes by mixing, the flour, milk and egg, then frying. set aside
3) Brown the beef fillet in a very hot pan for a few seconds on each side and set aside for later
4) place the puff pastry out and roll/join together as needed. Next put several pancakes down, ontop of that spread a thin layer of pâté, then a layer of mushrooms and sprinkle some parsley on.
5) Place the beef ontop of that and if needed another pancake again with the fillings on, then fold the ends of the pastry up, cut the corners out. then bring the sides up and join.
6) place upside down (so the joins are on the bottom) on a floured baking sheet, brush with a beaten egg yolk and cook at 180c for about 30minutes or until the middle of the meet reaches 55-60c for medium-rare.

[Glaucus]

Doughnuts, chocolate fudge sauce and vanilla ice cream


Doughnuts
Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 cup mashed potato
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
8cups strong flour
2tsp yeast
3 eggs
1tsp cinnamon

1) warm the milk up but don't boil and dissolve the butter, sugar and mash potato into it. When blood temperature add the yeast and eggs and mix into the flour and cinnamon.
2) mix into a dough, cover and leave for a few hours to double in size (or over night)
3) knock back roll out and cut your doughnuts out, cover and again leave to rise for 30minutes or so.
4) deep fry until golden.











Vanilla Ice cream
Ingredients:
1 pint milk
8 egg yolks
200g sugar
1 vanilla pod
1 pint double cream

1) Slice the vanilla pod in half, scrape the seeds out and place the entire pod and seeds with the milk in a pan, warm the milk up to just below boiling, switch off and allow the vanilla to infuse for about 20minutes.
2) cream the egg yolks and sugar together, remove the vanilla pod and whisk the milk into the egg yolks, return to the heat and warm until it thickens, do not boil or it will split. Once thicken turn off heat and allow to complete cool.
3) once cool whisk in the double cream and poor into an ice cream maker, when it starts clicking and the ice cream is mr whippy consistency poor into a container and place into the freezer.








Chocolate fudge sauce
4oz sugar
4oz dark brown sugar
2tbsp cocoa
1tbsp plain flour
1tbsp syrup
1/2 pint milk
1/2 oz butter
1 cap vanilla essence
pinch of salt

1) combine all ingredients in a sauce pan, gently bring t the boil, whilst continuously whisking.

[Glaucus]

plum mince pies





Pastry

[Glaucus]

Cheese board and wines, or should I say the remains

Colston Bassett Stilton
Smoked apple wood
Smoked wensleydale
cambozola
Oxford blue
Port salut
The square orange one is a goats cheese, it was something along the lines of barbarossa argentina but obviously not that, can't find anything on google to help me identify it. Not typically a fan of goats cheese but this was amazing.